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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[DECEMBER, 1884.
group, Narendradeva's descent is not ruled. This result will perhaps appear susclearly described, but the last two kings are picious to those who consider the Vikrama said to be his lineal descendants. Thus it era with distrust, and take it to be an invention appears that, even if we allow two breaks in of the sixth century A.D. But, though it is the lineal descent to have occurred, by far the perfectly true that hitherto no early inscriptions, greater number of reigns represent genera- which are clearly dated in the Vikrama ora, tions. Assuming now that the aecount of the have been found, the proof that it is not a inscription No. 15 is more trustworthy than genuine' era, has, by no means, been furthat of the Varisávalí, we have yet to cram seven- nished. It seems, therefore, safer to assume teen generations and the reigns of two kings that we have in the Nepalese inscriptions who may have been collaterals into 290 years, to deal with a known era, than to take our It will be evident to everybody who has paid refuge in the only other possible supposiattention to the calculation of the average tion that the Lichchhavi kinge reckoned lengths of generations in the Indian dynasties according to a peculiar hitherto unknown that this is impossible. The lowest figures re- era. If that were the case, it would, of course, quired for seventeen generations is 350 years, as be impossible to fix Mândeva's and the average in no known case sinks below 21 years; Vasantas en a's dates with any accuracy. mostly it varies between 24 and 27 for & The only reign which now remains to be generation. Under these circumstances, it is determined is that of Jay a d & va I, whom we not doubtful that the attempt to refer Måna identified above with Jaya varman, the third dê va's and Vasanta sena's dates to the Suryavamál king of the Varsávali. According to Saka era must be abandoned, and that we inscription No. 15, eleven unnamed kingsreigned have to look for them to an era which begins between him and Vpishadê va. If we add earlier. If that is the case, there is only one the reigns of the latter and of his son and known era, the 80-called Vikramasam vat grandson, Sankaradeva and Dharma. of 57 B.C. which will suit. Referred to the dê va, his accesion to the throne is separated Viļrama era, Månad êva's dates are equi- from Mâna de va, 329 A.D. by fifteen reigns. valent to 329 and 356 A.D. and the interval Supposing that these kings, as the Vashiávali between his first inscription and Jayadeva's (which, however, has three more) asserts of all No. 15 amounts to 430 years, which sum being the Lichchhavis, followed each other in the distributed among nineteen kings gives twenty- direct line of descent, we might allot to them two years and about three-quarters for each. about 330 years (15 X 22). The beginning of Similarly the interval between Vasanta- Jayade va's reign, and with it probably the Bên a's date, which now represents 378 A.D., conquest of Nepål by the Lichchha vis, and the first inscription of Sivadê va II, 725 would thus fall about the commencement of the A.D., amounts to 347, and the average for each Christian era. of the sixteen intervening reigns is a little The results of this discussion are shown more than 21 years. These figures are perfectly in the accompanying table, which exhibits acceptable, especially if it is borne in mind that also once more the lists of the Suryavansis Udaya deva and Narendradeva proba- according to the Varikávali. A comparison bly were not lineal descendants of their prede- of its contents with the results gained from cessors. The palæographical evidence likewise the inscriptions will show how very closely confirms this arrangement. The characters of the two resemble each other, especially in Månadeva's inscriptions fully resemble the earlier portion. It is, therefore, evident those of the Gupta inscriptions, especially of that the anthor of the Vastavalt must have had Skandagupta's pillar-edicts. As it is historical documents to go on. Hence it benow pretty certain that the Gupta era begins comes not improbable that the greater part about the end of the second century A.D., of the names which he gives may be corprobably as Sir E. Bayley maintained, in 190 rect. This is all the information deducible A.D., this prince lived in the fourth century"; from our inscriptions for the earlier history of exactly during the time when Mana dê va Nepal. The results which Nos. 17-23 furnish
* His dates fall between Guptasamvat 137-149.
