in A. D. 319. These eras are mentioned no less than three times by Abu Rihán; and each time he has identified them as starting from the same date. But it appears to me that the most important of these passages must either be corrupt or obscure, for the translation given by M. Reinaud makes the epoch of the Guptas commence from the date of their extermination! If this is a correct translation there can be little doubt that the text of Abu Rihán must be erroneous; for we know positively that the Guptas were reigning during the fifth and sixth centuries of our era. But I will venture to suggest a different translation of this important passage, by which the error is got rid of without any alteration of the

text:

فاما كوبت كال فكان كما قيل قوما الشرارا اقويا فلما انقرضوا ارج بهم وكان بلب كال اخيرهم

"With regard to the Gupta Kál (or era of the Guptas), the name was that of a wicked and powerful family; whose epoch became extinct with themselves; and truly Ballaba was after them; for the beginning of their era is the the same as (that of) the the last; (namely) 241 of the SÁKA-KÁL.”

2. The underlined passage in the original text is thus translated by M. Reinaud:* "Et l'ère qui porte leur nom est l'èpoque de leur extermination;" but Fragments, p. 143.

the literal translation appears to be," and then became extinct along with their epoch," which agrees with the version that I have given above. The statement made in M. Reinaud's version is so extraordinary that, even without any direct proofs of its inaccuracy, I would have set it aside as erroneous. The era of the Seleukidæ began with the foundation of the Syrian empire by Seleukos; the Christian era is dated from the establishment of Christianity; and the era of the Guptas without doubt commenced with the settlement of their own dynasty. For the Guptas, as I have mentioned before, date their inscriptions in an era of their own; which, though not so named by them, was actually a Gupta-kál, and must, therefore, have been called such by the people.

3. The direct evidence of the period when the Guptas flourished is derived from the Chinese. In A. D. 428, the king of Kapila was named Yuegai, or "moon-beloved," which is a synonyme of Chandra Gupta, or "moon-cherished." In A. D. 502, the king of India was named Keu-to, that is Gutto, the Páli form of the Sanskrit Gupta. Lastly, HwánThsáng* names five Princes of Magadha who flourished previous to the conquest of the country by Siladitya, in the following order :

4. Now Siladitya died between 642 and 648 (say in 645), and as he reigned sixty years, his accession must have taken place in A. D. 585; and his conquest of Magadha may be dated about A. D. 600. The chronology of the Guptas as derived from all sources will then stand thus:

5. The stars placed against the names in this

The dates obtained from various sources are: For Chandra Gupta Vikramaditya, 82 (Udayagiri inscription), and 93 (Sanchi inscription), equivalent to A.D. 401 and 412, from Jain authorities A.D. 409; and from Chinese authorities A.D. 428-for Skanda Gupta-his death in 133, or A.D. 452, as stated on the Kuhaon pillar; for Budha Gupta 165, or A.D. 484, as given in the Eran pillar inscription.

+ Or Lokaditya.

table denote that coins have been discovered of each of those princes; and it is from coins alone that I have ascertained that BALADITYA was named Nara Gupta. The chronological table has been framed upon the following data.

1st. The power of the Indo-Scythians did not begin to decline until the time of the later Hans in China, whose dynasty was only established in A. D. 222. During the latter half of the third century their power was on the decline, and may be supposed to have been finally overthrown by Gupta in A. D. 319. There are great numbers of gold coins of IndoScythian type with corrupt Greek and Indian legends which can only be attributed to this dynasty.

2nd. A short inscription of Chandra Gupta, at Udayagiri, is dated in the year 82; and a second of the same prince, at Sánchi, is dated in the year 93. These dates of the Gupta era are equivalent to A. D. 401 and 412, which agree with the Chinese date of A. D. 428* for Yue-gai. But Chandra Gupta on his coins takes the title of Vikramaditya, and in the Agni Purana, it is said that Vikrama, the son of Gadharupa, should ascend the throne of Málawa seven hundred and fifty-three years after the expiation of Chanakya. This event I have already placed in B. C. 325, from which, deducting 753 years, we

This is the date given in the Chinese account of India, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 665; but Des Guignes, i. 45, says A.D.

408.

+ Prinsep's Journal, iv. 688.

obtain A. D. 428 for the date of Vikrama of Malwa. Colonel Tod also quotes a Jain inscription of Chandra Gupta, dated either in A. D. 370 or 409,* in which he is styled Avanti-náth, or "lord of Ujain," which was the capital of Malwa. Here then we have a Vikrama and a Chandra Gupta both kings of Malwa at the same time: two statements which can only be reconciled by supposing them to be the same person under different names or titles. This supposition is confirmed by the coins of Chandra Gupta, on the reverses of which we find that he took the titles of Vikrama and Vikramaditya. A cave inscription at Udayagiri of the Samvat year 1093, or A. D. 1036, couples the name of Chandra Gupta with the kingdom of Vikramaditya (Vikramaditya Rajyam). In the Raja Tarangini also it is mentioned that Mátrigupta was placed on the throne of Kashmir by Vikramaditya, King of Ujain.. According to my corrected chronology of the Raja Tarangini, this happened in A. D. 430. The Satrunjaya Mahatmyat also places the third Vikramaditya in Samvat 466, or A. D. 409. From this accumulation of evidence it seems to me certain that a Chandra Gupta, with the title of Vikramaditya, was the sovereign of Malwa in the early part of the fifth century of our era.

* See Transactions Roy. As. Soc., pp. 140-211, where Colonel Tod, by some inadvertence, gives both 427 and 466 Samvat as the date of this inscription.

+ Wilford: Researches As. Soc. Bengal, ix. 156; and Wilson: Researches As. Soc. Bengal, xv. 39, note.