The Age of the Imperial Guptas c4.146

c4.146

The first of these two is the Tumain inscription of G.E. 116=435-36 A.D. In this record Govindagupta is mentioned once and then follows the name of another person named Ghaṭotkacagupta. From other Gupta inscriptions we know that Ghaṭotkacagupta was the name of the father of Candragupta I. From the Poona plates of the Vākāṭaka queen Prabhāvatiguptā the same information is to be derived.¹ Mr. M. B. Garde, Superintendent Archaeology in the Gwalior State has published a short note on the Tumain inscription of G.E. 116 but in this note the exact relationship between Govindagupta and Ghaṭotkacagupta has not been made clear. The inscription has not been published in full.² To the same scholar belongs the credit of another important inscription at Mandasor in the Malwa Prant of the Gwalior State. This inscription mentions Govindagupta immediately after Candragupta II and is dated V.S. 524. Therefore it must be admitted that Govindagupta was alive in V.S. 524=467-8 A.D., which is the last known date of the emperor Skandagupta.³ Now the problem is about Govindagupta's position in Mālava. Was he the Viceroy of Mālava in G.E. 116=435-36 A.D., or had he thrown off the allegiance of his brother? The second inscription shows that in 467-8 A.D., he was still in Mālava. But the second inscription does not mention Skandagupta. Did Govindagupta refuse to acknowledge his nephew after his brother's death in 455 A.D., or had he done so after Skandagupta's death? These problems will remain unsolved till fresh material about the later history of Mālava is available.