808 Arr. VI.—Coins of Andhrabhritya Kings of Southern India. Prepared from information given by Pandit Buacaviniit Inprau, Hon. Mem. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc., and revised by Surgeon-Major 0. Coprinaton. [Read, September 8, 1877.] These coins were given to me by the late Secretary for decipher- ment and remarks. They are nineteen in number—eight belonging to this Society, and eleven to the President, the Honourable James Gibbs. They were found at Kolhpur, and were sent by Rao Bahddur Médhavaréo Barve, the Kérbhéri of that State, from whom I learnt that they were discovered near the hill of Brahmapuri, commonly called Baupuri, north-west of the town, hidden in an earthen pot at a depth of about fifteen feet, where the ground was being dug for making aroad up the hill, on the top of which hill there are still standing some Jain temples and some other old remains. The pot in which the coins were found was about a foot in diameter, and of ordinary round shape. The coins were so rusted and stuck to- gether in it that the pot had to be broken to remove them; many of them, too, were so corroded, especially the copper ones, that they fell to pieces in attempting to separate the mass, and thus the exact number of the hoard could not be ascertained, but there appear to have been above six hundred. About one-half were of white leaden metal, the rest of copper. Of the latter kind all except some six were so corroded as to be quite useless for decipherment. The former were in much better preservation; many were oxidized and looked white as if made of clay, but the inscription and device on several could be distinctly seen, and the metal of some was quite uncorroded. Some other specimens of these coins were sent tothe Honourable Vishvanéth N. Mandlik, and were shown to me; there were thirteen lead ones, good specimens, and three copper, not good. They were just the same as those I am now describing, and do not throw any addi- tional light on the subject. Some, too, were sent to the late Dr. Bhétt Déji, which I saw, but have not had an opportunity of examining.304 COINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS. ‘The coins are of the reigns of three different kings of the same dynasty, viz. four of Vésisthiputra, four of Madhariputra, and eleven of Gotamiputra. Those in the possession of Mr. Mandlik are in much the same proportion, viz. two Vésisthiputrs, four Madhariputra, aud eleven Gotamiputra. As in any hoard the number of coins of the reign when the collection was made is usually greater than those of earlier dates, it may be in- ferred that all these coins were current in the time of Gotamiputra, and that the other two kings, Visisthiputra and Madhariputra, reigned some time before him. The examination of the coins confirms this inference. It has often been noticed that coins of the same type gradually deteriorate in fineness of workmanship from those first struck, those of each subsequent king becoming by degrees less perfect imitations of the original die, and made with less care in details and in form of the letters; and this can easily be seen on comparing the coins of these three kings. On those of Vésisthiputra the tree on the reverse has a thick bottom, a tapering stem, and moderate well-formed leaves, the domes of the Chaitya are round and ornamented with a dot in each, and the letters on theobverse are symmetrical. Such is not the case with the coins of the other two kings ; the tree on them has equal thickness from bottom to top, the leaves are ill-shaped, the domes are less round and have no dots, and the letters are not neat. From their appearance I conclude that Vésisthiputra was the first, Madhariputra the second, and Gotamiputra the third in succession ; and this is more satisfactorily proved by the fact that one coin bears evidence of having been originally one of ‘Vésisthiputra which has been re-struck with the die of Madhariputra, and in the same way two others bear the impression of Gotamiputra over that of Madhariputra, as will be seen in the description of coins 6, 13, and 14, All this leaves, I think, no doubt that the order of suc- cession of the kings is as I have given it. The coins