Indian Epigraphy c15.t7.25

c15.t7.25

Another interesting fact is that the *Pañcasiddhāntikā* of the celebrated Maga-Brāhmaṇa astronomer, Varāhamihira of Ujjayinī, makes use of the Śaka era,³ and this points to the contribution of astronomers to the popularity of the reckoning. That, of all the historical and popular eras of ancient India, only the Vikrama-saṃvat (the Scytho-Parthian era originated in Drangiana) and the Śaka-kāla (the Kaniṣka era) are still in use is probably due, to a considerable extent, to the fact that both of them came to be used in the region about West Malwa where the city of Ujjayinī became one of the strongest centres of astronomical studies in India, presumably under the patronage of Śaka and Gupta rulers. The Guptas used their own era on their coins meant for circulation in Western India, but did not compel their feudatories in Malwa, viz. the Aulikaras of Daśapura, to discontinue the use of the Vikrama-saṃvat and adopt the Gupta era. The Persian priests (Magi), who migrated to India and were known as the Maga-Brāhmaṇas of Śaka-dvīpa (Seistan),¹ preferred the Śaka era and contributed to the growth of the Ujjayinī school of astronomy.