Indian Antiquary Vol 41

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

Page 173

JULY, 1912.)
KING LAKSHMANA SENA OF BENGAL
169
ciown in the course of six centuries and the Nirvana era as used by the Baddhists of the 13th century might be a fixed and definite one. He might also have inquired among the modern Buddhista of India whether they still use that era.
We inquired among some Buddhist friends of ours, and they assured us that the Nirvaņa era is illvery widely used in the Buddhist circles, and that the present year 1912 of the Christian era corrasponds to the year 2456 of the Nirvana era. Hence we see that the year 1813 of the Nirvana eta corresponds to 1269 of the Christian era. But we know that the year 1813 of the Nirvana era, the years 51 and 74 of Atita-rajya must be very near to each other, being years in the reign of one and the same king Agokavalla. But Mr. Banerjee has concluded that 51 Atita-rajya is equal to A.D. 1170, which is far removed from 1269. The truth is that the word Alta-rajya was not rightly interpreted by Dr. Kielhorn. It really means-Rájye alite sali-after the reign has been a thing of the past.' The reign of Lakshmana Sena passed away in A.D. 1200. Therefore A. D. 1269=N. E. 1813= 69 Atta-rájya year, which falls conveniently midway between 51 and 74 of the second and third inscriptions.
Here a question may arise. Are the years 51 and 74 years of a distinct era counted from the end of Lakshmana Sena's reign? We should answer in the positive. We can gather from the writings of Minhâj, that Lakshmana Sena was an extremely popular king. As an era was counted irom the year of his birth, so was an era counted from the year of the loss of his kingdom. That e was still very widely used in Vikrampur in the time of Nawab Alivardi Khan. With the a cendency of the English that era had to make room for the Christian era and vanished alto
ther. An old document printed by Jogendranath Gupta in his History of Vikrampur (Bengali, age 511) is dated 1158 Bangala 545 Parganátit. We possess similar oid documents of the time of Nawab Alivardi Khan. They relate to slavery. One of them is dated : 1151 Bangala, 543 Perganálit sam. Another, "1158 Bangald, 550 Pargandlet sum." The present Bengali year 1318 (A.D. 1911) and by calculating with any of these three documents we find that the first year vi the Purgantit era corresponds to A. D. 1200-1. The suffis atita is clear, but how the word l'arganá came to be incorporated into the name can only be conjectured. One thing is, however, certain the valiant sons and grandsons of Lakshmana Sena, who retained their independence is Vikrampur for a century or more after the fall of Lakshmana Sena, did not forget the wrongs of their ancestor ; and the wide popularity of the era is a positive proof that the people of Vikrampur ll not forget their beloved sovereign even many hundred years after his reign became 'a thing of te past.'
Prof. Bhattasali is probably not aware of the paper called Chronology of the Sena Kings of Ungal written by Mr. Nagendranath Vasu and published in the Jour. Beng. As. Soc., Vol. LXV,
16 ff., wherein has already been set forth much of the matter herein giren about the Laksh10.Anasena era. Bat the conclusions drawn by Prof. Bhattasali are different from those of Mr. Vall, who regards A.D. 1119, not as the initial year of the Lakshmana Sena era, but as the year al Ballála Sena's coronation. Mr. Vasn, again, on the authority of the Danasagara, cites Saka 1091 its the date of its composition, whereas Dr. Rajendralal Mitra (Notices of SK. MSS., Vol. I,
r. 151) has assigned it to Saka 1019 on a quite different authority, Can the words sa i-nava-dasa. me, from which the date 1091 is deduced by Mr. Vasu, be read as nava-jasi-dasa-mite which wald exactly bring us to Dr. Mitra's date? - D. R. B.]
Princep has shewn conclusively that the Nirvana era was widely current in India, Burma and Ceylon and tiat it began in 514 B.C. Vide his "Useful Tables," page 164.
It is quite possible that inscriptions dated in the early Atita-rdjya year: 3, 4, 5, 6, etc., may be discovered il future.