Indian Antiquary Vol 62

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 213

NOVEMBER, 1933]
FURTHER LIGHT ON RAMAGUPTA
FURTHER LIGHT ON RAMAGUPTA.
BY PROF. V. V. MIRASHI, M.A., HEAD OF THE SANSKRIT DEPARTMENT, NAGPUR UNIVERSITY.
IN his interesting article on A new Gupta King,'1 Professor A. S. Altekar has cited and discussed the following passage from the Kavyamimamed of Rajasekhara
cem estafa: manfaat te geverftet यस्मात्खण्डतासो निववृते श्रीराम (1. सेन) धुतो नृपः। तस्मिन्नेव हिमालये गुरुगुकोण करे गीयन्ते तव कार्तिकेय ! नगरस्त्रीणां गणैः कीर्तयः ॥
201
In discussing the bearing of this passage on his reconstruction of Gupta history he has remarked as follows:-"The verse is addressed to Kartikeya, who is obviously Kumaragupta I of the Gupta dynasty. Kumâra and Kartikeya are synonyms; peacock is the vahana of the deity and we know that Kumâragupta has struck some coins of the peacock variety. The unknown poet of this stanza is contrasting the prosperous condition of the house under Kumâragupta with the dire distress to which it was reduced under Sarmagupta." As the version of the incident given in this verse differs in some material points from the account of the same found in the works of Bâņa, Visakhadatta and Sankarârya, Prof. Altekar is constrained to add as follows:-"Unfortunately we do not know who the author of this verse was, when he flourished and whether he had any reliable historic tradition to rely upon," and, again, "it is not therefore unlikely that with a desire of having a romantic background and developing a poetic contrast, he may have permitted himself a little liberty with history by changing the name Saka into Khasa."
These two statements involve a contradiction which Prof. Altekar has failed to notice. The verse cited above was evidently composed by some poet who was a contemporary of Kartikeya, who is addressed and whose exploits are praised therein. If this Kârtikeya was Kumaragupta I, his court poet had undoubtedly "reliable historical tradition to rely upon." We must, therefore, suppose that he wilfully took a liberty with history and that his contemporaries had so completely forgotten the incident in Râmagupta's life within the short period of one generation that they allowed the poet to do so. Such a supposition is, however, unwarranted. If we read the verse carefully, we would find that the king Kârtikeya who is eulogised therein must have belonged to some other dynasty. No court poet of the Guptas would have thought of making such a contrast, and thereby focussing people's attention on that deplorable incident. As in the Sanjana Plates, the author of this verse is evidently referring to some king of another dynasty who achieved glorious success where Râmagupta ignominiously failed. Who then is this Kârtikeya? No early king of this name is known to history. The Candakausika of Aryakşemiévar, which was staged before a king named Mahîpâla, mentions his other name as Kartikeya in the Bharatavâkya. 3 Ibid., p. 243.
1 JBORS., XIV, part II, p. 223.
2 Ibid., p. 242.
Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar, who has discussed this question in the Malaviya Commemoration Volume (p. 194) takes far as one word and locates it near the village Baijnath in the Almora district, U.P. According to him the verse is addressed to Candragupta, who is not named therein. This is hardly convincing. We must remember that Rajasekhara has cited the verse as a type of muktaka, which means a detached stanza, complete in itself. When such stanzas are addressed to kings, their names are invariably inserted in them. (See, for instance, the 194 stanzas in praise of various kings collected in the subhasitaratna-bhandagára, Nirnaya Sagar Ed., pp. 118-128). We must, therefore, take Kartikeya as voca. tive and try to locate the scene of the event in some other way.
6 येनादिश्य प्रयोगं धनपुलकभृता नाटकस्यास्य हर्षाद्
वस्त्रालङ्कारहेम्नां प्रतिदिनमकृशा राशयः सम्प्रदत्ता: । तस्य क्षत्रप्रस्तेर्भ्रमतु जगदिदं कार्तिकेयस्य कीर्तिः पारे क्षीराख्य सिन्धोरपि कवियशसा सार्वमग्रेसरेण ॥