Indian Antiquary Vol 62

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

Page 216

204
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
NOVEMBER, 1933
expedition to a Himalayan country. His progress was checked, and he had to retreat ignomi. niously after handing over Dhruvaswamini to a Khasa king. This account is not contradicted by any passages cited by Professor Altekar. None of them gives us any clue as to the scene of the incident. Professor Altekar supposes that it was in the dominions of Ramagupta, on the ground that in one of the passages Råmagupta is represented as having consented to hand over Dhruvadevi to the Saka king for the safety of the people (prakrti).»7 Frun the verso in the Kavyamímánsá, however, it appears that Râmagupta was accompanied by his family, and possibly by his minister and other retinue, when he entered the Himalayan coun. try. It is these people whom Ramagupta wanted to save. In a passage from the DevíCandragupta quoted in the Singaraprakása 18 cited by Professor Altokar the place where the incident occurred is called Alipura. As Mr. R. Sarasvati 19 has pointed out, this is corroborated by the passage in the Hargacarita20 where the reading aripura is evidently a mistake for alipura. If this view is not accepted there would be tautology in the expression éatroh skandhaváram alipuram. Again, skandháváta does not necessarily denote a camp. It also means a capital.21 So the expression can be taken to mean 'Alipura, the capital of the enemy.' This Alipura must have been situated somewhere in or near the ancient country of Kuluta. It is also possible that the real name of the capital was Nalinapura, as stated in a manuscript of the Hargacarita. If so, it may be identified with the Teng-kuang mentioned by Heüan-tsang, which was "apparently a little to the west of the modern Jalalabad." As Watters has pointed out, one name for the city was Padmapura ( lotus city ') which is only a synonym of Nalina pura. It is easy to imagine how Nalinapura was in course of time read as Alipura and then as Aripura. As we have seen above, Mahipala had conquered Sahi, the king of Kabul and the Panjab, and forced him to surrender a beautiful image of Vişņu. The identification of Nalinapura with Hsuan-tsang's Teng-kuang is, therefore, sup. ported by the passage in the Kavyamimářså as well.
In the Kdvyamimånad the enemy who reduced Ramagupta to dire distress is called Khasa, while almost all other authorities name him Saka. As we have seen, the author of this verse flourished in the tenth century, when the Khasas were ruling in Nepal. They are mentioned in an inscription at Khajurahoo as vanquished by Yasovarman Candella. If the correct reading is Khaba, we have here an instance of anachronism, for, as Professor Altekar points out, the Khasas were not so powerful in the fourth century as to dictate terms to Ramagupta. It is, however, more likely that Saka is the correct reading, as Rajasekhara, who was well read, must have known this incident from the Devi-Candragupta and other works, and is not likely to have quoted a verse in which the tradition was distorted. In that case the Saka onomy must have been the Kushân king who is referred to as Daivaputra Shahi Shâhânushåhi in the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta. We know that the Kushåns were ruling over the Panjab and Kâbul till the fifth century A.D.
11 प्रकृतीनामाश्वासनाय शकस्य भुवदेवीसंप्रदानेऽभ्युपगते राज्ञा रामगुमेन अरिवधार्थ यियासुः प्रतिपन्नभुवदेवीनेपथ्यः कुमार
चन्द्रगुप्तो विज्ञपयत्रुच्यते । 19 asfalgaray: 791: F rufogt 194441971401 I.A., LI, p. 183. 19 Ibid. 20 अरिपुरे च परकलत्रकामुकं कामिनीवेषगप्तश्चन्द्रग्रतः शकपतिमशातयत् । 21 CH. Harracarita, p. 153 (Nirnaya Sagara Ed.). 22 Mr. K. P. Jayasval also locates the place in the Doab of Jalandhara.-JBORS., XVIII, p. 29.
In support of my suggestion, I may also refer to what Sir A. Cunningham wrote regarding the ancient capital of Kuluta in his Ancient Geography of India (p. 163) "The present capital of the valley is Sultan. pur': but the old capital of Makarsa is still called Nagar, or the city, by which name it is most gonerally known.". .
28 Watters, On Yuan Chwang, 1, p. 188. 14 E.I., 1, p. 222.