गुप्त अभिलेख संग्रह (जे. एफ. फ्लीट - गुप्त सम्राटों एवं परवर्ती नरेशों के ऐतिहासिक पाषाण व ताम्रलेख)

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THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; INTRODUCTION. 49

being that it commemorated the coronation, as Mahârâja, of Drôṇasiṁha, the second son of
the Sênâpati Bhaṭârka, by a sovereign who, in the Valabhî grants, e.g. No. 38, line 5, page
168, is described as "the paramount master, the sole lord of the circumference of the
"territory of the whole earth;" from the date of this event, he held, the members of the
Valabhî family were independent kings. In 1874, however, in the Ind. Ant. Vol. III. p.
303 f., on the grounds that the alphabet used in the Valabhî grants resembles very much
that used in the Western Chalukya grants belonging to the early part of the eighth cen-
tury, and for other reasons not fully specified, he modified this opinion, so far as "to think
"that the Valabhî dates must be referred to an era other than the Śaka;" and he proceeded
to join Mr. Fergusson in referring them to an era commencing A D. 318. But he still
maintained a verbal difference with Mr. Fergusson, to the effect that, since in the Valabhî
family there was no individual named 'Bâllaba,' or Valabhî, "it is doubtful whether the
"era was really of Bhaṭârka's family. If the era was not the era of the dynasty, but was
"in use in Surâshṭra before the foundation of the dynasty, the Valabhî dates may be referred
"to it. Or, more likely, since the Guptas, who preceded that dynasty, introduced their
"era into the country, the grants must have been dated in that era. But there is no differ-
"ence in effect; since the initial dates of both are the same."
In 1873, in the Ind. Ant. Vol. II. p. 313, Col. J. W. Watson published the follow-
ing tradition, attributed to the bards of Kâṭhiâwâḍ:—"The bards relate that Vâlâ Râma
"Râjâ, son of Vâlâ Warsingjî, reigned at Junâgaḍh and Vanthalî. He was famed for his
"munificence; and it is told of him that, when his beard was shaved for the first time, he
"gave in charity twenty-one villages, and distributed fifty lakhs of rupees¹ as alms to the
"poor. Râma Râjâ was of the Vâlâ race. It is said in Saurâshṭra that, previous to the
"rise of the kingdom of Junâgaḍh-Vanthalî, Valabhînagara was the capital of Gujarât.
"The rise of Valabhî is thus told by the bards. The Gupta kings reigned between the
"Ganges and Jamnâ rivers. One of these kings sent his son, Kumârapâlagupta, to
"conquer Saurâshṭra; and placed his viceroy Chakrapâṇi, son of Prâṇadatta, one of his
"Amîrs, to reign as a provincial Governor in the city of Wâmanasthalî (the modern Van-
"thalî). Kumârapâla now returned to his father's kingdom. His father reigned twenty-
"three years after the conquest of Saurâshṭra, and then died; and Kumârapâla ascended
"the throne. Kumârapâlagupta reigned twenty years, and then died, and was succeeded
"by Skandagupta; but this king was of weak intellect. His Sênâpati Bhaṭṭâraka, who
"was of the Gehlot race, taking a strong army, came into Saurâshṭra, and made his rule
"firm there. Two years after this, Skandagupta died. The Sênâpati now assumed the
"title of King of Saurâshṭra; and, having placed a Governor at Wâmanasthalî, founded
"the city of Valabhînagara. At this time, the Gupta race were dethroned by foreign in-
"vaders. The Sênâpati was a Gehlot, and his forefathers reigned at Ayôdhyânagarî,
"until displaced by the Gupta dynasty. After founding Valabhî, he established his rule

[Footnote]
¹ Nominally, half a million pounds sterling.