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About 375 A.D. Chandra Gupta II ascended the throne of Ayodhya, where the seat of governmont had been removed by his father from Pataliputra, though the latter was still regarded as the official capital. Chandra Gupta (Vikramaditya) conquered the Saka king Rudra Singh, son of Satya Singh and removed the seat of government to Ujjayini about 396 A.D. (Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. 1, p. 211, and a Jaina work named Buddha Bildsa quoted in the same volume at p. 413). Ujjayini was at that time the capital of the Saka kingdom comprising Surashtra, Malwa, Cutch, Sindh and Koukan. He was a patron of Buddhism and Jainism, though he himself was an orthodox Hindu, being tho worshipper of Siva according to some, of Vishņu according to others. His coins show on the obverse a king shooting a lion with the legend "Maharajadhiraja Šri," and on the reverse a goddess seated on a lion with the legend “ Sri Simha Vikrama" (Dr. Bhandarkar's Feep into the Early History of India, p. 390 ; Mr. V. A. Smith's Early History of India, p. 256). Dr. Hoernle, however, is of opinion that Yasodharman, the general of the Gupta emperors, assumed the name of Vikramaditya in 533 A. D. after he defeated Mihirakula in the battle of Karura. But Mihirakula was a Hun and not a Saka. It is said that in the reign of Vikramaditya, flourished the following celebrated persons : KAlidaga, the author of Rughuvansa, Sakuntala, etc., Amara Sinha, the author of Amarakosha ; Varahamihira, the author of the Brihatjataka, who died about 587 A.D. (Literary Remains of Dr. Bhau Daji, p. 109); Vararuchi (called also Katyayana), the author of the Varttika and the Prakrita prakúsa ; Ghatakarpara, the author of the Yamaka Kavya ; Dhanvantari, the author of the Vriddha-Susruta Samhita : Kshapanaka, also called Din. någachûrye, a disciple of the Buddhist patriarch Vasubandhu (see Mallinatha's commentary on v. 14, pt. 1 of the Weyhad ûta) and author of the Nyayapraveśa ; Saúku ; and Betalabhatta, the chronicler. They were called the "nine gems” of the court of Vikramaditya (Dr. Bhau Daji's Sanskrit Poet Kalidasa ; in R. Ghosh's Literary Remains of Dr. Bhau Daji: Jyotirvidabharana, ch. 22, v. 10). But these poets lived at different periods, and Kalidasa lived in the last decade of the reign of Kumara Gupta (about 445 A.D.) and he died a few years after the death of Skanda Gupta (JRAS., 1909, pp. 731-39). For the history of the Sab kings from Chastana to Rudra Sah, see the Literary Remains of Dr. Bhau Daji, pp. 111, 112. In the seventh century A.D. at the time of Sarkarachârya, Sudhanva was king of Ujjayinî,; he persecuted the Buddhists and obliged them to take refuge in the countries beyond the boundaries of India (Madhavacharya's Sankaravijaya, chaps. 1 and 5). In the midst of the city stands the celebrated temple of the Mahadeva called Mahâkâla of the Purâņas and Kalapriyanatha of the drama ; it is one of the twelve great Liigas mentioned in the Siva Purana, (Pt. 1, chaps. 38, 46). The shrine is claimed byžthe Jainas as being built by Avantisukumara's son (Sthaviravali-charita, XI, v. 177). Its sanctity is referred to by Kalidasa in his Meghaduta (I, vs. 37, 38). The temple of Mahakala stands in the centre of an extensive courtyard surrounded by walls. But the image is actually situated within a subterranean chamber which is reached by a subterranean passage, and just overhead is another chamber which contains the image of the Mahadeva Paresnáth. In front of the courtyard is a porch, the pillars of which are evidently of very ancient date. The temple, however, is a modern one. In the courtyard of the temple is a small reservoir called Koţi-tirtha (Sthaviravali-charita, ch. 22). From the name of Mahakala, Ujjayinî was called Mahâkálavana. Besides the temple of Mahakala, those of Siddhanátha and Mangalesvara are celebrated. The Chowbis-kh&m. bhå, which is evidently a gateway supported by 24 pillars of black stone beautifully carv. ed, appears to be a very ancient structure. On the northern side of the town are situated the Kaliyadaha or the ancient Brahma Kunda of the Skanda Purana and the temple of Kala-Bhairab at Bhairogad. At a short distance from the Dailsvamedha Ghat is situated the celebrated place called Avkapada now called Ankapat, the hermitage of Sandipani