of the three kings, both lead and copper, resemble each other, inasmuch as they have in common on the obverse a bow and arrow surrounded by the inscription of the name and title of the king. ~ The point of the arrow is directed exactly to the space between the beginning and end of the inscription, and this probably was so arranged with a view of not showing any diarespect for the king, as might be supposed if the arrow were represented as pointing at his name or title; and this is in accordance with a general custom im India ofVOL, XIII. 3(EEwBy ay AGK Bye vy BBY tu 4 SURES OPRIO UST AB Mop MATA MODY VP! Alo 20 oURTY Jprey "PRODI OIE IED yyoSPYEwRRogyy VR BE Yoo wa cuwgye — MALLU RURAL ayeCOINS OF ANDITRABHRITYA KINGS, 305 holding everything in connection with the sovereign in great respect, even to the letters of his name ; for instance, in ordinary documents, if there be occasion to write the name of the king, it is done at the head of the paper, a blank space being left where the name should be in the midst of the writing. The reverse of all the coins bears a Chaitya and a tree. The only differonce between the lenden and copper ones is that the latter are about one-third of the former in size, and that the tree on the reverse of the copper is above, whilst in the leaden it is alongside of the Chaitya, the one being probably a side, and the other a front view of the group. The Chaitya and tree may be a representation of the great temple of Buddhagayd and the adjoining pipal-tree, but it is doubtful whether this temple was built at the time these coins were struck. Description of the Coins. Nos. 1, 2, and 3.—These arc leaden coins of Visisthiputra. On the obverse is the bow and arrow, around which is written, in the Andhra- bhritya inscription characters, the name and titles of the king. In Plate I., Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the letters made out on each are shown, from which the following whole legend can be composed :— PFSHBYRVALE Ip] Ratio Vasathi Putasa Valivdya Kurasa, (Coin) of King Visisthiputra Valiviya Kura,” The name of the king is read as Vsathi Putasa, But it is possible that the ikdr of si may have been obliterated on the coins, and so the name may be Vasithi Puta, which is a true Prakrit form of Sanskrit Visisthiputra. The title Valivéya Kurasa is quite unknown to me. It may be some old word of Southern India dialects; the same title appears on the coins of Gotamiputra, where it is spelled Filivaya Kurasa ; it is therefore probable that the ikdr of vi may be worn out on these coins of the former king. In those times the form of Ja (z) and da (g) was thus— Zand d,, and the one was used for the other in speak- ing, so the word can also be read as Vidivdya. On the reverse in the centre there is a representation of a Chaitra or temple, a pyramidal figure made up of several arches, each arch vou. xm. 39306 COINS OF ANDHBABHBITYA KINGS. having an ornamental dot in its centre, placed above what is intended for either a railing surrounding the base, or a platform on which it is placed. It is surmounted by an indistinct figure, probably a Svastika, and on the platform or within the enclosure of railing there is, on the left of the Chaitya, a tree. This representation is very clear on No. 3, but obscure on the others. Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7.—These coins belong to Madhariputra, On the obverse there is the bow and arrow and inscription of name and title of the king, as in those of Vésisthiputra (Plate I., Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7). The whole legend is read as follows — 1px2ry natauy y4 Rafto Madhariputasa Sivala Kurasa, “ (Coin) of King Madhariputra Sivala Kura.” On the reverse of all these, as on those of Vasisthiputra, there is a Chaitya and a tree, but inferior in design,—the ornamental dots are not seen, and the tree, which is on the left of the Chaitya on those, is on the right of it on these. No. 6 coin seems to have been made by putting a new stamp of Madhariputra on a Vésisthiputra coin, asa figure of a former Chaitya, with dots, is traced on the side of the new one, and part of the letter +f, Au, can be seen under J, and part of &, va, above