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No. 7.]
DAMODARPUR COPPER-PLATE INSCRIPTIONS.
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from the Dāmodarpur plates, of Budha-gupta's holding imperial sway over North Bengal supplemented by the fact, already known, that he held similar sway, at least till 165 G.E., over Malwi and over Benares, will enable us to revise the theory, bitherto govorally held by scholars, that the Guptas lost their way over the western dominions from the time of Skanda-gupta.
From the varions records in hand we find that Budha-gupta was on the imperial Gupta throne at least during the years from 157 G.E. to 175 G.E. (i.e. from 476-77 A.D. to 494-95 A.D.). In the light of the new documents the most significant expression, "gupta- pipa-rajyabhuktau" (" during the enjoyment of sovereignty by the Gapta kings "), which occurs in some of the grants of the Parivräjaka mahārajas Hastin and his son Samkshobha may now be rightly explained. These two subordinate kings were undoubtedly undor Gupta allegiance and the kingdom of Dabbala, or possibly Dabhala, the older form of Dahala (modern Bundelkhand), which had come down to them by inheritance, together with all the country included in the eighteen forest kingdoms, was governed by them as contemporaries of Budha-gupta, and probably of Bhanu-gupta also, as will be shown below. The Khoh plate of Hastin, dated 163 G.E., must belong to the time of the paramount ruler Badha-gapta. It is not unlikely that the mahārāja Jayanātha of Uchebakalpa, territorially situated near Hastin's kingdom, was also & feudatory chief ander the allegiance of Budha-gupta, although no mention is made in bis inscriptions of the ruling imperial Gupta sovereign. The copper-plate inscriptions of this chief, dated in the year 174, which was taker by the late Dr. Fleet as belonging to the Gupta era, must have belonged to the reign of Budha-gupta. However, it may now be said with certainty that at least till the year 175 G.E. the western provinces of the early Guptas were intact and that they had not yet began to lose their sway and influence over them. It is evident that Badha-gupta's reign was long and flourishing. Commenting on the expression Gupta-nripa-rajya-bhuktau, referred to above, the late Dr. Fleet held the view that the Guptas were still in high power during the fourth quarter of the fifth century A.D. and wrote thus, " this expression is of importance, in showing clearly that the Gupta dynasty and sway were still continuing." It may now be supposed withont doubt that, except during the first few years, the reign of Skanda-gupta was as glorious as that of his predecessors, and the assumptions made by Mr. V. Smith that Skanda-gupta was forced at last to succumb to the repeated attacks of the foreigner" about 470 A.D. and that his death may have " occurred in or about the year 480 A.D." are contradicted by the new discoveries at Sārnāth and Damodarpur. The Gupta empire rather continued to prosper for many years with its accustomed glory under Skanda-gapta's successors, Kamára-gupta II and Budha-gupta (as shown above), if not also under Bhanu-gupta.
It has been mentioned in the summary of the contents of Plate No. 5 that only a part of the raling emperor's name is given, the most important portion before the family surname Gupta being cut off from the plate and lost. From the size of the characters used it appears that the portion of the copper lost from the end of line 1 could not contain more than two letters. The proper name of this emperor, who, like Kumara-gupta I and Budha-gupta in the different plates, is found to have used the imperial titles parama-daivata, parama bhaffaraka, and mahārajadhiraja, will be recovered, it may be hoped, from fatore discoveries aoquainting us with the name of the Gupta ruling in 214 G.E. For the present we have presumed
· Vide Vincent Smith's Early History of India, 3rd Edition, p. 811, and Allan's Indian Coins, Gupta Dynasties, Introduction, p. xlix. Fleet, C. I. I., Vol. III, No. 22.
* Ibid, No. 26. • Ibid, p. 118.
. Ibid, Introduction, pp. 20-21. • Vincent Smith, Early History of India, 3rd Edition, pp. 810-11.
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