North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

from the top to the bottom and containing unmistakable traces of pieces of string or cloth which originally passed through it and which were fastened to the document to which the seal was attached (Plate XLV, B). This would have been meaningless if the seals had been terracottas from the beginning.

       From the impressions, the original seals seem to have been oval in shape, pointed at the top and bottom. Their external measurements are, as nearly as possible, 3½" broad by 4½" high in the case of A, and 3 7/8" broad by 4 3/8" high in the case of B. The edge in each case is clearly marked by a border line which, on the whole, is well-preserved. The upper section of the face of the seals, being slightly less than one half of the surface, is occupied by a figure of Garuḍa, executed in tolerably high relief. He is represented as standing on a base composed of two parallel lines, facing front, with outspread wings. His face is that of a man, broad and full, with thick lips, scaly fur and upright Vaishṇava mark on the forehead, and his hair is arranged exactly like the wig of an English Judge. A hooded snake is coiled round his neck, its head projecting above his left shoulder. A circle and a crescent, doubtless intended for the sun and the moon, are indicated in the field to the proper right and left of the figure respectively. A space, about an inch high, is left blank at the bottom of the seals. The interval between this space and the parallel lines on which Garuḍa stands is occupied by eight well-preserved lines of prose writing, done in reliebf.

       The characters are well-formed, and exhibit an admixture of the two varieties of the Gupta alphabet. Ma and la are of the eastern variety; while sa and ha are of the southern. Medial i is indicated by a loop or curve turning to left. Medial ī is of two varieties, represented in śrī, one to be seen e.g., in line 8 and the other in line 1. In the case of mu, pu and nu the medial u is indicated by elongation down below, of the right vertical, while in ttu, ku, dhru, gu and ru it is expressed by a hook at the bottom turning to the left. Medial ṛi is formed by a hook at the lower end, turning towards the right. Ya is tripartite without a loop. The language is Sanskrit.

       In respect of orthography we have to note (1) the doubling of v in conjunction with a preceding r, as in sarvva-, line 1 ; (2) the doubling of t in conjunction with a following r, as in putra, lines 2 and 7; pauttra, line 1; prapauttra, line 1; dauhittra, line 2; and Mittra, line 7 ; (3) the use of the upadhmānīya in =ōchchhēttuh =pṛithivyām=, line 1 ; =apratirathah=parama, line 3, and =utpannah =parama, line 8 ; (5) the doubling of d (h) in conjunction with a following y as in -pādānuddhyātō, lines 4-7; (5) the change of visarga into s in conjunction with the same letter following it, as in =utpannas=svayam, line 3 ; and (6) the change of an ending anusvāra to n with a following da as in Mahādēvyan=Dattadevyam= in line 3.

       These seals refer themselves to the reign of Kumāragupta III and resemble the copper-silver Bhitarī seal of the same ruler, noticed in No. 46 below, in the representation of the Garuḍa as well as in the legend. The inscription on the seals is purely genealogical, as are those on the Aśīrgaḍh and Nālandā seals of Śarvavarman, the Sōnpat and Nālandā seals of Harshavardhana and so forth. And with the omission of certain epithets of Samudragupta, they follow a set formula giving the genealogy, which came to be standardised by the time of Skandagupta such as may be noticed in the Bhitarī pillar inscription of the emperor. The chief interest of these seals, however, centres in the names of the three Gupta monarchs mentioned after Kumāragupta I. Thus we have Purugupta mentioned as his son and successor who was followed by Narasiṁhagupta and the latter, in his turn, was succeeded by Kumāragupta III, whose seals these are. Being better preserved, they help us to correct a few errors in the readings of certain names in the Bhitarī seal.

       In line 5, the name of the wife of Kumāragupta I is certainly Anantadēvī, as has been unanimously read by scholars.