History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v6.c82.657

v6.c82.657

Almost all astronomical works in Sanskrit from about 500 A. D employ the Śaka era Why the Śaka era is so called, whether it was to commemorate the coming of the famous Kuṣāna king Kaniṣka to the throne or when and where it came to be first used are among the most difficult and unsolved problems of Indian History and Chronology. In one of the earliest inscriptions expressly dated in the Śaka era, viz that of Cālukya king Maṅgaleśvara in 500 śaka (expired, i. e, 578 A.D.) it is cited as the era of the crowning of the Śaka¹⁰⁰³ king. Varāhamihira speaks of it as Śakakāla (in the Pañcasiddhāntikā¹⁰⁰⁴ and Bṛhat-saṁhitā 13. 3) and as Śakendrakāla