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JUNE, 1902.)
EARLY OR IMPERIAL GUPTA DYNASTY,
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language of the Bhitari soal, which seems to imply the immediate succession of Para Gupta to his father Komâra Gupta I. Bat, as Dr. Hoernle has pointed out, the name of a king who does not stand in the direct genealogical line is sometimes omitted from a dynastic list which is primarily intended to trace the succession from father, tu son rather than from reign to reign. The best solution of the difficulty apparently is to assume that Skanda Gapta, by reason of being childless, is o-nitted from the genealogy of the Bhitari seal, and that he was succeeded by his brother Para Gapta.
The rare gold coins, of which about fifteen specimens are known, which bear on the reverse the title Sri Prakasaditya, and weigh about 146 grains, like the later coins of Skauda Gupta, and those of Narasimha Gupta, were undoubtedly struck by a member of the Imperial Gupta dynasty, who was nearly contemporary with Skanda Gupta. Unluckily the proper name of the king on the obverse has not yet been read on any specimen. The best preserved erample is on from Hardof in Oudh, from the Rivett-Carnac cabinet, now in the Indian Museum, Calcutta, but even that coin does not clear up the mystery. In the large Bharsar hoard found near Benares in 1851 the thirty-two coins described in detail comprised Samudra Gupta, 6 ; Chandra Gupta II., 10; Kumâra Gupta I , 8; Skanda Gupta, 6; and Prakaśâditya, 2. The rest of the hoard, so far as known, consisted of coins of Chandra Gupta II. The four fully known names in this board are those of Gupta kings in regular succession. The presumption is strong that the fifth name, or title, that of Prakaśaditya, should rank after that of Skanda Gupta, before whom there is no room. It this inference be admitted, the coins of Prakâsâditya must be assigned, as proposed by Dr. Hoernle, to Pura Gapta. No other attribution seems to be possible, for the gold coins of Nara Bâlâditya should certainly be assigned to Narasimha Gupta of the Bhitari seal inscription.
If the Prakabiditya coins are properly assigned to Para Gupta, that king cannot possibly be identical with Skanda Gupta, for the following reason.
The richness of the goll in the Prakasaditya coins hal been noticed many years ago by numismatists, but the significance of this little fact was not intelligible until Cunningham caused chemical analyses, or assays, of the whole Gupta gold series to be made. The tests showed that the Gupta gold coinage from Chandra Gupta I. to, and including, the early years of Skanda Gapta contained about 107 grains of pare gold out of a total weight of 123 grains, the coins being struck to the weight standard of Roman aurei denarii (dinár). Skanda Gupta in his later years struck coins to the suvarna standard of weight, exceeding 140 grains, and so impure that they only contain about 73 grains cach of pure gold. The rich yellow coins of Prakabaditys, weighing 146 grains, contain no less than 1217 grains of pure gold, and are therefore equal in value to the aurei of Augustus (Letronne, 121.94; B. M. 121.136 pure), and superior to any other ancient Indian gold coins. The best Kushan coins have only 112.75 pure out of 123 grains.16 This very surprising fact concerning the Prakaśaditya coinage seems to be best explained by the hypothesis that Pura Gapta, the brother of Skanda Gupta, assumed the title of Prakasaditya, and, after succeeding Skanda Gupta, made a determined effort to restore the purity of the coinage, which had been so grievously debased during the troubles of Skanda Gupta's reign. The reform was of very brief duration, for the coins of Narasimha Gupta, son of Para Gupta, are as debased as the suvarna pieces of Skanda Gupta, and those of Kumara Gupta II. are still worse, containing only 66.5 grains pure out of 150. Skanda Gupta was the first to strike coins of the heavy (suparna) standard. The fact that the coins of Prakaskiditya conform to this standard of weight strongly supports the theory that Pura Gupta succeeded Skanda Gupta.
16 For dinonssion of the coins of PrakMaditys, see Coinage,' pp. 115-117: 'Obaervations,' pp. 125-127. The coins of Narasimha Gupta are described in Coinage,' pp. 113-115; and Observations,' p. 188. The soins of Kumfra Gupta II. (Kramaditya), whioh were in my earlier publications signed to Kamera Gupta I., Aro correctly assigned and described in. Observations,' p. 199. Cunningham's many results will be found in Coin. Med. India, P. 16.
