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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
mean sunrise of the 24th January. Now on the 19th February, A. D. 1220, the day of the date, the full-moon tithi commenced about one hour after mean sunrise, and there can hardly be a doubt that the donation recorded in the copperplate was made on account of the full-moon. But although thus there was apparently every reason to follow the lunar calendar, the writer of the date evidently was induced by the practice of every-day life to give the date in the way in which he has done it.
And this date again leads me to draw attention to the date of the Amgâchhi copper-plate of Vigrahapaladeva III., of which I have given an account, ante, Vol. XXI. pp. 97-101. The grant recorded in that inscription was made on the occasion of a lunar eclipse, i.e., on the full-moon tithi; and the inscription is dated in the 12th or 13th year of Vigrahapaladèva's reign, Chaitradiné 9. We know that the inscription is later than A. D. 1053; and, taking the expression Chaitra-diné 9 to refer to solar time, and comparing the date of the Tipura grant, I would suggest Monday, the 2nd March, A. D. 1086, as equivalent of the date which, perhaps might be considered to satisfy the requirements of the case. Monday, the 2nd March A. D. 1086, was the 9th day of the solar Chaitra; on that day the fullmoon tithi commenced about 5 h. after mean sunrise, and there was a lunar eclipse on that particular full-moon. The eclipse was not visible in India; but we now have several other dates that record invisible eclipses. Should this suggestion be approved of, Vigrahapâladôva III. must be taken to have begun to reign about A. D. 1074.
an
[APRIL, 1893.
2.-Ante, Vol. XVIII. pp. 251-252, I have treated of four dates of the Ashaḍhadi Vikrama years 1534, 1555, [15]83, and 1699; and Vol. XXI. p. 51, I have given two more such dates of the years 1574 and 1581. I can now draw attention to another date, of the Ashâd hâdi year 1713, which is particularly interesting, because it quotes, what we should expect to be the first day of the year, the first day of the bright half of the month Ashâdha. According to the late Dr. Rajendralâl Mitra's Notices, Vol. V. p. 236, a MS. of the Garga-paddhati is dated:
Samvat Ashaḍhadi 1713 Ashadha-måse suklê pakshe pratipach-Chhukravasarė.
This date works out properly only for the Chaitrádi Vikrama year 1713 expired, for which the equivalent of the date is Friday, the 13th June A. D. 1656; and it thus proves distinctly that the Ashadhâdi year really commences with the first day of the bright half of Ashâdha, and not (as has been suggested) with a later day of the same month. For, did the Ashaḍhâdi year commence after the first of the bright half of Ashadha, the year 1713 of the date (for purposes of calculation) would have been the Kárttikadi Vikrama year 1713, and the date would have fallen in A. D. 1657.
Similar to the date of the Amgâchhi plate is the date of the Balasore copper-plate grant of Purushottamadêva, the king of Orissa, published ante, Vol. I. p. 355. According to Mr. Beames, Purushottamadeva ascended the throne in A. D. 1478, and his grant is dated in the fifth year of his reign, on Monday, the 10th day of the month of Mêsha, i. e. Vaisakha, at the time of an eclipse. If the year of the accession of the king is correctly given, the date of the grant can only be Monday, the 7th April A. D. 1483, when there was an invisible eclipse of the sun; but by my calculations that day was the 11th (not the 10th) day of the solar Vaisâkha, the Mêsha-samkranti having taken place 17 h. 49 m. after mean sunrise of the 27th March, A. D. 1483.*
3 Bee ib. p. 99.
4 Monday; the 5th April A. D. 1456, was the 10th of
3. I know only three dates which are expressly referred to the Simha era, and have given them already in my list of Vikrama dates (ante, Vol. XIX. pp. 24, 175, and 180; Nos. 9, 108, and 129), because they are all referred to the Vikrama era as well. About the European equivalents of two of these dates there is no doubt whatever; it is mainly in order to determine the proper equivalent of the third date, that I here put the three dates together.
(1). A copper-plate inscription of the Chaulukya Bhimadêva II. is dated
śri-Vikrama-samvat 1266 varshô sri-Simhasamvat 96 varshe... Margga-sudi 14 Gurau-,
and the equivalent of this date, for Vikrama 1266 expired, is Thursday, the 12th November A. D. 1209. The difference between the Simha year and the Christian year is here 1113; between the Simha year and the expired (Chaitrádi, or Ashadhadi, or Kárttikadi) Vikrama year, 1170.
(2). A Veraval stone inscription of the reign of the Vaghêla Arjunadêva is dated
śri-nripa-Vikrama-sam 1320 ..
the solar Vaisakha, and on that day there also was a solar eclipse.
