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OCTOBER, 1881.]
VALABHE GRANTS.
279
in the genealogy of the Valabhi kings. The silâditya II. Now a forger who had seen grant states (Pl. I, 1. 4) that Guhasena was and not very carefully studied a grant of one the son of Bhat arka. All the other grants of these last four or five princes, where the of Dharasena II expressly assert that Guhasena grantor added deva to his name, would naturally was Bhatarka's grandson and the son of Dhard- transfer the epithet to the prince on whom he patta. Thut this version is the correct one fathered his own production. On a genuine may be gathered from Guhasena's own in- plate it could not be explained, because the scriptions. The only complete one published" Gurjara princes do not adopt it any more than enumerates, after Bhatarka, his three song the earlier Valabhfans. Dharasena I, Droņasimha, and Dhruvasena I, A third ground of suspicion arises out of the but omits "he name of Guhasena's father, cognizance and the inscription on the seal. Dharapatta, while, as far as I was able to The seals of the undoubted Valabhỉ grants make out, the first unpublished plate of his show a bull couchant, placed in the peculiar grant of Samvat 248° contains Dharap atta's attitude of the great stone Nandi at Wala and name. If our grant were genuine, the mis- facing the proper left, as well as the inscription take would be perfectly inexplicable. But if Sri-Bhatárkah. In no case is the animal repreit is a forgery, the solution of the difficulty sented standing and facing the proper right is easily found. For the grants issued by as on the seal of our grant, and in no case do the successors of Dharasena II, from his son we find the name of the grantor instead of that Siladitya I down to Siladitya VI, Dhruvabhata,
of the founder of the dynasty. It would be omit the names of Bhatarka's four sons, and useless to attempt an explanation of the differafter mentioning the founder of the dynasty, ences in the device and the inscription through at once turn to the description of Guhasena, Gurjara influence. For the Gurjara plates show premising the remark that the succession of on their seals nothing but the inscription kings between these two was unbroken and Sri-Samanta-Dadda. The conclusion to be regular. A forger who had no access to & drawn from the peculiarities of the attitude of grant of Guhasena or of Dharasena II, but to the Bull and of the inscription is that the grant one issued by a later king, might easily fall is a forgery, and that the forger was acquainted into the error which we find in our inscription, with the cognizance of the Valabhsans, but was and interpret the phrase regarding the un- unable or neglected to give to the coppersmith broken succession of kings between Bhatárka a proper model. and Guhasena to mean that the latter was the A fourth argument against the genuineness son of the former.
of our plates is furnished by their relation to A second mistake which these plates show, the grants of the Gurjara prince Dadda II. confirmas this suspicion, and indicates that the I have formerly asserted that the chief portion forger derived his knowledge of the Valabhi of this grant is an exact copy of Dadda's Umetâ dynasty from a grant of one of the later Sild- plates of Saka Samvat 400. A more careful dityas. Contrary to the usage of all other examination and comparison of the two docugrants of Dharasena II, that king is in ments shows, however, that there are some our grant twice called Dharagenadeva important discrepancies, and that in some points (P! I, 1. 15; Pl. II, 1. 17). Now the title dera the forged grant is independent, while in others is not found attached to the names of Valabhi it agrees with the Ilío grant of Dadda, which kings before the times of Siladitya II. It actually is dated Saka Samvat 417. In order to enable occurs on all the grants of SilAditya III, the reader to gain an insight into the relation Śladitya IV, Šiladitya V, and SilAditya VI, l of the three grants, I give their corresponding and the first ruler who receives it, is just portions in parallel columns.
Umetá grant Pl. 1, 1. 14. The forged grant Plate 1, 1.15. Ilão grant Pl. 11, 1. 11. कुशली सर्वानेव राभूपतिविषयपति- | कुशली सर्वानेव राष्ट्रपतिविषयपति- कुशली सर्व नव राष्ट्रपतिविषयपतिग्रामकुटायुक्तानियुक्तकाधिकमहत्तरा- | प्रामकूटायुक्तकानियुक्तकाधिकमहत्तरा- | ग्रामकूटयुक्तकानियुक्तकाधिकमहतरा
Ind. Ant. vol. VII, p. 66. Ind. Ant., vol. V, p. 206. 10 I have not seen the grant of S11Aditya II, dated 348.
which is preserved in the Museum of the As. Soc. Bombey, and do not know if deva is used there.
