________________
May, 1887.)
THE YEARS OF THE GUPTA ERA.
145
intercalary Margasîrsha of this record can be Cunningham, who first bronght this inscrip made to belong to Gapta-Samvat 330, instead tion to notice, read the first symbol in line 24 as of to 329.
10, instead of 20, and overlooked the second The Verawal inscription, however, of the symbol altogether. He thus obtained "Chaitra, Chaulukya king Arjunadeva, dated Valabhi- day 10;" and added the remark this figure Samvat 945, the surroundings and full bearings should be 13, to agree with the written date of which will be explained in detail further given " [in line 2f.] "above."10 There are, on, contains such particulars, in the record of however, distinctly two symbols, meaning 20 its date, as shew that, in it at all events, there and 7; or, together, 27. is no reference to the scheme of the southern This double record is explicable only on the Vikrama year, or even of the southern Saka understanding that, in the arrangement of the year.
months of the Gupta year, the dark fortnight But, apart from any particular instances, stood first, according to the regular Purnimanta which supply proof by means of the circum- northern arrangement. By this means only can stances under which the recorded week-days are the thirteenth tithi, or lunar day, of the bright shewn to be correct, there is, as I have said, fortnight be the 27th solar day of the whole the general fact that we cannot have either a month, southern year coupled with the Parnimânta A double record of precisely the same kind northern arrangement of the fortnights of the is given in the Majhgawâm grant of the Parimonths, or a northern year coupled with the vrajaka Mahúrája Hastin," of Gupta-Samvat Amanta southern arrangement. And, to prove 191, in which we have, in line 2, Maghamasathat the arrangement of the months of the bahula-paksha-tritiyâyâm, "on the third tithi, Gupta-Valabhi year was the regular Parmimanta or lunar day, of the dark fortnight of the northern arrangement, and that, therefore, we month Magha ;" and, in line 21, Magha di cannot be concerned with any southern reckon 3, "Magha, the (solar) day 3." But, the ing at all, I shall now bring forward some number of the solar day in this instance perfectly conclusive evidence, which has been being under sixteen, this record is not in known to me for a long time past, and which I itself sufficient to prove the case, one way have kept back only in order to deal with the or the other. What we require is a double whole case at once.
date, in which the tithi of the fortnight, the The Khôh copper-plate grant of the Pari. number of which cannot exceed fifteen, is vrájaka Mahárdja Saṁkshobha,' of Gupta connected with a solar day, the number of Samvat 209 (A.D. 528-29), is dated " in the which, exceeding sixteen, shews itself to be enjoyment of sovereignty by the Gupta kings; referred to the whole month, and not to the in the Maha-Asvayuja sasivatsara," and, as fortnight. regards other details, in fortunately a double This we have in the grant of the Mahamanner. In line 2f. we have - Chaitramasa- rája Samkshobha. And the record proves suklapaksha-trayôdaśyam (where, in apposition absolutely that, in the arrangement of the fortwith trayôdatyám, we have to supply tithau), nights of the months of the Gupta year, it is "on the thirteenth tithi, or lunar day, of the the Purnimanta northern system that is conbright fortnight of the month Chaitra." And cerned ; and, consequently, that the general at the end, in line 24, in numerical symbols, scheme of the years of the era was not that of this date is repeated as - Chaitra di 20 7 any southern year at all. (where the abbreviation di stands for dina, At present, the Verawal inscription of diné, divasa, or divasé) --"(the month) Arjanadeva, dated Valabhi-Samvat 945, is the Chaitra; tbe (solar) day 20 (and) 7."
only instance in which the equation of the The point that is proved by this double Gapta-Valabhl era and another era is accomrecord has hitherto been missed; because Gen. panied by the full details of a month, fortnight,
Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Vol. III. p. 112ff. the twenty-seventh solar day in the month, I now . In my printed version of this inseription, the second substitute 7 for 9. numerical symbol is given as 9, with a note (id. p. 112, 10 Archaol. Surv. Ind. Vol. IX. p. 16. cote 4) that it might possibly be 7, 8, or 9. Mr. Sh. B.
1 Corp. Inscr. Indic. Vol. III. No. 28, p. 10617. Dikshit having found by calculation that this tithi was
