South Indian Inscriptions

EPIGRAPHIA INDICA

from a clay seal^[1] of his mother Mahādēvī Dhruvasvāminī (better known as Dhruvadēvī), found in the excavations at Basarh (Vaiśālī). From this seal^[2]as well as from some other official seals found along with it, it would appear that Gōvindagupta was perhaps the eldest^[3] son of Chandragupta II and was the Governor of the District Tīrabhukti with its capital at Vaiśālī (Basarh), in his capacity as the Yuvarāja (heir-apparent), during a part of the reign of his father. In the seal of Dhruvasvāminī, Gōvindagupta is styled Mahārāja which according to Mr. Allan^[4] probably means no more than prince. But verse 4 of the present inscription, which describes Gōvindagupta as a (paramount) sovereign to whose feet homage was paid by feudatory princes, further shows that he must have occupied the imperial throne afterwards,even though it might have been for a short time. No conclusive evidence has become available so far to show as to when exactly he ruled as emperor. Our inscription concludes the Gupta genealogy with his name, but does not state whether he was the contemporary ruling emperor. It tells us that Dattabhaṭa, whose charities are recorded in the inscription, was the son of Vāyurakshita who was the General of Emperor Gōvindagupta. Gōvindagupta’s reign may thus have preceded the date of our inscription by two generations. This would support Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar’s view that Gōvindagupta probably ruled as emperor between (his father) Chandragupta II and (his younger brother) Kumāragupta I. His reign can not have exceeded three years─the interval between the last known date of Chandragupta II (G. E. 93) and the earliest known date of Kumāragupta I (G.E. 96). That Gōvindagupta must have ruled as emperor for a very short period is also evident from the fact that he has left no coins. Being a collateral, Gōvindagupta does not appear in the genealogy of the inscriptions of Kumāragupta and his successors.

According to the Gupta chronology generally accepted, the year in which our inscription is dated (M. E. 524 = A. D. 467-68) is the closing year of the reign of Skandagupta and the opening year of that of Purugupta. At this time the disintegration of the Gupta Empire had already set in, in consequence of the invasions by the Hūṇas ; but verse 3 of the inscription states that the earth (meaning Malwa and other western provinces of the Gupta Empire) which had been subjugated by Chandragupta II was still under the sway of the Guptas. This being so, the reason why our inscription did not continue the Gupta chronology down to the contemporary Gupta Emperor requires an explanation. A possible explanation is that Dattabhaṭa, the donor of the inscription, who was a son of a devoted servant of Gōvindagupta, did not like to refer to the names of his (i.e., Gōvindagupta’s) collaterals. Or else, the two Gupta Emperors, Chandragupta and Gōvindagupta, were casually mentioned simply to introduce Vāyurakshita, the father of Dattabhaṭa, and that there was no intention to record the full genealogy of the Gupta dynasty. This would explain the omission of the names of the predecessors of Chandragupta II and also of the successors of Gōvindagupta,

So much about Gōvindagupta and the Gupta dynasty. Another person of historical interest referred to in our inscription is Prabhākara, the master of Dattabhaṭa. He is not known from any other source. In our inscription he is described as a king (bhūmipati) and a destroyer of the enemies of the Gupta dynasty (verse 10). The name of his capital or territory, however, is not mentioned. Probably he was the contemporary local chief of Daśapura and feudatory ally of the Guptas in their struggle against the Hūṇas.^[5] It is rather strange that Dattabhaṭa should not have included in the inscription the genealogy of his master. It is just possible that Prabhākara was a self-made

patthyaṁ l. 10 and vikkhyāpakē l. 11. Here the first aspirants are likewise changed to their corresponding surds. In places, a final m, instead of being turned to anusvāra, is changed to the nasal of the class the following consonant belongs to as in –ādiṅ=guṇa- l. ^[6], svēshām= balānāṁ l. 8 and śītalañ=cha l. 10. In –vaṅśa- l. 11, anusvāra is wrongly represented by ṅ. The sign of jihvāmūlīya occurs in –duhkha- l. 1.

