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JUNE, 1902]
EARLY OR IMPERIAL GUPTA DYNASTY.
G. E. 93, and not later than G. E. 96. I have assumed G. E. 94, A. D. 413, as the date of his accession. His reign closed at some time in the year G. E. 136, A. D. 455, which is the date of his latest coins and also of the earliest inscription of his son and successor, Skanda Gupta,
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But at this point a difficulty similar to that in the case of Kâcha confronts the historian. The genealogical inscriptions on stone all end no later than Skanda Gupta's reign, and give the succession both of reigns and generations as (1) Gupta, (2) Ghatotkacha, (8) Chandra Gupta I., (4) Samudra Gupta, (5) Chandra Gupta II., (6) Kumara Gupta I., (7) Skanda Gupta.
But the Bhitari seal carries on the genealogy two generations further in the persons of Narasimha Gupta and Kumara Gupta II., while substituting Pura Gupta for Skanda Gupta.13 The question therefore arises, as in the case of Kâcha and Samudra Gupta, whether Pura Gupta is to be regarded as identical with Skanda Gupta or as a rival brother. The further questions may also be raised whether, if Pura Gupta were a distinct person, he preceded, followed, or was contemporaneous with Skanda Gupta. The case, although at first sight similar, differs materially from that of Kacha and Samudra Gupta. The name of Kâcha is known only from a few coins, and nothing except the legends on those coins is on record concerning him to prove or disprove his separate existence. On the other hand, we know concerning Para Gupta that he was a legitimate son of Kumara Gupta I., whom he succeeded at least in the eastern provinces, that his mother was Queen Ananta Dêvi, that his wife was Queen Sri Vatsa Dêvi, and that his son and successor was Narasimha Gupta.
The long inscription on the Bhitari pillar, which unfortunately is not dated, makes pointed allusion to Skanda Gupta's mother, while it strangely abstains from mentioning her name.14
The Bihar inscription (Fleet, No. 12), which gives the usual genealogy, and names the queens of Chandra Gupta I., Samudra Gupta, and Chandra Gupta II., omits the name of the consort of Kumara Gupta I., the mother of Skanda Gupta, but the imperfection of the record leaves it doubtful whether or not the name originally stood in the inscription,
15 An Inscribed Seal of Kumira Gupta II.,' by V. A. Smith and Dr. Hoernle (J. A. S. B., Vol. LVIII., Part I., 1889). The seal, which is composed of an alloy of copper and silver, was dug up in the foundatious of a house at Bhitar! in the Ghazipur District, where the celebrated pillar with Skanda Gupta's inscription stands.
Dr. Hoerale's section of the paper cited discusses with much elaboration the historical results deducible from the seal inscription. I am now fully satisfied that the name of the king who is substituted for Skanda Gupta has been correctly read as Pura Gupta. The readings Puru and Sthira proposed by Cunningham and Bubler, respectively, aré erroneous. The letters Pu-ra on the seal are quite plain. (See Dr. Hoernle's 'Note' appended to my paper entitled 'Further Observations on the History and Coinage of the Gupta period,' in J. A. S. B., Vol. LXIII. (1894), Part I., p. 210.)
14 (Line 5):-"The glorious Kumaragupta, who meditated on his [scil. Chandra Gupta II.] feet, and who was begotten on the Mahadevt Dhruvadevi.
(Line 6): The son of him, the king, who was renowned for the innate power of (his) mighty intellect (and) whose fame was great, is this (present) king, by name Skanda Gupta, who possesses great glory; who subsisted (like a bee) on the wide-spreading waterlilies which were the feet of (his) father who is the most eminent bero in the lineage of the Guptas.
(Line 10):-By whom, when he prepared himself to restore the fallen fortunes of (his) family, a whole night was spent on a couch that was the bare earth; and then having conquered the Pushyamitras, who had developed great power and wealth, he placed (his) left foot on a foot-stool which was the king (of that tribe himself)
(Line 12):- Who, when (his) father had attained the skies, conquered his enemies by the strength of (his) arm, and established again the ruined fortunes of (his) lineage; and then orying the victory has been achieved,' betook himself to (his) mother, whose eyer were full of tears from joy, just as Krishna, when he had slain his enemies, betook himself to his mother Devak!;
(Line 14): Who, with his own armies, established (again his) lineage that had been made to totter. (Line 15) joined in close conflict with the Hapas
(Line 18):- has allotted this village (to the idol), in order to increase the religions merit of his father." (Fleet, p. 55.)
Note the early reference to the (Puranic f) legend of Krishna and Devaki. The inscription records the dedication and endowment of an image of Vishnu ander the name of Baringin. Cunningham found numerous bricks inscribed with the name of 'Sri Kumara Gupta at Bhitar!, which was evidently a royal residence in the time of Skanda Gupta and his father.