K. The nine coins Nos. 8 to 16 belong to Gotamiputra ; their design is tho same as those last described. Their legends (Plate I., Figs. 8, 9, 10, and 11) can be easily made ont to be as follows :— paawyauszsayzys Raiio Gotamiputasa Vidiedya Kurata, * (Coin) of King Gotamiputra Vidivéya Kura,”COINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS. 807 Nos. 13 and 14 belong to Gotamiputra, as above, but they are very interesting coins, for on them the stamp of that king has been im- pressed upon what were coins of Madhariputra. No. 13 is broken, the part of the usual inscription Rafio Gotamiipu is readable, showing that the coin is of Gotamiputra; the rest of the legend is lost in the broken part, but nearer the rim at the upper part of the obverse the name of Madhariputra is seen and can be read, although the letters are defaced. It seems pretty evident that the latter name is the one first struck on the coin. On No. 14 the stamp of the obverse of Gotamiputra coins is distinct, evidently impressed over the reverse of an old coin, the square corner of the old Chaitya being pretty plain. On the reverse there is the usual Chaitya and tree, on the left of which the word Madhariputra is dis- tinetly read. Nos. 15 and 16 are not very important, but very good specimens of Gotamiputra coins. Nos. 17 and 18 are both of copper. The first is but a broken piece, having on the obverse a bow and arrow, and an inscription (Plate I., Fig. 12) forming the beginning and end of the Visisthiputra legend on the leaden coins: Rafo Va...ea Vidivéya Kurasa. On the reverse is a much-defaced Chaitya with, on the right of it, a figure Y, which is very often seen on Buddhist inscriptions and coins. No. 18 seems to belong to Gotamiputra, for its workman rather inferior to the last ; on tke obverse the portion of the inscription Vidivaya Kurasa is only perceptible (Plate I., Fig. 13). On the re- verse isa Chaitya surmounted by a tree, on the left of which isa Svastika, and on the right a figure as on the last coin. No. 19, a leaden one, belongs to Gotamiputra, but differs from the others in that it has on the reverse, in addition to the Chaitya and tree, an inscription similar to that on the obverse. Whether this was 20 done on purpose, or whether in re-stamping a defaced coin the legend of the former stamping remained, is doubtful. Remarks. -: We get the names of three kings from these coins—Vasisthiputra, ‘Madhariputra, and Gotamiputra. I identify the second with one of the same name mentioned in my paper “Ona new Andrabhritya King,” published in the last number of this journal (Vol. XII., p. 497).308 COINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS. Kings of the name of Vésisthiputra and Gotamiputra are found in Nasik cave inscriptions (No. 26 of Mr. West’s Nésik Inscriptions).* I have examined this inscription; it records the gift of a beautiful cave, on the 13th day of the second fortnight of Ghrishma (summer) of the 19th year of the reign of Vésisthiputra Padumévi, to an-assem- blage of co-religionists of Bhadavaniya Bhikshusangha by Gotami, the mother of king Gotamiputra (who is eulogized in the inscription). There is no mention made as to the relationship between Vasisthiputra, in whose reign the gift was made, and Gotamiputra, whose mother was the donor. However, there occurs close to this inscription another one of the same date, written in smaller letters, wherein is recorded the order of Vdsisthiputra Padumavi himself to his minister at Govardhan, which seems to show that he, Vasisthiputra, was a ruling king at that time. In the former inscription Gotami is described as an empress, mother of agreat king, and grandmother of'a great king ; this is a clear proof that she hada grandson who was also a great king at that time, and who was probably the mentioned ruling king, Visisthiputra ; and Gotamiputra, who is greatly praised in the inscription, appears to be -the father of Vésisthiputra, from which circumstance it seems that he is not the same person as the Gotamiputra of these coins, who was, we think, of a later date than Vésisthiputra. And on comparing the letters of the Nasik inscriptions with those on the coins it appears that the letters