[1] Mr. Vajeshankar Gavrishankar, Náib Diván of Bhávnagar, has made a collection of articles found in Valabhi. The collection includes clay seals of four varieties and of about the seventh century with the Buddhist formula Ye Dhárma hetu Prabhavá: a small earthen tope with the same formula imprinted on its base with a seal; beads and ring stones nangs of several varieties of akik or carnelian and sphatik or coral some finished others half finished showing that as in modern Cambay the polishing of carnelians was a leading industry in early Valabhi. One circular figure of the size of a half rupee carved in black stone has engraved upon it the letters ma ro in characters of about the second century.[2] A royal seal found by Colonel Watson in Vaḷeh bears on it an imperfect inscription of four lines in characters as old as Dhruvasena I. (a.d. 526). This seal contains the names of three generations of kings, two of which the grandfather and grandson read Ahivarmman and Pushyáṇa all three being called Mahárája or great king. The dynastic name is lost. The names on these moveable objects need not belong to Valabhi history. Still that seals of the second and fifth centuries have been discovered in Valabhi shows the place was in existence before the founding of the historical Valabhi kingdom. A further proof of the age of the city is the mention of it in the Kathásarit-ságara a comparatively modern work but of very old materials. To this evidence of age, with much hesitation, may be added Balai Ptolemy’s name for Gopnáth point which suggests that as early as the second century Vaḷeh or Baleh (compare Alberuni’s era of Balah) was known by its present name. Badly minted coins of the Gupta ruler Kumáragupta (a.d. 417–453) are so common as to suggest that they were the currency of Valabhi. [↑]
[2] The ma and ra are of the old style and the side and upper strokes, that is the káno and mátra of ro are horizontal. [↑]
[3] As suggested by Dr. Bühler (Ind. Ant. VI. 10), this is probably the Vihára called Śrí Bappapádiyavihára which is described as having been constructed by Áchárya Bhadanta Sthiramati who is mentioned as the grantee in a copperplate of Dharasena II. bearing date Gupta 269 (a.d. 588). The Sthiramati mentioned with titles of religious veneration in the copperplate is probably the same as that referred to by Hiuen Tsiang. (Ditto). [↑]
[4] Burgess’ Káthiáwár and Kutch, 187. [↑]
[5] Stories on record about two temples one at Śatruñjaya the other at Somanátha support this view. As regards the Śatruñjaya temple the tradition is that while the minister of Kumárapála (a.d. 1143–1174) of Aṇahilaváḍa was on a visit to Śatruñjaya to worship and meditate in the temple of Ádinátha, the wick of the lamp in the shrine was removed by mice and set on fire and almost destroyed the temple which was wholly of wood. The minister seeing the danger of wooden buildings determined to erect a stone edifice (Kumárapála Charita). The story about Somanátha is given in an inscription of the time of Kumárapála in the temple of Bhadrakáli which shows that before the stone temple was built by Bhímadeva I. (a.d. 1022–1072) the structure was of wood which was traditionally believed to be as old as the time of Kṛishṇa. Compare the Bhadrakáli inscription at Somanátha. [↑]
[6] The correctness of this inference seems open to question. The descent of the Valabhi plate character seems traceable from its natural local source the Skandagupta (a.d. 450) and the Rudradáman (a.d. 150) Girnár Inscriptions.—(A. M. T. J.) [↑]
[7] The era has been exhaustively discussed by Mr. Fleet in Corp. Ins. Ind. III. Introduction. [↑]
[8] Nepaul Inscriptions. The phrase acháṭa-bhaṭa is not uncommon. Mr. Fleet (Corp. Ins. Ind. III. page 98 note 2) explains acháṭa-bhaṭa-praveśya as “not to be entered either by regular (bhaṭa) or by irregular (cháṭa) troops.” [↑]