Indian Antiquary Vol 42

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

Page 259

SEPTEMBER, 1913.)
INDIAN INSCRIPTIONS AND THE KAVYA
247
He would certainly have lent his ear and opened his purse to bards and karis who would glorify him. These considerations appear to me to be of importance for the statements in the Girnir praksti and heighten their significance.
A second proposition which Professor Max Müller in addition to other scholars advocates, that the real period of the bloom of artificial poetry is to be placed in the middle of the sixth century after Christ,-is contradicted by the testimony of the Allahabad prasasti of Harishena, of other compositions of the Gupta period and of the Mandasor prasasti. These leave no doubt about the fact that there were not one but several such periods of the bloom of the Kavya, of which one fell before the time of Samudragupta, and they also innke it probable that Kalidasa wrote before 472 A. D. The same conclusion is favored by the fact that Dr. Fergusson's bold chronological combinations, on which is based the theory of the Indian Renaissance in the sixth century, bave been shown to be insupportable by the researches of Mr. (Dr.) Fleet. The authentic documents going down to the year 588 A. D. know absolutely nothing about the Vikrainaditya of Ujjain whose existence is inferred or get up by new interpretations of the different legends, and who is reported to bave driven away the Soyibians from India and to have founded the Vikrama era in the year 544 A. D., dating it as far backwards as 600 years. On the contrary, they prove the following facts concerning western India. Samudragupta-Parakramauka, according to Mr. (Dr.) Fleet's inscription No. II., had extended the kingdom of his father, at any rate as far as Erê in the Central Provinces. His son Chaudragupta II.-Vikramaditya, according to No. III., conquered Malwa, before or in the year 400 and also possessed Mathura. Chandragupta's son, Kumâragupta. Mahendraditya, held fast these possessions, because, according to No. xvUl., he was the suzerain of the rulers of Daśapura-Mandasor, in the year 437. His son, Skandagupta-Kramaditya or Vikramaditya, according to No. XIV., ruled over Gujarat and Kathiâwâr, about 455-457 or 456-458. In his time, the Hûņas came forth, against whom he made a successful stand, according to No. XIII Later on, however, whether it was in his own reign which lasted at least till the year 467 or 468, or under his successors Paragupta ani Narasimhagupia,89 the most western possessions were lost and went over to the foreign race. In No. XXXVI. and XXXVII. there appear the kings, Toramâņa and Mihirakula80 as rulers of Erâị and Gwalior, and in No. XXXVII., the latter is said to have reigned for fifteen years. The end of the rule of Mihirakula in these districts, is made known to us through Nos. XXXIII, XXXIV and XXXV, according to which, he w48 defeated by a king Yasodharman-Vishņuvardhana, before the year 533 A. D. These inscriptions represent Yasodharman as a very powerful ruler who had brought under his sway not only Western India from Dašapura-Mandasor down to the ocean, but also large parts in the east and north. In his possessions, Mâlwa was naturaily included, whose capital Ujjain lies only something like 70 English miles to the south oi Daśapura. In No. XXXV., and in two considerably early inscriptions Nos. XVII. and XVIII, the Malava era is used, which is identical with the so-called Vikrama era beginning with 56/57 B. 0:0 These exceedingly important discoveries which we owe to Mr. Fleet's zeal in collecting and his ingenuity, prove the absolute antenableness of the Fergussonian hypothesis. Because they shew-(1) that the era of 50157 B. C. was not founded in the sixth century, but was in use under the name of the Malava ela for more than a century;øl (2) that at that time, no Sakas could have been driven from western India, inasmuch as the country had been conquered by the Guptas more than a hundred years ago; (3) that, on the contrary, other foreign conquerors, the Hùņas, were driven ou_92 of western India in the first half of the sixth century, not, however, by a Vikramaditya, but by Yasodharman-Visbipuvardbana, and (1) that, therefore, there is no room at all in the sixth century, for powerful Vikramaditya of Ujjain, whose exploits called forth a national upheaval in India,
** See Dr. Hoernle, Jour. Beng. As. Soc. Vol. LVIII, p. 89, and Mr. Fleet, Ante, Vol. XIX. p. 224.
19 See also Mr. Fleet's article on Mihirakula, Ante. Vol. XV., p. 245 f. and on Toramana, ibid. Vol. XVIII. p. 225. With Dr. Hoernle (. . p. 93, Note 2) I
Vith Dr. Hoernle (L. c. p. 93, Note 3) I hold that Vishnuvardhana is a second name of Yaiodharman, as is shown by the grammatical construction.
" See also Ante. Vol. XV. p. 19. ff. and Vol. XIX, p. 56, in which letter place, Prof. Kielhorn has given the right explanation of the difficult expression Alavand or Málara-ganasthiti.
As is quite clear, the MAlava ere has suffered the same fate as the Baku era and came to be known by other zame, as its origin was forgotten. The ohange of name appears to have wwe in about 800 AD The latest known Málava date is the year 795, which appears in the Kaņaswa insoription, Ants. Vol. XIX, p. 55 ff. Apart froin the two doubtful documents, the oldest known Vikrams date is found in Dr. Haltaoh's Dholpur inscription, #nd corresponds to 16, April 842, as Prof. Kielhorn has shown, Aste Vol. XIX, p. 35.
If it occurs to any one to conjecture that the Hapas had caused on interruption in the literary activity of India, I bring to his notion the fact that both the inscriptions of the age of Toramana and Mibirakula contain mo mean gomposition and that their authors glorify the foreign kings as highly as if they had been the national Talers.