sa, ta, &c. of the coins of Gotamiputra are of a later date than those of the time of Vasisthiputra in the cave inscriptions, whilst the letters on the coins of Vdsisthiputra show no difference from those of the same king’s inscriptions. We have not hitherto been able to find out another king of the same name about this period, but all the above circumstances enable me to identify the Visisthiputra of the cave in- scriptions with the one of these coins, and I assume the Gotamiputra of the coins not to have been the one of that name who was the father of Visisthiputra and son of the great empress Gotami, but a descendant, and on this supposition I prepare this list of the order :-— 1, Gotamiputra I. 2. Vésisthiputra. 3. Madhariputra. 4. Gotamiputra II. Some leaden coins of this dynasty were found by Colonel Mackenzie at Dharnikot, of Dakshina Sarkér, which are copied by Sir Walter * Jour. Bo, Br. R, As. Soc., vol. VILCOINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS. 309 Elliot in the Madras Literary Society’s Journal, vol. Il., New Series; of these Nos. 92, 96, 101, and 105 are of Gotamiputra, of various types. Of them No. 105 is in good condition and clear ; on the obverse is a Chaitya with a zigzag line at its base, on the right a flower, and on the left a conch; around is an inscription in the Anudhrabhritya character, as follows :— PPOasya vr wy WF" Raiio Gotamiputdsa Yaita Siri Sétakanisa.* On the reverse is an unknown figure made by joining four circles together. No. 92 is a smaller coin; on the obverse is a standing horse, around which is an incomplete inscription in which Gotamipo can beread. On the reverse is a figure made by joining four circles, but of a different shape from the last, No. 96 has on the obverse a standing horse and an incomplete inscription— Rafio (Go) ..eesssessessesseeses fia Satakanisa, from which it may be inferred that the whole inscription was Ratio Gotamiputasa Siri Yaia Satakanisao. On No. 105 it is written Faia Siri Sétakarni, but on this Siri Yaiia Satakanisa might have been written, as we find it so in Western India cave inscriptions—vide West’s Kanheri Cave Inscriptions, No. 44, vol. VI., and Nésik Cave Inscriptions, No. 4, vols, VI. and VII., Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc., in which the name is written ‘ Raiio’ Gotemputasa Samisiri Yana Satakanisa. ‘ On the reverse is a figure of circles resembling that on No. 105. No. 101.—On the reverse is a figure resembling No. 92; on the obverse isa Chaitya and tree, and an inscription in which the letters Gotamiputra are clearly perceptible. * Vide Goneral Cunningham's Geegraphy of Ancient India, p. 541, Tho an- thor reads the inscription thus :—Rajno Gulamiputa Sitkunisa, ‘Lhe part Yana Siri cau be read, but the lettery are a little indistinct,310 COINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS, It is rather hard to venture an opinion as to these four coins belong- ing to one and the same king of the name, yet there is little doubt that Nos. 96 and 105 do belong to the same, for they bear a close resem- blance in name and title. The size of 96 appears to be one-half of that of 105. We have found two kings of the name of Gotamiputra; now comes the question to which of them do these coins belong. The character of the letters is of later date than those of Vésisthiputra in the cave inscriptions, but the type of the coins is different from those I have been describing from Kolhépur; but I think they are of the same king, ¢.e. Gotamiputra II., and that probably there were differ- ent kinds of coins for different districts. Our coins come from Kolhi- pur, in the Southern Mardthé Country, and are samples of the Mahé- réshtra currency ; the other from Dharnikot, im the Dakshina Sarkér, which was originally the capital of that dynasty, and probably are some of those current in that part. Coins of two types but of the same prince are current in the present time; for instance, Sindhié has three kinds,—one current in Gwilior, the second in Ujein, the capital of Mélwé, and the third in Bhilsa. We have a very limited’ knowledge of this dynasty; the Purinas throw some Jight on it, but we cannot much rely upon them. They say, however, that