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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
veyed by the Sásana to 'one thousand Brahmapas of various schools and families.' For according to the strict laws of the ancient Prakrits Charmanka would become Chammanka, to which the present name comes very near. The identification of the village of Charmânka permits us to infer that the Ilichpur district corresponds with the province (rashtra) of Bhoja kata and that the river Madhu, on which Charmånka lay, is one of the tributaries of the Purna. In the case of the second grant, which was found at Seoni, half way between Nagpur and Jabalpur, I am not in a position to identify on the maps at my disposal any of the villages named. But the document contains an allusion to the Benaganga, (Waingangâ on the maps) which flowing southwards falls into the Paingangâ. It is found in the word which Prinsep's Pandits have read Ernákáryyaratage and have failed to explain. The facsimile gives very plainly Bernákarpparabhage in the portion called Bernákárppara. It is possible that the reading is correct. But as bhága is not often used for a territorial division, I should prefer to change it to bhoga, which like bhukti can denote an Inâmî district or a zilla, and in the Koshas is given as an equivalent of rajya. Kárpparo which is evidently a Taddhita formation derived from karpara, a 'skull,' 'Udumbara tree,' etc. can have various meanings. Perhaps the whole compound might be translated 'in the district on the Bernâ where the Udumbara trees grow. But however this may be, the word Bernâ occurs and can refer only to the Benaganga; (compare also Krishnaverná which is sometimes used for Krishnaveni). Under these circumstances General Cunningham's proposal to fix the boundaries of the kingdom of the Vakatakas approximatively between the Mahâdeva hills on the north, the Godavari on the south, the Ajantâ hills on the west, and the sources of the Mahanadi on the east may be accepted. The Ilichpur grant gives the name of the capital as Pravarapura, evidently called so in honour of one of the two Pravarasenas. General Cunningham' feels certain that the modern Bhandak must have been the ancient capital of the Vakatakas, and seems to be inclined to
[SEPTEMBER, 1883.
derive the former name from the latter. If Bh&ândak is correctly spelt with an initial Bh, it cannot have any etymological connexion with Vakataka. But, in case it could be shown that Bândak is the correct form, or that Bhândak had another more ancient name, the identification might perhaps stand.
Seoni grant, pl. IIIa, 11. 1-2. Archaeological Reports, vol. IX, p. 123.
According to the two land grants, the pedigree of the Vakataka kings is as follows:1. Pravarasena I.
Gautamiputra, married to daughter of the great king Bhavanaga Bhârasiva.
I
2. Rudrasena I.
T
3. Prithivishena.
4. Rudrasena II, married to Prabhâvatigupta, daughter of the great king of kings, Devagupta. I
5. Pravarasen a II.
The whole dynasty belonged to the Vishnu. vridha-gotra. According to Baudhayana's Gotrapravaranirnaya" the Vishnuvṛiddhas are a subdivision of the Bharadvajas, and a Brahmanical family. It does, however, not necessarily follow that the V åk & ta ka s were Brahmanas. For, according to the compilations on gotras, it was the practice of royal families to be affiliated to the Vedic gotra of their domestic chaplain.
As regards the history of the individual princes, we learn regarding Prava rasena I, that he offered a good many Śrauta-sacrifices. The fact that Aévamedhas or horse-sacrifices were among their number, and the title samráj, 'universal king' which he assumes, show conclusively that he was independent, and did not owe allegiance to a paramount power. His reign was probably a long one, as he survived his son. If I am right in assigning the two land grants on epigraphic evidence to the middle of the 5th century A. D., Pravarasena I must have ascended the throne about 300 A. D. For, as Pravarasena II is the fifth descendant of the first king, and twenty-five to twenty-six years are the duration of an Indian generation, the interval between the two Pravarasenas is 125 to 130 years.
Pravarasena's 'son Gautamiputra died, as already stated, before his father. For the
Ibid. p. 124.
Weber, Cat. Berl. MSS. p. 60.
