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SOLANKI PERIOD
(iv) A Girnar image inscription is dated Sam. 5835. The name of the era is not specified here. But the year is referred to the Simha era and the date is equated to the 13th March, 1172 A.C. which fell in the V.S. 122836. The main basis for assuming that the year 58 refers to the Simha era seems to be that the practice of omitting the figures for the centuries during this period was not known to Kielhorn and others.
335
But as shown above, the practice of omitting figures of hundreds was already in vogue during this period. Moreover, the dates given in the Simha era in all other records are specifically referred to that era therein. and the year of the Simha era is invariably mentioned along with the Vikrama or Valabhi era in all those records. The consideration of these two factors in this date strongly goes against the assumption for referring the date to the Simha era.
The use of the Simha era is found to have been confined to Sorath (Junagadh District) and the Girnar record belongs to that region. But for the non-specification of the Simha era the date could have been referred to that era. The week-day given in the date also tallies with the lunar day.
Nevertheless the non-specification of the Simha era goes in favour of referring the year 58 to the Vikrama era by taking the figures of hundreds omitted. However, unless and until Pancaṇacanda, whose image bears this inscription, can be identified, it is hardly possible to 35 Bhandarkar's List, No. 1462; RLARBP., p, 357 36. Kielhorn, op cit., p. 109
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