the first king of the dynasty, who killed Sugarman of the Kénava dynasty, was called, according to the Vishnu Purdna,* Sipraka, in Véyu Sindhuka, and in the Mateya Siduka. In all the Purdnas he is described as belonging to the Andhra caste, and as ser- vant to Suéarman, and in the Vishnu Purdna he is described as the founder of the Andhrabhritya dynasty ; and so we name the dynasty, but we have hitherto been unable to trace this name of Andhrabhritya from inscriptions. Gotamiputra is described in N&sik cave inscriptions as the restorer of the glory of the Sktavéhana dynasty.t This seems to show that he was one of the Sétavahana family, and this name may have been derived from some one of the name in the family who was glorious, from whom all his descendants may have been called. There isan inscription of Vedisiri, a descendant of the Sétavéhan © Wileon’s Vishnupurdna, p. 472. + Jour, Bo. Br. B. As, Soc., vol. VI, Nasik Inscriptions, No. 28. MAMCAH STAT ASTIT ATT.Google <[LOxt+CAgbu " ERTER SELL LF UIT ZCrhAtLt od WwW: ¥GIO4L Te | t¥{Uter «© t¥TOAGLECOINS OF ANDHRABHEITYA KINGS. 3it family, in a cave at Néneghét, wherein are recorded several Vedic sacrifices given by him ; and on the front wall of the cave were carved several life-size figures, which are now much broken, but their names are written in big ancient letters in the Prikrit language over their heads; copies of these are given in the following plate. No. 1.—Réy4 Simuka Sétavéhano Sirimdto, or it can be written in Sanskrit as— Réjé Srimukha Sdtavéhanah Srimén, «« King of a beautiful face, wealthy Sétavéhana.”” Srimukha has the same meaning #s Bhadrémukha in other inscrip- tions. No. 2 is above the heads of two figures standing side by side— Devi Néyanikdya Réiio cha Sri Sétakanino, in Sanskrit—Devi Nayanikdysh Réjnascha Sri Sétake “ Of Queen Néyanika and King Sitakar No, 3.—Kuméro Bhdya Sanskrit—Kuméro Bhdya . or “ Prince Bh4ya . ‘The part bearing the name of the prince is broken: it probably ran Bhéyala. No. 4.—Maharathdgrinaka Yiro. Sanskrit—Mahkérathagranika or Makéréshtrégranaka Virah (?), or “ Chief of the Great Warrior,” or “Chief of the Mahardshtras.”* No. 5.—Kuméro Hakusiri, i Sanskrit—Kumdéro Haku Sritih (Harsha Sriki (?), “ Prince Haku Sri.” No. 6.—Kumdro Sétavéhano, Sanskrit—Kumdérah Sétavdhanah, ‘* Prince Sétavéhana.” It is customary with the Jains and Nepélese Buddhists to have the figures of the members of their families carved in their temples, known by the name of Sélika. The order in which the figures of a man’s family are carved is, first father, then mother, himself, wife, brothers, sons, &c.—a very natural order indeed. I can from this infer that the *The word in the original is Mahdrathagranika, which can also be read Mahdrathdntranika (in Banakrit Mahdrdshtratrénaka), the mesning of which is “« Protector of Maharashtra.”312 COINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS. figures carved in the Néneghét caves, the inscription in which records the gifts of Vedisri, are those of the family of this king; and I con- clude the first figure, Sitavdhana, was that of his father ; the next male figure was of himsclf, the reigning king, and the female figure alongside it to be meant for his queen. ‘These two are represented as king and queen, and over the head of the king is written Sdtakarni, his ancestral name, but not his own special name. The next figures, which are named Kuméra, or prince, may be those of the sons of the king Vediéri. The figure No. 4 docs not, however, bear the title of Kuméra, and it is probable that it may represent the king's brother, or some brave officer in his service. On this supposition the list of the family may be prepared as follows :— King Sitavéhana. | King Sétakarni (Vediéri?). | l [ Kuméra Bhaya.... Kuméra Hékusiri. Kuméra Sétavéhana. ‘This Vedisri is described in the inscription as Angiyz Kulavadhanasa («Promoter of the family of Angiya”). ‘This expression is always used with reference to one’s own family. Should, however, by mistake of the engraver, ¢{, gi, have been cut instead of gf, dhi, which it re sembles, the name of the family can be read as Andhiya, which is the correct Prikrit of the Sanskrit Andhriya, In