1855.] On the Epoch of the Gupta Dynasty. 379 



plantes incultes. La capitale est ruinee a un tel point qu'il est 

 impossible de determiner quelle etait son etendue."* 



It is absurd to suppose that this capital and kingdom could have 

 been severally re-edified and re-peopled within so brief a space as 

 intervened between the date of Fa Hian's visit, and the epoch alluded 

 to by Ma-twan-lin, nor is it probable, if the kingdom had recovered 

 itself to that point of importance in the scale of nations as the 

 Chinese allusions to 428 A. D. and 466 A. D. respectively would 

 imply, that it should have sunk back into such utter desolation in 

 the second Pilgrim's time ; on the contrary the tenor of the expres- 

 sions made use of in the original Si-yu-ki altogether forbids any 

 idea of the kind.f It is far more reasonable to conclude that 

 both the name of the prince, like that of the once nourishing 

 monarchy, should be held to refer to an anterior period to that 

 given by Ma-touan-Un, or perhaps with greater justice the whole 

 affair may be put down as an empty and ignorant boast for the 

 honor and glorification of the Chinese monarchs, made in connexion 

 with a site so intimately associated with the early faith of Sakya 

 Muni. 



Next in order of Major Cunningham's direct evidences, comes 

 the assertion that "in A. D. 502, the king of India was named Ken- 

 to that is Gutto, the Pali form of the Sanskrit Gupta." J This state- 

 ment, be it observed, is also derived from Ma-twan-lin, the author 

 whose evidence I have just shewn such reason to distrust — but, 

 under any circumstances, the information conveyed in this quota- 

 tion is too vague and indistinct to merit much consideration — to 

 make it of any real service in this discussion, it would be necessary 

 to demonstrate, that the name of Gupta was special and exclusive 

 with the Gupta family ; whereas the suffix in question was suffi- 

 ciently common in the ordinary nomenclature of the country. If 

 it had been proposed to assign the appellation to Sri Gupta, there 



* Huen-Tshang " Julien," p. 126. 



t Sit-yu-ki liv. VI. folio 7. " Comme ce pays est desert et inhabite depuis 

 bien de siecles, • on ne recontre dans les villages que des rares habitants.' II n'y a ni 

 prince, ni chef supreme; dans chaque ville,on a elabli un maltre qui la gouverne." 

 — Documents Geographiques, p. 394. 



X J. A. S. B. VI. p. 65. 



3 D 



