The Age of the Imperial Guptas c4.68

c4.68

The remaining tribes mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta are not so well known to us. The Arjunāyanas are known from their coins only, which are exceedingly rare.⁶ The joint cabinets of the Asiatic Society of Bengal and the Indian Museum contain two coins only. Their habitat is also unknown. But as their coins resemble those of the Northern Satraps and the Yaudheyas, they may tentatively be taken to be inhabitants of Northern Rajputana.⁷ The Ābhīras are known to be inhabitants of Western India and some of their kings ruled over Kathiawad.¹ Very little is known about the Madras unless they are the same as the Madras of the Vedic and Epic texts.² Nothing is known about the Prārjunas and the Kharaparikas. The Kharaparas are mentioned in a Damoh inscription of the 13th century.³ The Sanakānīkas are known from an inscription of the time of Candragupta II. In the year 82 of the Gupta era a chief of this tribe caused a cave temple to be excavated in a low rock near Bhilsa in the Gwalior State.⁴ The Kākas are known from tribal surnames in modern Kashmir. It appears therefore that the tribes mentioned in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta inhabited the Southern Panjab and Northern Rajputana in the 4th century A.D.