the Bhdgavata the founder of the Andhra kings is described as Vrigala (Sidra), but none of the kings that we have hitherto come across appear to be of Sidra caste, for the names, such as Vediéri, Yajnairi, of kings, and Gotami, Vsisthi of queens, are somewhat like those of superior caste, as Brahman or Kehatriya; and the several Yajnas described ‘in the Néneghdt inscriptions tend to show a superior caste. So it seems most probable that the name of the founder, whieh occurs as Siguka or Suruka, might have been read by the author of the Bhdgavata in mistake as Stdraka, and in consequence he might have described him as of Vriala or Siidra caste. The names of the kings which we get from the Néneghét inscription do not exactly correspond with those mentioned in the Purdnas, but we cannot have much faith in the correctness of the latter, as not only do the names given in one Purina differ from those in another, but also there is a difference in the names as given in different copies of the sameCOINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS. 313 Purdna. The list from the Mitsya Purina given by Professor H. H. Wilson in his notes to the Vishnupuréna is well made out, and the names can be identified with those in the Ndneghét inscription. It is as follows :— Name of King. Years. Name of King. Years. 1 Siguka 23 16 i 2 Krishna 18 7 3 Simalakarn 18 18 4 Purnotsanga . 18 19 5 Srivasvini 20 Rajddasvati ... 0 6 mths. 21 Sivasvati 28 22 Gautamiputra . 21 23 Pulomat.... 24 Sivasri ... 25 Skandhasviti .. 7 7 Lambodara . Mrigendra . 13 Kuntalasvéti 14 Svatikarna . 15 Pulomévit ‘The title Kuntala Seémi (or “lord of Kuntala”) seems to have been applied to Sitavéhana.* I therefore identify the Kuntala of the Purdua with Sétavéhana of Néneghat. Then No. 14 is Svatikaria; this seems to be a mistaken name of Sétakarni, whom I identify with No. 2 in the Néneghét inscriptions, and whom] believe to be identical with Vediéri Sétakarni. Nos. 15 and 16, Pulomavit and Gorakshé- Svasri, cannot be identified with any Néneghét inscription name ; they may probably have been the sons of Sitaka No. 17 is called Hala ; I identify him with Kumara Sitavéhana of Néneghét, for this appellation is well known in Kosha. The four names 18 to 21 are not known to us as yet. Then comes No. 23, Pulomat, whom I identify with Vasisthiputra of our coins, and who is called in the West- ern Indian inscriptions by the names of Pulumayi, Puduméyi, and Palumavi. The next, No. 24, is Svaéri, whom I identify with eee He is called Srisena in the Kanheri cave inscriptions. No. 25, Skandasvati, about whom we are still in the dark. No. 26, Yajnaée I identify with Gotamiputra Yadnaéri, Sétakarni. © Vide Fatsydyana Kémasitra, aeat prae: Wat: Aaa mereat® qesaractty | VOL. XIIT- 40314, COINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS. In conclusion, let us make a few observations with regard to the period when these kings flourished. Ndneghat inscriptions do not givens any datum upon which we can fix the time of Sdtavdhana, yet there is no fear of contradiction if we say that the inscriptions of Naneghét are of much earlier date than those of Nésik, as appears from the letters used in No. 26 inscription of the latter place, in which a description of Gotamiputra I. is given, and from which we get means to fix the probable date of the reign of Gotamiputra, which will give us aid in finding the time of Sétavdhana also. According to Dr. Bhat D4ji, too, Gotamiputra is described in the Ndsik inscriptions as the de- stroyer of the descendauts of Kshaharita.* In the Nisik cave inscriptions we find a king of this dynasty of the name of Nahapdna, who is called by the name of Khakharata in the Kili inscription, Nahapdna was a Kshatrapa, and his coins resemble in form those of other Kshatrapas found in Mélwé, Gujardt, and Kithidvéd, but they appear older than any of the others. «Kshatrapa’ in Sanskrit means ‘a muster of Kshatris,’ but if, as sup- posed by Prinsep, the word is the same as ‘Satrap,’ the prefect of a province under the Persian system of government, it is possible that these Kshatrapas were governors of some interior parts of India under some sovereign kings raling in the northern