काव्यमीमांसा (महाकवि राजशेखर - कवि-रहस्य एवं देश-विभाग सटीक)

194 EXPLANATORY NOTES
known to be the grandson of Candragupta II. This leads us
to believe that Candragupta II who was styled as S'akārāti
was the hero of the drama Devīcandraguptam. In this verse the
reign of Skandagupta is described to be so prosperous as to
permit even the society ladies of the town freely to sing his
fame without any danger coming from even the interior parts of
the Himalayas where once king S'armagupta being defeated by
the Khasa king was forced to give up even his queen Dhruvadevī.
It may be remembered here that Skandagupta also bore the title
Vikramāditya and inflicted a crushing defeat on the barbarous
Huns. In this case the word कार्त्तिकेय should be taken in vocative.
This interpretation should be abandoned if the word कार्त्तिकेयनगर
is taken as a compound and identified with the कार्त्तिकेयपुर mentioned
in Pāndukesvar copper plate and Talesvara charters. This कार्त्तिकेय-
पुर is also reported to be the modern village of Baijnath or
Vaidyanath in Kumaun. (See Ind. Ant. Vol. XXV. p. 178. and
Ep. Ind. Vol. XIII pp. 115 and 118.)
There is also another plausible solution ragarding the identity
of the Khasādhipati.
The Rājatarangiṇī of Kalhaṇa, mentions the Khasas as a
foreign tribe settled in widely diffused parts of the Himalayan regions
even previous to the accession of king Mihirakula, the despotic
ruler of Kashmir (cir. 6th century A. D.). Thus the readings
as शकपति in the MSS of the Harṣacarita, S'ṛṅgāraprakāśa and
Nāṭyadarpaṇa may be ascribed to scribe's error for खसपति. Because
it is clearly known from the verse quoted here that the Gupta
king returned from the Himalayan regions after promising his
queen to the Khasādhipati. Rājatarangiṇī also states that the
kings of the Khasas were known as the rulers of राजपुरी or खसालय or
खसालि. These names indeed, bear a striking resemblance to the names
denoting the head-quarters of Khasas such as खसाधि(लि)पतये quoted
in this verse or अरिपुर, अलिपुर and अलिस्कन्धावार as found in the MSS of
the Harṣacarita and the S'ṛṅgāraprakāśa. (स्त्रीवेषनिन्हुतश्चन्द्रगुप्तः शत्रोः
स्कन्धावारमलिपुरे शकपतिवधायागमत् ।) (For further information regarding
the tribes Khasas who settled in the Himalayan regions, and once
usurped the throne of Kashmir and whose descendants are known
to-day as Khakhas in Kashmir, see notes by M. A. Stein in vol. I.
317 of the Rājatarangiṇī translation.)