North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

       Hitherto the name of the son of Kumāragupta I begotten on Anantadēvī was read as Puragupta. But it is now quite clear that it is Purugupta (line 6) as our seals unmistakably show the second syllable of the name to be not ra but ru, the medial u being indicated by a hook attached to the bottom of its proper left. The misreading of the name on the Bhitarī seal was evidently due to the indifferent preservation and defaced surface of the inscription, though a careful examination of its plate published by Smith shows faint traces of the medial u below r.¹

       The name of the wife of Purugupta and the mother of Narasiṁhagupta has been variously read. by scholars. Hoernle (JASB., Vol. LVIII, Part I, pp. 210 pp.) and Fleet (Ind. Ant., Vol. XIX, pp. 224 ff.) who edited the Bhitarī seal inscription by turn, took the reading to be Vatsadēvī, while Hirananda Sastri who examined the present seals held (Ep. Ind., Vol. XXI, p.77, postscript) that the name of Purugupta’s wife (not mother as inadvertently stated by Sastri) was Vainyadēvī. N. P. Chakravarti, however, was the first to read the name correctly, namely, Chandradēvī (AR.ASI., 1934-35, p. 63). This is confirmed by an examination of the seals under notice which show complete agreement of form between the first half of this name, viz., Chandra (line 6) and the identical half of Chandraguptas’ name (lines 2 and 4).

       These is a controversy also regarding the name of the wife of Narasīṁhagupta and mother of Kumāragupta III. Hoernle read it as Śrīmatīdēvī while Fleet maintained that it must be taken as MahālakshmīdēvI, failing which, it might be a lternately Mahādēvī or Mahādēvīdēvī. These, however, have now to be consigned to the li mbo of oblivion in view of the reading Mittradēvī (line 7) furnished by the present seals, as has already been pointed out by Hirananda Sastri and N. P. Chakravarti.

TEXT

Seal A

1 Sa[r]vva-r[ā]j=ōchchh[ē]ttuhs=pṛithivyām=apratirathasya Mahārāja-śrī-Gupta- prapauttrasya Ma[h]ār[ā]ja-śrī-Gha[ṭ]ōtka[cha-p]au[ttrasya Mahā]-
2 rājādhirāja-ś[r]ī-Chandragupta-puttrasya Lichchhavi-dauhittrasya Mahādēvyāṁ Kumāradēvyām=utpannasya Mahārājādhirāja-
3 [śrī-Sa]mudraguptsya puttras=tat-paṛigrihītō Mahādēvyān=Dattadēvyām= utpannas=s[va]yaṁ ch=āpratirathah=Parama[bh]āga-
4 [vatō Ma]hārājādhir[ā]ja-śrī-Chandrag[u]ptas=tasya puttras=[ta]t-p[ā]d[ā] nudh[y]ātō Mahādēvyāṁ Dhruvadēvyām=utpanno Mah[ā]rā-
5 jādhirāja-śrī-Kumāraguptas=ta[s]ya puttras=tat-pādānuddhyātō Mahādēvyām =Anantadēvyām=utpannō Mahā-
6 r[ā]jādhirāja-śrī-Puruguptas=tasya puttras=tat-pādānuddhyāt[ō] Mahādēvyāṁ śrī-Chandradēvyām=utpann[ō] Mahā-
7 rājādhirāja-śrī-Narasiṁhagup[ta]s=tasya puttras=tat-pādānuddhyātō Mahā- dēvyāṁ śrī-[M]ittradē-
8 [vyā]m=u[tpanna]h =Paramabhāgavatō Mahārājādhirāja-śrī-Kumāraguptaḥ

Seal B

1 Sarvva-rāj=ōchchhēttuh=pṛithivyām=apratirathasya Mahārāja-śrī-Gupta-prapau-[ttrasya Mahā]rāja-śrī-Ghaṭōtkacha-pauttrasya Māha-
2 rājādhirāja-śrī-Chandragupta-puttrasya [Li]chchhavi-dauhittrasya Mahādēvyāṁ Kumāradēvyām=utpannasya Mah[ā*]r[ā*]jādhiraja-
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¹ Hoernle says that Cunningham also read this name as Puru from a coin (JASB., Vol. LXIII, pt. I, p. 212).