frontier of the country. The first among them may have been this Nahapéna, and the next Chastana. The Bactrian inscriptions which appear in their coins together with the Sanskrit ones tend to show a connection with a paramount power in the northern part, where the Bactrian character was in use at the time. Nahapéna and Chastana were two unconnected Kshatrapas govern ing one after the other, but the descendants of the latter seem to have succeeded one another in the rule, and the Bactrian legend does not appear on the coins of the descendants of Chastana. From this | infer that the supremacy of the paramount power was exercised upon them until Chastana’s time, and that subsequently—owing, perhaps, to some revolution—these governors became independent rulers of the districts in their charge. The figures of eras found on the coins of the Kshatrapas may be the era of their kings. Dr. Bhéi Déji proposed that the era was the Saka era, for these are written in the inscription called ‘ Sakanripakdldlita saswvatsara,’ or ‘ the year after the time of king Saka’ ; or Saka varsha, or ‘era of Saka.’ _ © Jour, Bo, Br. R, ds. Soc., vol. VIIL, p. 87.COINS OF ANDARABHRITYA KINGS, 815 The Kshatrapas may perhaps have been governors under the Saka kings. We find the era 40 and 42 in the Ndsik inscriptions of Ushavadata, son-in-law of Kshahardta Kshatrapa Nahapdna; it is not evident what era this was, but in all probability it is the same as that on the Kshatrapa coins. Whether Nahapdna was alive at that date or not is a matter of doubt, for the inscription belongs to his son-in-law, but an inscription in the Junat caves recording a gift by his own minister in the year 46 enables us to infer that he was then living. Now, taking the era as Saka, it makes (46+78) 124 of the Christianera. If, as we have said, Gotamiputra was a destroyer of the Kshaharita dynasty, he must have flourished after the above-mentioned time. From his inscriptions it appears that he had other provinces,—Surdshtra, Kukura, Apardnta, and Akaré-Avanti,—and these probably were re- gained by Chastana, as we find from the inscriptions of Rudra Dim& of Jundgadh that his descendants were rulers of them, and that he (Chastana) reigned about the 57th yenr of the era. On the coins of his great-grandson Rudra Sitha I have found figures of the years from 102 to 117, and the former date may have been near the com- mencement of his reign. In the Junagadh inscription of Rudra Démé, father of Rudra Sitha, we find the figure of the year 72, which was the year of the beginning of his reign. The reign of Jaya Dimé, son of Chastana and father of Rudra Démé, seems to have been of very short duration, as is evident from the great scarcity of his coins. If we allot five years for its length, the date of the termination of the reign of his father, Chastana, comes to nearly 67, or (67-+78 =) 145 A.C. As Chastana had regained the lost provinces, we may sup- pose him to have been of full age, and, taking the length of his reign at ten years, the date of the beginning of his reign comes to 57, ot (57 + 78) 135 A.C. This enables us to fix the date of Gotamiputra’s conquest as between 124 and 135 A.C. From this it is inferred that Gotamiputra gained his victory in his full age, and it is probable that Chastana regained them either in Gotamiputra’s old age, or during the reign of his son Vasisthiputra, Padumévi, or Pulumayi. So it appears that Chastana and Vasisthiputra Padumévi were, very likely, cotem- poraries. Tiastenes of Ujein alluded to by Ptolemy has been identified by Dr. Bh&ti D4ji with Chastana, and Lassen and Wilford identify Polemeus of Paithan, also alluded to by Ptolemy, with Padumévi, and this supposition is strengthened by the above.316 COINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS, The period of the reign of Sétavahana of Néneghit inscriptions, whom we have identified with Kuntalasvati of the Matsya Purdna list, comes, according to the years given in the list, to nearly 113 years previous to the time of Gotamiputra, or between (124—113) 11 a.c. and (135—113) 22 A.C.gi reer ereererrrerrreere JS COINS OF ANDHRASHRITVA KINGS. PLATE Ill. YG GoogleCOINS OF ANDHRABHRITYA KINGS. PLATE Iv. Google |