The Age of the Imperial Guptas c6.58

c6.58

Inscriptions and seals indicate that in some cases at any rate ministers were hereditary. In the case of Amātyas we have Spooner’s seal from Vaiśālī in which we see that the Amātya Hastabala was the son of the Amātya Bhadrika.² In the reign of Candragupta II Vīrasena alias Śaba of Pāṭaliputra calls himself the hereditary minister as well as the minister of peace and war (Anvaya-prāpta-Sācivyo-vyāpṛita-Sāndhivigrahaḥ) in the Udaygiri cave inscription.³ The most important case of hereditary succession to offices is recorded in the Karamdanda inscription of G.E. 117=446-7 A.D. We learn from this record that the Kumārāmātya Śikhara-svāmin, a brāhmaṇa of the Aśva-vājī gotra, was the minister (Mantrin) of Candragupta II. But his son, the Kumārāmātya Pṛthivīṣeṇa was at first the Mantrin of the Emperor Kumāragupta I but later on he became the Commander-in-chief (Mahābalādhikṛta).⁴