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Dharma in the Páli form of Dhama; perhaps Dhamadhani, the "receptacle of Dharma."

13. The prevalence of Buddhism about this period is further proved by several passages in the Brahmanical Dramas and in the Institutes of Manu. The uncertain date of these compositions, however, somewhat lessens their value as precise authorities. The Mrichhakati, which is the oldest Hindu Drama now extant, exhibits "not only absolute toleration, but a kind of public recognition" of the Bauddha faith, by the appointment of a Buddhist ascetic as chief of all the Vihars of Ujain. That virtuous city could not 66 tolerate even the death of an animal." This play is of later date than the Hindu code, for the Judge in the 9th act quotes Manu†; and as Manu himself mentions NUNS, or "female anchorites of an heretical religion," it is certain that the Buddhist faith was still honoured and flourishing when these works were composed. There is internal evidence that the code of Manu is posterior to the Rámáyana and the Mahábhárata in the mention of "heroic poems," which should be read at the celebration of obsequial rites in honour of ancestors; and in the allusions to imageworship, which is not mentioned either in the Rá

• Wilson's Hindu Theatre, vol. i. p. viii.

+ The Mrichhakati, or "Toy-cart," act. viii. Wilson's Hindu Theatre, i. 140.

Haughton's Laws of Manu, viii. 363.
Haughton's Laws of Manu, iii. 232.
Wilson, Preface to Vishnu Puván, p. xiii.

*

máyana or Mahábhárata. Bentley assigned the Rámáyana to the fourth century of our era, and the Mahábhárata to the eighth century or even later. But the latter date is certainly too low; for the Great War is mentioned in a copper plate inscription of a date not later than the first half of the sixth century, along with the names of Vyása, Parásara, and Yudhishtara. Bentley's method of compression is in fact too much like the Prokrustean bed of Damastes, into which the large were squeezed, and the small were stretched until they fitted. The composition of the Mahábhárata cannot therefore be dated later than the beginning of the fifth century, and it should no doubt be placed even earlier; perhaps about A. D. 200 to 300. The code of Manu is a mere compilation, filled with the most contradictory injunctions; but in its present state it is certainly later than the great epics, and may be dated about A. D. 400.

* This valuable inscription is the property of Captain Ellis The date is thus stated: Likhitam samvatsara satadwaye chaturdasa-" written in the year two hundred and fourteen." As the characters are similar to those of the Gupta inscriptions, the date is most probably of the Gupta era, or 319 + 214 = 533, a. d. If of the Sáka era, the date will be 78 + 214 292, A. D.; but the characters are not so old as those of the early Gupta inscriptions of A. D. 400.

CHAPTER XII.

THE GUPTA DYNASTY.-DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM.

1. AT the period of Fa Hian's pilgrimage, the Gupta dynasty occupied the throne of Magadha. Their dominions extended from Népal to the Western Gháts, and from the Indus to the mouths of the Ganges. The family was established by Maharaja GUPTA, in 319 A. D., which became the first year of the Gupta era. This epoch is not mentioned in the Allahabad inscription of Samudra Gupta; but it is used in the Sánchi and Udayagiri inscriptions of Chandra Gupta; in the Kuhaon Pillar inscription of Skanda Gupta; and in the Eran Pillar inscription of Budha Gupta. It is besides especially mentioned by Abu Rihán,† who, in his account of Indian eras, identifies the GUPTA-KAL, or Gupta era, with the BALLABA-KAL, or era of Balabhi, which commenced

The Western Ghats are called Sainhádri; and the inscription on the Allahabad pillar records Samudra Gupta's influence over that country.

+ M. Reinaud: Fragments Arabes et Persans inédits relatifs à l'Inde, pp. 138-143.

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

اول تاريخهم ايضا متاخر عن شكکال ۲۴۱

"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 :

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