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. 683.

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 Rájyam). 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 Mahatmya† 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.

Srd. The date of Skanda Gupta's death, which is found upon the Kuhaon Pillar, is the year 133.* No era is stated; but it must of course be that era which was used by the "royal race of Guptas," of which he is said to have been born, and which could only have been the Gupta-kál, or Gupta era. His death, therefore, occured in 319+133-452 A. D., as given in my table.

4th. The date of Budha Gupta has been determined by the inscription at Eran,† which records the erection of a pillar in the year 165, or A. D. 484. An inspection of the table will show how well this date agrees with the period which must be assigned to Budha Gupta on the authority of Hwan Thsang; according to whom FO-THO-KIU-TO, or Budha Gupta, was the fourth prince prior to Siladitya's conquest of Magadha in A. D. 600. The coins of Budha Gupta may be seen in Plate II., figs. 55, 57, of Mr. Thomas's essay on the Sah kings of Surastra. I can confirm the reading of the legend which he gives with some hesitation as Budha Gupta. I procured five of these silver coins from a traveller at Benares, of which I have given away four; but I still possess sealing-wax impressions of them all, from which I have been able to recognize the engraved specimens.

5th. The coins of NARA GUPTA Báladitya are scarce. Of two specimens in gold that have been in my own possession, I still have impressions; but Prinsep's Journal, vii. 37.

+ Prinsep's Journal, vii. 634.

the type may be seen in Fig. 22, Plate xviii. of Wilson's "Ariana Antiqua." On the obverse, under the Raja's arm, is written Nára, and on the reverse, Báladitya. The small silver coin Fig. 19, Plate xv. of the same work, most probably also belongs to Nara. I read the legend:

Paramadhi Raja Sri NARA-GUPTA Baladitya.

6. As the correct determination of the epoch of the Gupta dynasty is of the first importance to the religious as well as to the political history of ancient India, it becomes necessary to examine the chronology which Mr. E. Thomas, with much critical skill and ingenuity, has proposed for the Sáh kings of Gujrat and the Gupta princes of Magadha.* We agree as to the facts, but differ in our deductions. The facts are these:

1st. The beautiful silver coins of the Sáh kings are all dated in the fourth century of some unknown

era.

2nd. The silver coins of Kumára Gupta and of Skanda Gupta are evident and undoubted copies of those of the Sáh kings, and therefore these two princes must have reigned at a later date than the last of the Sáh kings.

7. In making his deductions from these facts, Mr.

*See Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. xii., “On the Dynasty of the Sah Kings of Suráshtra ; " by Edward Thomas, esq., Bengal Civil Service; a most valuable contribution to the ancient history of India.

L