The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c8.s3.28

v1.c8.s3.28

¹ It has been argued that the third son of Pravarasena was Gautamīputra Śivamagha, whose seal has been found at Bhita and whose coins are found at Kauśāmbi. It is claimed that he was the founder of the ‘Magha’ line, which was thus merely a branch of the Vākāṭakas (Pai in JIH, xiv, 16 ff.). Gautamīputra Śivamagha had three predecessors, Bhadramagha, Poṭhasiri, and Bhīmasena, who ruled over the upper Narmadā valley from c. A.D. 150. His relationship with his predecessors is not known, but the fact that his seal is identical with that of Bhīmasena shows that he belonged to the line of this king and not to the line of Pravarasena I. On the seals of both these rulers we have a standing woman and a bull with a crescent below his neck. The legend on Bhīmasena’s seal is above these symbols, while that on the seal of Śivamagha is below them. Such a striking resemblance in the seals of the two rulers would be difficult to explain if they belonged to different dynasties. Yet this supposition becomes inevitable if we assume that Gautamīputra Śivamagha was a Vākāṭaka ruler. The imperial Vākāṭakas never issued any coins; it is therefore difficult to understand how a viceroy like Śivamagha could have issued them.