Indian Epigraphy c15.t6.2

c15.t6.2

If the Scytho-Parthian era has to be identified with the Vikrama-saṃvat, we have to determine as to how it came to be associated with the name of Vikramāditya. The earlier records bearing dates in this era naturally do not call it by a specific name. The earliest epigraphs that have a name for the reckoning have been discovered in Rajasthan. Slightly later records associate the era with the Mālava tribe and afterwards with the lord or lords of Mālava or the Mālavas. Finally, in the 8th century A.D., the reckoning was connected with the name of king Vikramāditya. A few instances may be quoted to illustrate the different stages.