Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c8.s3.t3.7

c8.s3.t3.7

⁵⁰ The Devnīmorī stone casket inscription (SI I.519), dated in the year 127 of the “Kathika kings” (*kathikanṛpāṇām*), is written entirely in correct classical style. The date of the inscription, however, is controversial; Sircar (ibid.) interprets it as a year of the Śaka era, equivalent to A.D. 205. Others, however, such as P. Srinivasan (EI 37, 67–8), judge the inscription to be considerably later on paleographic grounds and think that the otherwise unknown “Kathika” era may be equivalent to the Kalacuri-Cedi era, in which case the date of the inscription would be ca. A.D. 376. The latter opinion is preferable on linguistic grounds, as the classical style would be quite typical of the early Gupta era but unusual for the early third century (see also 5.5.1.16).