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THE YEARS OF THE GUPTA ERA.
MAY, 1887.]
of the Gupta-Valabhi era, the scheme of its years, for the purpose of recording dates, was adapted to, and became in all respects identical with, the scheme of the northern Saka year. Only in exceptional cases, at present two in number,-viz. the Kaira grant of Dharasêna IV., mentioned above, and a Verawal inscription of Valabhi Samvat 927, which will be fully exhibited below,-can any deviation from such an arrangement be established.
The Equation of the Epoch.
Our next step, therefore, will be, to see how far the available Gupta-Valabhi dates, computed as northern Saka dates, with Chaitra śukla 1 as the initial day of the year, give satisfactory results; and what uniform equation between the Gupta-Valabhi and Saka eras is established by those results.
The Verawal Inscription of ValabhiSamvat 945.
Of the Gupta-Valabhi dates, which, containing the names of week-days, as well as all the other required details, are available for accurate computation, I will notice first the Verawal inscription of the Chaulukya king Arjunadeva, on a stone in the temple of Harsatadêvi at Verawal, the modern representative of the ancient Sômnâthpitan, in Kathiawaḍ. This date furnishes a specially crucial test, partly because it is a date in a dark fortnight; and partly because, coming from Kathiawad, and belonging to rather a late period, and being mentioned in the same record with a Vikrama year, there was a special chance of finding that its details had been
1 ante, Vol. XI. p. 242, 1. 2ff.
The syllable va, in the original, either is an abbreviation of vadya, whether alone or in composition with paksha or paksh, cr stands for ba, the abbreviation of bahula, similarly either alone or in composition with paksha or pakeh. The corresponding method of denoting the bright fortnight, is by the use of the abbreviation, which represents sukla or suddha, similarly either alone or in composition. The solar day is represented by di, which is the abbreviation of dina, diné, divau, or divisé. These abbreviations, su di and ba di or vu di, are often quoted as if they were real words in themselves (iudi, badi, vadi), meaning respectively the bright fortnight, and the dark fortnight. And Monier Williams, in his Sanskrit Dictionary, giver vidi, as an indeclinable word, meaning 'in the dark half of a month; with the remark that, according to some, it stands for badi, and is a contraction of bahula dina; bat with an intimation of his own opinion that it repreNents vadya But I doubt whether the Hindus themBelves, even when using the abbreviations, look on thum as worde. And it is worth noting that Molesworth and Canily's Marathi Dictionary. which is very comprehen
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confused with, or rather had been subordinated to, the reckoning of the southern Vikrama era, which was, and is, the original national era in Kathiawad and the neighbouring country of Gujarat; it will be seen, however, that this has not happened.
The details of this date" are -Śri-Viśvanâtha-pratibaddha-naujanânâm bôdhakara-sûlaMahammada-samvat 662 tatha śrî-nripa-Vikrama-samvat 1320 tatha śrîmad-Valabhi-sam 945 tatha érî-Simha-sam 151 varshê Ashadha va di 13 Ravâv=ady =êha.... śri-Somanathadêva-pattanê,-"the year 662 of the prophet Mahammada, who is the teacher of the sailors connected with (the temple of) the holy (god) Viśvanitha; so also the year 1320 of the glorious king Vikrama; so also the year 945 of the famous (city of) Valabhi : so also the year 151 of the glorious Simba; in (this) year; the month Ashadha: the dark fortnight; the (solar) day 13; on Sunday; .. to-day; here, in the city of the holy god Somanâtha."
This gives us, for caleulation, VikramaSamvat 1320, and Valabhi-Samvat 945, both current; the month Ashaḍna (June-July); the dark fortnight; the thirteenth solar day of the fortnight, with whatever titki, presumably the thirteenth, fell on it; and Ravivara, or Sunday. And, in order to decide between the three epochs of Gupta-Valabbi-Samvat 0= A.D. 318-19, or 319-20. or 320-21,either of which is possible, so far as M. Reinaud's rendering of Albîranî's statements is concerned,-we have to consider the calculations for the Saka years 1185 and 1187, as well as for Gupta-Valabhi-Samvat 945+ A.D.
sive, does not include these expressions, either as abbreviations, or as words. Even if a modern Hindu. practice of treating these abbreviations as words, should be proved, it is an erroneous practice. By origin the syllables are nothing but distinct and soparate abbrevia tions; of which the first donotes the fortnight, and the second, the day of the mouth or of the fortnight This is the point of view from which they have to be looked at, in dealing with any ancient records. And it is highly desir able that, the modern English practice of using them as words, especially to denoto a tithi or lunar day, should be completely abandoned, as being only productive of mistakes. It will be seen further on that, in this instance, the thirteenth tithi of the dark fortnight of Ashadha fell on the thirteenth solar day. And I am quite sure that a sufficient number of calonlations of different dates, will prove, certainly that the abbreviation di is never used, except when the reference is to the solar day; and probably that it is never used in connection with su and ba or vi, unless the tithi happens to have the same running number with the solar day on which it ends. But I have no leisure, at present, to take this last question up properly.
