North Indian Inscriptions

POLITICAL HISTORY

Chandradēvī. In this connection may be taken into consideration another clay seal from Nālandā, namely, that of Vainyagupta. Here also, unfortunately, it is of a highly fragmentary character and the only line that can be read in full and with certainty is the last which has Paramabhāgavatō Mahārājādhirāja-śrī-Vainyaguptaḥ. Very little remains of the line preceding in which contained the names of his father and mother. But what is preserved can be restored more reasonably to Pūrugupta and Chandradēvī than to the names of any other Gupta king and queen. It appears that like Budhagupta and Narasiṁhagupta, he has the same parentage. Further, no doubt it seems tempting to charter,¹ dated Gupta year 188=507 A.D. But the Vainyagupta of the clay seal is not only a Mahārājādhirāja but also a Paramabhāgavata, whereas the Vainyagupta of the copper-plate grant is a Mahārāja and Bhagavan-Mahādēva-pādānudhyāta. The latter epithet is again in consonance with the recumbent bull that figures on the seal attached to his charter. The evidence thus runs counter to the identification of the Vainyagupta of the grant with the Vainyagupta of the seal. Thus the date Gupta year 188 of the Guṇaighar charter cannot be taken as a date for the latter Gupta monarch. Where is he then to be placed? We know that the dates of Budhagupta range between Gupta years 157 and 175. Immediately before him must be placed Kumāragupta II for whom we have the date Gupta year 154. The last date of Skandagupta is Gupta year 148 known from his silver coins. Vainyagupta of the seal had thus better be placed between Skandagupta-Pūrugupta and Kumāragupta II, that is, between Gupta years 148 and 154. If Vainyagupta was thus an Imperial Gupta ruler, the question arises whether any coins of his have been found as of every Gupta sovereign. Now, it is well-known that there were certain coins which had long been attributed by Allan to Chandra (gupta) III-Dvādaśāditya. But Ganguly has correctly remarked that what occurs on their obverse is not Chandra but indubitably Vainya.² The coin have thus to be ascribed to Vainya(gupta)-Dvādaśāditya, and not at all to Chandra (gupta) III-Dvādaśāditya. Further, we have to note that on the obverse figures the Garuḍa standard, pointing clearly to the conclusion that Vainya who struck these coins was a devotee of Vishṇu. This accords with the epithet Parama-Bhāgavata associated with Vainya of the seal.

        It will be seen that Skandagupta alias Pūrugupta was succeeded to the Gupta throne by Vainyagupta, Kumāragupta II, Budhagupta and Narasiṁhagupta in consecutive order. Further, we know that Vainyagupta, Budhagupta and Narasiṁhagupta were co-uterine brothers to one another, being born of the same father and mother, namely, (Skandagupta-) Pūrugupta and Chandradēvī. It is difficult to avoid the inference that Kumāragupta II also stood in the same relationship to them. It is, however, difficult to understand why these four brother came to the Gupta throne in quick succession one after another. The inference is not unreasonable that there was a violent Hūṇa eruption again on the north-west frontier. We have seen that this menace first arose after the demise of Kumāragupta I, that his son Ghaṭōtkachagupta, in fact, lost his life in the turmoil created by the inroads of this foreign tribe, and that it was really his brother Skandagupta who successfully stemmed the tide of this Hūṇa invasion. The Hūṇas were, for a time, held at bay by the might of Skandagupta. But, as soon as he was numbered among his forefathers, the Hūṇa eruption made its appearance with redoubled vigour. It appears that, like Ghaṭōtkachagupta before Skandagupta, the three brothers Vainyagupta, Kumāragupta and Budhagupta, after the demise of their father, came to the throne one after another, in quick succession, every one of them being foiled in his attempt to stay the flood of the Hūṇa immigration into India. It seems that Budhagupta successfully and for long resisted their onward course of movement, for he ruled much longer
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¹ IHQ., Vol. VI, pp. 53 ff.
² Ibid., Vol. IX, pp. 784 ff.