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

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS; INTRODUCTION. 79
known year of general use to fall back on, except the Śaka year;¹ and giving due con-
sideration to the explicit manner in which Albêrûnî connects the years of the Gupta-Valabhî
era with those of the Śaka era by an even number, without any fractions; and having
regard also to the fact that any Hindu date has to be converted, for purposes of cal-
culation, into its equivalent Śaka date,—we may accept it as almost certain that,
whatever may have been the real historical initial point of the Gupta-Valabhî era, after no
great lapse of time the scheme of its years became in all respects identical with
the scheme of the Śaka year, with the first day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra as
the initial day of each year, and with the Pûrṇimânta northern arrangement of the lunar
fortnights, in accordance, in both respects, with what seems to have been always the
custom of Northern India.²

¹ I have heard from Mr. Vajeshankar Gaurishankar that, in the west of Kâṭhiâwâḍ, there is current
a year commencing with the Âshâḍha śukla 1 that precedes the Kârttika śukla 1 with which the
Vikrama year of the rest of the Province commences. This year is called the Hâlârî year, as belong-
ing to the Hâlâr Prânt or Sub-Division of Kâṭhiâwâḍ. I do not know whether it is coupled with the
Amânta or with the Pûrṇimânta arrangement of the lunar fortnights. But it appears to be of pure-
ly local usage; it does not help to reconcile the discrepancy in the results for the dates of the Kaira
grant of Dharasêna IV. of the year 330 and the Verâwal inscription of Valabhî-Saṁvat 927, as
compared with the results for all the other dates; and, in order to suit the dates in the Êraṇ pillar
inscription of Budhagupta and other records, it ought to commence with the Âshâḍha śukla 1 follow-
ing, not preceding, the Kârttika śukla 1 with which the Vikrama year of the rest of the Province
commences. There appear, therefore, no grounds for supposing that this Hâlârî year is any remnant
of the Gupta reckoning.
² Evidence is, in fact accumulating that, even in Southern India, or at least in some parts of it,
the Amânta southern arrangement of the lunar fortnights was not coupled with the Śaka years until
a comparatively late period.—One point in favour of this is the Haidarâbâd (Dekkan) grant of the
Western Chalukya king Pulikêśin II., in which the details for computation (Ind. Ant. Vol. VI. p. 73,
line 11 ff.) are Śaka-Saṁvat 534 expired, the month Bhâdrapada (August-September), the new-moon
tithi, and an eclipse of the sun. I have noticed this date in the Ind. Ant. Vol. XVI. p. 109 ff.; and
I arrived then at the conclusion that the solar eclipse in question is that of the 23rd July, A.D. 613.
This, however, was in consequence of a mistake as to the English equivalent of the indicated current
Śaka year, due to the manner in which the Tables are arranged for expired years without any distinct
intimation to that effect, and (see Appendix I. below) by no means confined to myself. Śaka-Saṁvat
534 expired, and 535 current, is really equivalent to A.D. 612-13. In this period there was an eclipse
of the sun (see Indian Eras, p. 210) on the 2nd August, A.D. 612; which was the new-moon tithi of
Bhâdrapada according to the Pûrṇimânta northern arrangement. Mr. Sh. B. Dikshit finds, however,
by the Sûrya-Siddhânta, that the tithi ended at 35 ghaṭîs, 46 palas; and consequently that the
eclipse, occurring in the night, was not visible in India. Accordingly, there being no eclipse of the
sun on the given tithi in the preceding year, it is doubtful whether the record really refers to the
eclipse of the 2nd August, A.D. 612; or whether we have here a genuine instance of a mistake
in the year that is quoted, and the eclipse that is really intended is that which occurred, fully visible
under very impressive circumstances at the locality, Bâdâmi, to which the record refers itself, on the
23rd July, A.D. 613, which date again answers to the new-moon tithi of Bhâdrapada according to the
Pûrṇimânta northern arrangement. But the point to which I have to draw attention here, is, that,
whichever of these two eclipses we select, the Pûrṇimânta northern arrangement of the lunar fort-