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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[DECEMBER, 1888
used in all these records should eventually to be popularly known, in those parts, as the come to be popularly known as the Gupta Valabhi era. era.
And, finally, undeniable instances of the Such dates, again, are those contained in
actual use of an era known as the Valabhi era, the inscriptions of Sivadeva I. and Mana
as late as the thirteenth century A.D., are fardove of Nepal. And, that the first of them
nished by the Verawal inscriptionslå dated in is recorded in the era in question, is shewn by
Valabhi-Samvat 927 and 945. For the details the dates, in the Harsha era, for Amsuvarman,
of the earlier of these two dates, correct results the contemporary of Sivadêva 1.;7 while, with
can be obtained by applying the same slightly the same treatment, the details of the second
anomalous treatment that applies to the date of them work out quite correctly.
in the Kaira grant of Dharasêna IV. of the Such another date is that contained in the year 330. The latter of them, however, goes Morbi grant of Jainka, And the details of far beyond this. Not only does it fix the epoch this, again, work out correctly with the same of the ere approximately, and in accordance treatment.
with Albêrûni's statement, through the conSuch a series of dates, too, is that contained
comitant mention of the equivalent Vikrama in the records of the Valabhi family. And,
and Hijra years; but also the details of it are with a slight modification, due to a change in
such as to prove that the epoch of the era was the scheme of the year, easily explainable, the
exactly when Saka-Samvat 241 had expired, same treatment gives correct results for the date and A.D), 819-20 was current. And it has in the Kaira grant of Dharesêna IV. of this
furnished, in fact, the exact analogy, in accord. family, of the year 330;10 the only one, at pre- ance with which all dates in the Gupta-Valasent, that affords exact details for calculation. bhi era, that follow the true and original Also, these records give us a succession of
northern scheme of its years, have to be twelve generations, commencing with the
tested. Nenápati Bhatarka, and ending with king Siladitya VII., with dates ranging from the year
All this uniform agreement of results 207 to the year 447. For the first six or seven
cannot be attributed to mere coincidence. generations, the members of this family were
But we must take it now, as a settled matter,
that all the dates in question belong to one and only feudatory Sénapatis and Mahdrájas, with. out the authority to establish an era of their
the same era, running from the epoch of A.D. own. And, as a matter of fact, the date of the
319-20. And, irrespective of the question year 207 for the Nahárája Dhruvasêna I., in
whether the era was actually established by the second generation, proves that the era did
the Early Guptas themselves, we must refer not run from the rise to power of his father
the rise of the Early Gupta power to Bhatarka, the founder of the family, but must
somewhere about A.D. 319, instead of have been adopted from some outside source.
placing the period of their supremacy While, on the other hand, the long duration of anterior to that year, and their downfall this family, coupled with the fact that several
in it. of their charters were issued from the city of A few concluding words, however, seem Valabhi itself,12 and all of them belong either necessary as to the exact years of the Christian to that vicinity or to the neighbouring parts of era, which represent respectively the epoch or Gujarat, is amply sufficient to explain why the year 0, and the commencement or first current era used by them should eventually come year, of the Gupta- Valabhi era.
ante, Vol. XV. p. 192 £. | Page 210 f. above. 9 Page 211 ff. above.
10 arte, Vol. XV. p. 142 ff.; and see, more fully, Corp. Inscr. Indic. Vol. III. Introd. pp. 72 f., 93 ff.
"I See the Genealogy, ante, Vol. XV. p. 273.
19.g. the grants of Dhruvasena I., of the year 207 ante, Vol. V. p. 204); of Gubana, of the year 248 (ante, Vol. V. p. 206, and Archæol. Sury. West. Ind. Vol. III.
p. 99); of Dhanasena II., of the year 252 (ante, Vol. VII. p. 68; Vol. VIII. p. 301; Vol. XV. p. 187; and Corp. Inacr. Indic. Vol. III. No. 38, p. 164); of $11Aditya I., of the year 286 (Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. XI. p. 350, and ante, Vol. XIV. p. 327), and of the year 290 (ante, Vol. IX. p-237); of Dhruvasena II., of the year 310 (ante, Vol. IV. p. 12); and of Dharna na IV., of the year 326 (ante, Vol. I. p. 14, and Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc. Vol. X. p. 66).
13 ante, Vol. XVI. pp. 147 ff., 152 ff.
