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August, 1913.)
KING CHANDRA OF THE PILLAR INSCRIPTION
219
Mr. Vincent Smith may say that as it is not probable that a Maharaja of Pokarns should invade distant Bengal, there must have been some Pushkara or Pushkarana in Bengal or Assam. But then the burden of proving lies on him. Pashkarna is a well-known place. The Susunia inscription agrees in character with the Mandabor inscription of A. D. 404. The compound letter m and h are exactly alike in both. They are records within a few decades of each other. So unless the contrary is clearly shown, people have a right to believe that a Mabârâjâ of Pokarna did invade Bengal. It may be argued that while Ohandragupta I. and Samudragupta were powerful monarchs and were extending their dominions on all sides from the capital at Pâtaliputra : how could a king, however powerful, of Pokarna, conquer Bengal? But the Susuniâ inscription says that Chandravarman of Pokarna did conquer that part of the country and erect the wheel there; Bo in spite of Chandragupta and Samudragupta he did come there and conquer.
This may be possible only if it is considered that Chandravarman came to Bengal before the victorious career of Samudragupta began. In fact, Samudragata, in establishing his dominions in Aryavarta, bad to conquer Chandravarman. In ancient India and even in modern India powerful kings often had dominions distant from their home provinces. Daryodhana had Anga as one of his provinces, though in the intermediate space there were other independent sovereigns. The feudatory states of the present day often have possessions detached from their main possession. Shivaji bad Tanjore far away from Poona. Similarly Chandravarmuan might have possessions in Bengal.
It is much easier to believe that a Mahârâjâ of Pokarna would invade or lead an army to Balkh than to think that a Mahârâjâ of Paçaliputra would invade that country. The distance between Pataliputra and Balkb is certainly much greater than the distance between Pokarņa and Balkh or Pokarņa and Bengal.
The argument from paleography, though very powerful when centuries are concerned, is of very little force for shorter periods. That the iron pillar insoription is written in eastern yariety of Gupta character does not show that the inscription necessarily belongs to a Gupta emperor. The man who inscribed the inscription may have known only the eastern variety of character. The last argument of Mr. Vincent Smith is now given in his own words. :
“When to all these arguments is added this, that it is impossible to indicate any other sovereign of the period to whom the language could be applied the conclusion is inevitable that the Chandra who set up the iron pillar was beyond doubt Chandragupta II."
The inevitable conclusion depends upon one assumption that it is impossible to indicate any other sovereign, But, with Simbavarman close by at Pokarņa, having complete mastery of western India including western and even central Malwa, where is the impossibility of indicating another sovereign ?
Mr. Smith admits that the wording of the iron pillar inscription departs widely from the ordinary formula of the Gupta inscriptions, and yet he is convinced that the mysterious emperor can be no other than Chandragupta II. But others are not so convinced, and the probability of the mysterious emperor being Ohandravarman is now all the greater for the new reading of Pushkaråņa for Puskara in the Susuniâ record and the discovery of the new Mandasor inscription of 404 A.D.
The Sisania insoription has the figure of a wheel before it. The wheel is pretty large and is complete with apokon, Dave and rim. The insoription is meant to record the dedioation of the wheel to Vishpu. The iron pillar inseription recorda tho dedioation of a flagstaff to Vishnd. Both these are likely to be the work of one devoted follower of Vinbna. This is another argument in favour of the Candra of iron-pillar being Candra Varma. Because the wheel and flagstaff are both sacred to Vishna and one who areots wheel is likely to orect flagstaf leo. I think the same donor dodion ted other rigas also sacred to Vishnu and some of them may yot be discoverd.
