The interval between these two events we are now happily able to fill up with two of the most illustrious dynasties of India—the first including the reign of the great Vicramaditya of Ujjain, who is to the Hindus what Solomon is to the Jews, or Asoka to the Buddhists. The last-named religion, as mentioned above, was becoming effete about the middle of the 5th century, and the Guptas were introducing the modern Brahmanical faith in its place. What, however, they were only feebly attempting, the Ujjain dynasty accomplished with a brilliancy that has eclipsed everything that happened before or since in India, in the eyes of the Hindus at least. All that is great in science, or in poetry, or the arts, shone forth around his wonderful throne—the exact counterpart of Solomon’s—and all that subsequently took place in India bears the stamp of his greatness. It seems, however, to have been too bright to last. The four succeeding monarchs were Buddhists—of a singularly tolerant type it is true—but still certainly favourers of that religion. The last of them, Siladitya, was the king at whose court Hiouen Thsang sojourned in 636, and afterwards in 642, and where he witnessed the festival of the distribution of alms so often alluded to above. Hiouen Thsang gives the date of his death categorically, 650, and adds, though in the form of a prophecy, that after that, “l’Inde entière sera en proie à des troubles affreux—et des hommes pervers se feront une guerre acharnée.”[726] This is more than confirmed by Ma-twan-lin, but with an apparent discrepancy of date, to the extent, it may be, of two years.[727] It was in fact the commencement of those troubles which extinguished Buddhism, then in Central India, and a century later abolished it wholly, except in some remote corners of the land.

Whether he died in 648 or 650, there is no doubt, from the numerous incidents our Chinese traveller recounts, that this Siladitya ascended the throne 610, one year after his great rival, Pulakesi II., of Kalyan, who, as pointed out above, began to reign in 609, and fought with him with varying success in 618-627.

For the chronology of the four preceding reigns we have nothing but the assertion of Hiouen Thsang, that “suivant la tradition”[728]—and in another place, “on lit dans l’histoire de ce royaume,[729] que le trône était occupé il y a soixante ans par un roi nommé Siladitya;” and further, that he reigned fifty years, which would carry us back to 530 for the accession of this king, supposing the passage was written in 640.

Notwithstanding the confidence with which it is stated, I have no hesitation in rejecting as excessive 110 for the length of the reign of three kings, two of whom were brothers. I do so with the more confidence, as our author, though so exact a geographer, and recorder of things he saw, is in no one instance to be depended upon for his dates. He resided, for instance, for five years at Nalanda, and must have had access to its records, yet he tells us that the convent existed for 700 years,[730] and then gives the names of the five kings by whom the various parts were built from that time to his day, but sees no absurdity in representing these in all instances as the son of the one next named previously. Each, according to his account, must have reigned more than 100 years! To what extent this date of the accession of Siladitya must be curtailed can only be ascertained from subsequent discoveries or investigations. For the present it will suffice to abridge it by twenty years, which will bring it in accord with all that we at present know from other sources.[731]

When we turn to the other end of our list, we have certainly three—probably four kings—for whom we must find room in eighty years and one of the three, the great Vicramaditya, must have had a long reign. Professor Wilson ascribes to him thirty-five years,[732] and I know of no authority better than his, especially for the history or chronology of this period. The Hindus themselves, with their usual carelessness, have forgotten to record it; and though there are certain dates in the Puranas and elsewhere, there are no means of testing their accuracy; for his accession, however, there are one or two that are worth recording. Thus, Wilford reports that this Vicramaditya ascended the throne of Malwa 441,[733] reckoning from the first of Salivahana, or, 520; or, according to the Agni Purana, 437 years after the same epoch, or 516,[734] which, I believe, may be the exact year; and there are several other dates which might be used to confirm this assumption, but there are no means of testing the genuineness.

Assuming this for the present, it leaves only forty-five years for the two or three preceding reigns; and it seems hardly sufficient for the purpose, for, as we shall presently see from the ‘Raja Tarangini,’ there were nine descents between Pratapaditya, the friend of the first Vicramaditya, and Matrigupta, the protégé of the second. Of course there may be considerable overlapping among the first and last of these nine kings, but it seems impossible to compress the whole within a shorter period than has been allowed.

However the small discrepancies of this dynasty may hereafter be adjusted, it is satisfactory to know that there is probably no date that will admit of a greater correction than say ten years, if so much, and the age of the last king, Hiouen Thsang’s friend, enables us to feel perfectly certain as to the dates of his son-in-law, Dhruvasena, of Ballabhi, of Sasanka, of Pundra Verddhana, of Kumara, of Kamarupa, and of Pulakesi II. of Kalyan. We have thus at least one fixed point in our mediæval history which is quite certain, and from which we can calculate backwards and forwards without difficulty, and is also an interesting one, as its final date, 650, is the beginning of the end which was consummated, as we shall see in the next section, by Laladitya just one century later.

Kashmir.

Asoka, 276 to 240 B.C.
Jaloka.
Damodara.
Hushka — Tartar Princes established Buddhism.
Jushka — Tartar Princes established Buddhism.
Kanishka — Tartar Princes established Buddhism.
Abhimanu, 79 A.D.?
Gonardya Dynasty.
Gonarda. Naga worship restored.
Vibhishana.
Indrajita.
Ravana.
Vibhishana.
Nara.
Siddha.
Utpalaksha.
Hiranyaksha.
Hiranyakula.
Vasukulo.
Mihirakula, invaded Ceylon 250?
Vaka.
Kshitinanda.
Vasunanda.
Nara.
Aksha.
Gopaditya, 330?
Gokarna.
Narendraditya.
Yudhishthira.
Aditya Dynasty.
Pratapaditya, kinsman of Vicramaditya I., 390.
Jalaukas.
Tunjina.
Vijaya.
Jayendra.
Arya Raja.
Gonardya Line restored.
Meghavahana invaded Ceylon, 472.
Pravarasena I.
Hiranya — Contemporaries of Vicramaditya.
Toramana — Contemporaries of Vicramaditya.
Matrigupta, viceroy under Vicramaditya II., 515.
Pravarasena II., invaded Siladitya of Gujerat, 560.
Yudhishthira II.
Nandravat.
Ranaditya.
Vikramaditya.
Baladitya.
Naga or Karkota Dynasty.
Durlabhaverddhana, 627.
Pratapaditya, 663.
Chandrapira, 713.
Parapira, 721.
Lalataditya, 725; died 761. Conquered
Yasoverna of Kanouje, and overran India.

When the ‘Raja Tarangini’ is spoken of, in a real Indian history, it is only in the sense of the French proverb—“Parmi les aveugles les borgnes sont rois.” It may be the best, but it is a very indifferent specimen of its class. Some of the few events it narrates are interesting and important, but they lose much of their value from the chronology to which they are attached being wilfully and systematically falsified. Even they, however, may become more valuable than they now appear, when the work is better edited than it has been hitherto. The earliest and best account we have of it is that of Professor Wilson, in the fifteenth volume of the ‘Asiatic Researches.’ The translation, afterwards published by Troyer in French, is fuller, no doubt, but is made from a less perfect manuscript, and is far less critical. Dr. Geo. Bühler, who is now in the valley, is said to have collected several additional and more complete MSS., from which it is understood he is preparing a new edition of the work. When this is done, we may be able to use it more profitably; meanwhile, for chronological purposes, we can only try and find an initial and final date, and with one or two intermediate synchronisms, try to bring the whole into an intelligible sequence; but so hopelessly is the chronology confused by its author, that this at present can only be effected by the application of a system of averages, which is, and always must be, a most unsatisfactory mode of procedure.