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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
[Vol. XXVI.
The third important date is that of the Santa-Bommāli plates of Nandavarman, the son of Anantavarman 1. These plates record a grant which was made on the occasion of a solar eclipse in some unspecified month. The plates are dated on Ashādha dina panchami in the [Ganga) year 221. On the analogy of the dates of the aforementioned Pondūru and Indian Museum plates, this date may be taken to be the fifth tithi of the bright fortnight of the amānta Ashādha. From the evidence of the Pondūru plates one would expect that the Gānga year 221 would correspond to the Saka year 640. But there was no solar eclipse in that year, nor even in the preceding year. There was, however, one in the amānta Jyēshtha of Saka 641. The proximity of this eclipse to the date Ashādha su. di. 5 (on which day the grant was recorded) indicates that the equivalent is probably correct. This date shows Gn. 221-8. 641 and therefore Gn. 0=S. 420.
The only way in which we can reconcile the date of the Pondūru plates with those of the Santa-Bommāli and the Indian Museum plates is to suppose that the former date is stated in the current year and the latter two in expired years. Mr. Krishna Rao, who did not notice the possibility of some Gânga dates being in current years and others in expired ones, took the aforementioned date of the Santa-Bommāļi plates as showing that the Gānga and Saka years were not concurrent and that the Gānga year commenced in some month after Jyēshtha. Such a supposition does not appear to be necessary. In fact the aforementioned dates of the Santa-Bommāli and Indian Museum plates show that the Ganga year began in some month before Ashādha su. di. 5 and ended in some month after Māgha. It appears probable therefore that, like the Saka year, the Gānga year also began on amānta Chaitra su. di. 1.
The fourth important date is that of the Chicacole plates of Indravarman III, viz., Chaitra di 15 in the [Ganga) year 128. In the absence of further details this date does not admit of verification, but in lines 10-11 the plates mention a lunar eclipse which occurred in the month of Märgasīrsha. We have seen above that the Gānga and Saka years were probably concurrent. The lunar eclipse must therefore have occurred in Gn. 127. This year, if current, would correspond to S. 546 and, if expired, to $. 547. In both these years there was a lunar eclipse in the month of Mārgasirsha. This date also may therefore be said to corroborate the epoch of the Gānga era fixed above.
The foregoing examination of these four Gānga dates which contain details for verification has shown that the Gānga era began in the expired Saka year 420 (A. D. 498-99), probably on the first tithi of the bright half of the amānta Chaitra. To convert a date of the Gänga era into that of the Saka era we have therefore to add 419 if the Ganga year was current, and 420 if it was expired. Let us now state in a tabular form all the Ganga dates which contain some details for verification to see what was the proportion of current and expired years. It must be remembered in this connection that many Gänga records mention a solar eclipse, but give no particulars about the year and month in which it occurred. In such cases the identification of the corresponding Saka year is likely to be doubtful.
1 J. A. H. R. 8., Vol. II, pp. 185 ff. . Ind. Ant., Vol. XIII, pp. 120 ff.
