Indian Antiquary Vol 17

SR No.: 032509
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 430
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 19 MB

Page 206

192
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JULY, 1888.
In fixing the approximate dates of the kings connected by the French scholars with Balmêr of whose times we have no inscriptions, I in the Jésalmir territory, and this identification go on the assumption that the duration of a has been accepted in Mr. Beal's new transgeneration is about twenty-five years. The gaplation of the Siyuki. As I have stated already between Dadda II. and Dadda III. was probably formerly" following Colonel J. Watson, Pilomilo filled by the reigns of two Jayabhatas and of corresponds exactly to Bhillamåla, one of the old one Dadda between them. The period of names of the modern Bhinmål or Srimals in about 80 years is just long enough for three southern Marvad close to the northern frontier reigns.
of Gujarat. Another work, which was comWith a single exception all the complete posed a few years before Hiuen Tsiang's inscriptions call the princes enumerated above, visit to Gujarat, contains likewise a notice of scions of the Gurjara race; and Khê. I. and this northern kingdom of the Gurjaras. The II. highly extol the greatness and wide extent of astronomer, Brahmagupta, who completed his this family. Na. alone names the Maharaja Siddhanta in Saka-Sativat 550 or 628 A.D., calls Karņa as their ancestor. With respect to this himself Bhillamalakakacharya," the teacher personage it is for the present impossible to say residing in Bhillamalaka,' and is called so by whether the famous hero of the Mahabharata his commentator PrithûdakasvÂmin. He fur. may be meant, or some real historical king. ther states that he wrote under king VyaghraBut the name Gurjara makes it evident that mukha who was 'an ornament of the Chapa this dynasty belonged to the great tribe which race. This family, whose name recurs in the is still found in Northern and Western India | Haddala grant of Dharanivaraha" prince of and after which two provinces, one in the Vadhvân, thus seems to have been the reigning Bombay Presidency and one in the Panjab, house of Bhillamala. It is most probably have been named. The Gurjaras or Gujars identical with the Chậudis, Chávótakas or are at present pretty numerous in the western Châpôtkatas, who from 756 to 941 A.D. held Himalaya, in the Pañjâb and in Eastern Rajpa- Aphilvad and still possess various small districts tâna. In Kachh and Gujarat their number is in northern Gujarat. The Gurjara kingdom much smaller. It would, therefore, seem that of Broach was without a doubt an offshoot of they came into Western India from the north. the larger State in the north; and it may be Their immigration must have taken place in that its rulers, too, belonged to the Chapa early times, about the beginning of our era or family. shortly afterwards. In Western India they The capital of the southern Gurjara State founded, besides the kingdom of Broach, seems to have been always Broach, which another larger state which lay some hundred town has possessed since remote times a very miles further north. Hiuen Tsiang mentions great importance. U. B. and I. are dated from in his travels the kingdom of Kiu-che-lo and a vikshópa, probably a cantonment, situated at its capital Pi-lo-mi-lo. It has been long known the gates of Broach ; while in Khê. I. and II. that the former word corresponds to Gurjara. Nândipuri is named as the place of issue. The But the name of the town has been incorrectly latter name refers, as I have shown formerly,
" Beal, Siyuki, Vol. II. p. 269. Hiuen Tsiang assigns to the northern Gurjara State an extent about double of that given for the kingdom of Broach.
20 ante, Vol. VI. p. 63. 31 Bhillam Ala means etymologically the fold of the Bhil' and SrimAla 'the field of Srl. The latter name must also be ancient, as the Srimáli Brühmaps are called after it. The Jainas narrate various, of course incre- dible, legends, which explain how $rimAla came to be called Bhillamala. Mêrutunga saya that king Bhoja invented the latter name, because the people of Srimala let the poet Maghs die of starvation. According to another authority the town had a different name in each Yugs. It is in India very common for ancient towns to have two or even more namen. Thus Kanauj was called, Kanyakubja, Gadhipura, and Mahodaya.
* See Professor A. Weber, Die Sanskrit und Prakrit Handschriften der Berliner Bibliothek Vol. II. pp. 297, 298. In the first passage the MSS. offers incorrectly
Bhilamacharys; in the second which occurs in the commentary on the Khondakhadyaka, we have Bhillamalavakhch rya, slightly corrupt reading. This latter varia leotio occurs also in other MSS., Bee Weber, Indische Streifon, Vol. III. p. 90, and has given rise to erroneous suppositions regarding Brahmagupta's home. The Gofaráti Joshis still preserve the tradition that Brahmagupta was a native of Bhinmal.
s ante, Vol. XII. p. 190ff. The remark which I have made there that the Chåpes are not named elsewhere, of course requires correction.
3. The forin Chavõtaks, which occur in Dr. Bhagvan. 1Al's grant of the Gujarat Chalukya king Pulakibin of Samrat 490, is the immediate predecessor of the word ChludA. Its Sanskrit original is certainly not Chåpet. kata which probably has been coined in comparatively speaking modern times, in order to explain the difficult Prikrit word, just as the bards of Rbjputana have inveu. ted R lahtrrudha na etymon for R6bod.