Indian Antiquary Vol 40

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 31

JANUARY, 1911.) FOREIGN ELEMENTS IN THE HINDU POPULATION.
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Like the Padibârs, the Solaikis are also regarded as an agnikula, i. e., fire sprung tribo. The remaining two are the Chahampas and the Paramaras. This legend about the agnikula is first narrated in the Prithordja-rdad, a work of doubt!al authenticity. So far as the inscriptions go, it is only the Paramaras who can claim to be an Agnikula. Wherever in their records an account of their origin is given, there their progenitor is invariably represented as having arisen from the agnikurda or fire-altar of Vasishtha on Mount Abů. But not a single epigraphic record has been found of the Pratibara, Chalukya or Chûhamana family, in which their origin from the fire-altar is even so much as biuted at.
I have just shown that the Pratihîras and Chaalukyas were of the Gujar race. We do not know to what stock the Faramaras belonged, though it is morally certain that they were of foreign extraction, Evidence can, however, I believe, be adduced in support of the foreign origin of the Chûbamânas. "There are found in North-Western India coins of Sussanian type and fabrio bearing inscriptions in Nagari, Sazsanian, Pahlavi, and an alphabet, bitherto unread, which is probably a development of the modified form of the Greek alphabet used by the Scytho-Sassanians. These bare been sometimes attributed to the later Hūņas, but apparently without sufficient reason. They were almost certainly strack by some Sassanian dynasty or dynasties-as is shown by the style of the coins and by the use of Sassanian Pahlavi-ruling over Sind and Multan, which the earliest Arab geographers include in the kingdom of Sind. It may be noticed that the region had at other periods been in the hands of the Persian conquerors. For one of these issues, which has the name Sri-Vasudeva only in Nagari characters and all the remaining portion of its legende is Sassanian Pablavi, an approximate date is fixed by its very near resemblance to a coinage issued by Khasru II. Parviz in the thirty-seventh year of his reign=627 A.D.". The above passage has been extracted from Professor Rapson's Indian Coings. The Nigart legend referred to by him consists of two parts, one Sri-Vahmana to right and the other Vasudeva to lefto. There is another type of this king's coins, the legends on which are important. On the obverse the legend is in the Sassanian Pahlavi, and reads Saf Varsu Ter-8Vasudeva in the inner circle to right, and, on the margin, Saf Varsu Tef-Wahman X Multán Malkol, meaning Sri-Vasudeva Vahmana, king of Multan. On the reverse we have Sri-Vasudeva in Nagart characters and the Pahlavi legend, Tukdn Záulastan Sapardalakshån= Takka, Zabulistan and Sapadalakshao.
Now, who was this Vasudeva Vahmans, reigning at Maltan over India, Zabulistân, and Espadalaksha? The word Vahmana is commonly taken to be equivalent to Bahmana, and Vasudeva is consequently supposed to have reigned at Bahman wasi= Brab mayabad in Sindsa. But Vahmann does not here stand as the name of a city or province. We have just seen that on one type of Vasudeva's coins, we have simply Sri-Vahmana and Vasudeva. Hero Sri is prefixed to Vahmana, but never to Tukan, Zâulistân or Sapardalakshân. Again, there is no Bach word as malkd here to denote that Vasudeva was the ruler of Vahmana. It is, therefore, natural to conclude that Vahmana mast here be the name of the family or tribe to which Vasudeva belonged. And this name we easily obtain by reading the word as Chabmana or Châbmâna, and not Vahmana. The letters and ch in old days were so close to each other that one might easily bo mistaken for the other. In fact, the first letter of the name has actually been read ch by Cunningham, though he is, of course, wrong in reading the next two letters as ngára or ndarah. There can, therefore, be no doubt as to Chahmana being the correct reading. Chahmana, it need scarcely be said, stands for Chabamans; and what the legend on the coin means to say is that Vasudeva was a Chahamana. Now, it is worthy of note that the work entitled Prithvirdja-vijaya says that the first prince of the Châhamana family was Vasudeva, who obtained the gift of the salt-lake, which he placed under the protection of the PRO. 3 109. 90 N. Chron. for 1894, p. 200.
Ibid. pp. 332-3. See note 17 on Dare 20. ► N. Chron. for 1894, p. 268 ; Indian Coins, by Rapson, p. 80, $ 109.
* N. Chron, for 1944 p. 290,