Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c14.18

c14.18

The Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta (*circa* 340-76 A.D.) mentions the Samataṭa country while Varāhamihira’s *Bṛhatsaṃhitā* (sixth century A.D.) distinguishes it from Vaṅga. The country is mentioned in the seventh century in the accounts of the celebrated Chinese pilgrims Hiuen-tsang and I-tsing as well as in the Kailān plate¹ of king Śrīdhāraṇa of the Rāta dynasty, who is described as the lord of Samataṭa. The same country is further mentioned in the Bāghāurā inscription² of Mahīpāla I (*circa* 988-1038 A.D.) and in the Mehār plate³ (1234 A.D.) of Dāmodara. The Mehār plate mentions Samataṭa as a *maṇḍala* or province. The name Samataṭa disappeared from Indian geography after the thirteenth century A.D.