The object of the inscription is to record the construction of a stūpa, a kūpa (well), a prapā (charitable water-stall), and an ārāma (garden or monastery) by Dattabhaṭa, the Commander of the forces King Prabhākara. Dattabhaṭa was a son of Vāyurakshita who was the General of the armies of Gōvindagupta, a son of the Gupta Emperor Chandragupta II. The year of the date is specified in words as 524 (expired) of Mālava Saṁvat (literally the era which proclaims the fame of the race of the Mālavas), the season of the year (viz., the spring) is expressed by a poetic description, while the month and day are not mentioned at all. The Mālava year 524 (expired) corresponds to A. D. 467-68. There is no reference to any place name.

The inscription opens with the auspicious word siddham. Verse 1 is a maṅgalācharaṇa expressing adoration to Sugata (the Buddha). Verse 2 introduces King Chandragupta who is eulogised as the moon in the sky of the Gupta dynasty. He forcibly deprived kings of their lordship over the earth which he bound over with the ties of his own family from which “ it is not liberated yet” (verse 3). He had a son having the noble appellation Gövindagupta (verse 4). While kings deprived of their prowess, touched his (Gōvindagupta’s) feet with their heads (in token of submission), even the lord of gods (Indra) was filled with fear and anxiety for the safety of his own throne (verse 5). Gōvindagupta had a General (sēnāpati) named Vāyurakshita who possessed many good qualities (verses 6-7). The latter’s son, by a northern princess, was Dattabhaṭa who like his father was an abode of fame and virtues and who resembled Kubēra in munificence, Bṛihaspati in intellect, Smara in the art of love, and Yama in fight or destruction (verses 8-9). King Prabhākara, who was a menace to the enemies of the Guptas, appointed him as the Commander-in-chief of his armies (verse 10). As an humble mark of his desire to requite the obligations of his parents, Dattabhaṭa excavated a well and constructed a stūpa, a prapā and an ārāma (verse 11). Verse 13 specifies the date of the inscription in the words ‘ when five hundred, and eight multiplied by three, autumns proclaiming the spotless fame of the Mālava race had expired’. Verses 14 and 15 contain a poetic description of the spring, implying thereby that the works were accomplished in that season of the year. Verse 18 states that the objects referred to in verse 11 were situated within the limits of Lōkōttara-Vihāra which was possibly the proper name of some local Buddhist monastery probably named after the Lōkōttaravādin sect of the Hīnayāna form of Buddhism. The Buddhist institutions alluded to in this inscription were evidently situated at or in the neighbourhood of Mandasor where the inscription was found, although no place name is mentioned in the record. The sculptures and inscriptions (5th and 6th centuries A. D.) found at Mandsor (Daśapura) so far are all Brahmanical. Our inscription is thus the first Buddhist record hailing from Mandsor.

The inscription does not refer itself to the reign of any king. In the genealogical portion two scions of the Gupta dynasty are eulogised, namely Chandragupta and his son Gōvindagupta. These are obviously none other than Chandragupta II of the Imperial Gupta dynasty and his son Gōvindagupta.

Chandragupta had been dead long before the date of our inscription. Though our inscription is the only stone inscription so far known, which mentions Gōvindagupta, he is already known

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^[1]A. R. A. S. I. for 1903-04, pp. 102 and 107.
^[2]Ind. Ant., Vol. XLI (1912), p. 3.
^[3] Dr. Bloch (A.R.A.S.I. for 1903-04, p. 102) and Allan (Cat. of Gupta Coins, Introduction p.cxxvi, genealogical table), however, take him to be a younger son.
^[4]Cat. of Gupta Coins,Introduction p. xi.
^[5] We know that the Hūṇas were threatening to invade the western portion of the Gupta Empire about this time.