History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v4.c64.68

v4.c64.68

गौल्मिक-'Superintendent of woods and forests' (Fleet). The word occurs in Gupta Ins. No. 12 p. 47 at p. 50, in the Nālandā plate of Devapāla (E. I. XVII at p. 321), Bhagalpur plate of Nārāyaṇapāla (I. A. 15 p. 304 at p. 306), in the grant of Lakṣmaṇasena (E. I. XII p. 6 at p. 9). The word is formed from 'gulma' acc. to Vārtika 13.(āyasthanebhyaṣṭhaka) on Pāṇini IV. 2. 104. Vogel (p. 127) boldly asserts that 'the words śaulkika and gaulmika are unknown in Sanskrit Literature' in spite of Bühler's note in E. I. vol. I p. 2 at p. 7 that śaulkikas are frequently mentioned in inscriptions. But śaulkika also occurs in Yāj. II. 173 and both words occur in the Mahābhāṣya. Gulma means a post of guards. Vide p. 141 above. The word 'gumike' read in the grant of Pallava Śivaskandavarman (E. I. vol. I p. 2 at p. 5) is correctly held by Bühler to stand for 'gaulmika'.