INDEPENDENT DETERMINATION OF THE BEGINNING OF THE GUPTA ERA USING ASTRONOMICAL METHOD  AND RELIGIOUS BELIEF OF CHANDRAGUPTA II VIKRAMADITYA

 

BY

 

ANAND M. SHARAN

PROFESSOR,  FACULTY OF ENGINEERING

MEMORIAL UNIVERSITY OF NEWFOUNDLAND,

ST JOHN’S , NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA A1B 3X5

asharan@engr.mun.ca

 

AUGUST 16, 2008

 

ABSTRACT

            In this work, a review of the years of the beginning of the important Gupta era has been carried out. The correct year is arrived at by a study of the Gupta era inscriptions in cave 6 at Udayagiri, a place north east of Bhopal, in Madhya Pradesh. The inscriptions state that Chandragupta II was present in the caves on the day of the ekadashi ( eleventh day ) of the bright phase of the moon during  the 82nd year of the Gupta era. The Julian calendar date of this event has been arrived at by performing astronomical calculations for the years 401, 402, and 403 AD, the possible years for Chandragupta II to have been there. The correct year was determined when the passage at Udayagiri on the above mentioned ekadashi day  - was fully illuminated by the sun. The year so determined was 402 AD  which results into 320 AD as the beginning year of the Gupta era.

 

            In addition, the work also discusses briefly, the religious faith of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya .   

 

INTRODUCTION

            Although the Gupta era is considered as the golden age of India yet, the year of its beginning has not been ascertained clearly by historians. They have differed from each other, and have mentioned a range 319 AD to 321 AD.

           

            The inscriptions by Fleet [ 1888 ]  have been there for a long time but no one had thought that these inscriptions would one day lead to the determination of the beginning year  of the Gupta era. 

 

            One could deduce the beginning year of the Gupta era from the work of Sharan, and Balasubramanium [ 2004 ] but this fact was not stated explicitly amongst its objectives, and  attempts were not made towards achieving this goal in that paper.

 

            The objective of the present work is  a step  further in that direction,  and which is needed,  to complete the above mentioned work . In addition, this work also discusses briefly the religious beliefs of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya.

  
CHANDRAGUPTA I AND SAMUDRAGUPTA

 

The Gupta dynasty  rose after  the collapse of the Indo-Scythian or Kushan empire in India at some time in the third century . In the period just earlier ( after Kushans )  - many independent states must have been established  when the control of a central authority ceased to exist .In the  views of large number of historians [Cunningham, 1970; Wolpert, 1993 ; Tripathy, 1985 ; Smith , 1958 ; Jain, 1997 ; Sircar, 1969 ] , the  Gupta era had its beginning some where around  320 AD when Chandragupta I ascended the throne of Magadha . Other possible years mentioned range from 319 to 321 AD.

 

            The Lichchhavis of Vaisali, last heard of in the days of  Lord Buddha, again emerged after 800 years of silence. The clan established themselves in  Pataliputra, the ancient imperial capital, and perhaps they had ruled there as tributaries or feudatories of the Kushans, whose headquarter was at Peshawar.  Early in the fourth century a Lichchhavi princess was married  to a Raja of  Magadha who bore the historic name of Chandragupta. The matrimonial alliance with the Lichchhavis enhanced his power so that he was able to extend his dominion over Oudh as well as Magadha, and along the Ganges as far as Prayaga or Allahabad. Chandragupta recognized the contribution of  his wife by striking his gold coins in the  joint names of himself, his queen (Kumara Devi), and the Lichchhavi .

 

            Chandragupta I was succeeded by his son, Samudragupta who expanded his kingdom vastly. Samudragupta’s son , Chandragupta ascended the thrown after the death of his father, Samudragupta.

 

CHANDRAGUPTA II

 

            About A.D. 380, or perhaps some five years earlier, he ( Samudragupta )  was succeeded by his  son , Chandragupta II . Later in life,  he took the additional title of Vikramaditya , which is associated by tradition with the Raja of Ujjain who is believed to have defeated the Sakas and established the Vikrama Era going back to  58-57 B.C [  Sharan, 2004 ] . Chandragupta II, had his  principal military achievement ,  the conquest of Malwa, Gujarat, and Saurashtra or Kathiawar countries which had been ruled for several centuries by Saka chiefs. Those chiefs, who had been tributary to the Kushans, called themselves Satraps or Great Satraps. The conquest was made between the years 388 and 402 A.D. The subjugation of the MaIawas and certain other tribes which had remained outside the frontier of Samudragupta, although enjoying his protection , brought the Magadha rule in direct contact with the Arabian sea . This opened communication with Egypt , Arabia, and Europe and  led  to exchange of wealth and knowledge with the countries involved . 

 

            Udayagiri, is in Eastern Malwa near the ancient city of  Vidisha. One can refer to the works of authors such as Balasubramanium, or  Dass, or  Sharan  as one of the authors in their various publications regarding the Udayagiri astronomical remains ; and some of these works are  mentioned in the references here.  There was an observatory set up at Udayagiri nearby on the hills [ Sharan, and Dass, 2007 ].  This location has caves depicting the Gupta era fine arts ( shown in  Fig. 1 ) . The map shows the locations of caves 6 near the gate or entrance, and cave 13 in the passage where there is a statue of Lord Vishnu ( shown as Fig. 2 ) . A view towards the gate or entrance , in the north - easterly direction,  from  the passage in front of cave 13 is  shown in Figs. 3, and 4. The cave 13 is on the right hand side ( south side )  in Fig. 3.

 

GUPTA ERA ASTRONOMICAL REMAINS AT UDAYAGIRI

 

            The original location of the Iron Pillar , Vishnupadagiri, has been identified as modern Udayagiri in the close vicinity of  Eran, Vidisha and Sanchi [Balasubramanium, 2002 ]. These towns are located about 50 km east of Bhopal, in central India, and the region is called Malwa. It is here that we find two datable inscriptions mentioning Chandragupta II.  At this location, 19 of the 20 cave temples are from the time of  Chandragupta II  .

            The Udayagiri location is on the Tropic of Cancer. The Tropic of Cancer has been mentioned as the ideal latitude for establishment of astronomical observatories in ancient India . There are several significant days in the year as regards to the position of the sun with respect to the earth. These are the summer and winter solstices and the equinoxes. It is important to understand - which event among these was the most important during the Gupta period. In this regard, there is specific mention of a particular day, in addition to the mention of the name Chandragupta, in an important Gupta-period inscription in Udayagiri in cave 6 [ Fleet, 1888 ] .

 

THE DETERMINATION OF THE YEAR OF PRESENCE OF CHANDRAGUPTA II USING THE INSCRIPTION IN CAVE 6

 

The inscription is read as :

 " Perfection has been attained! In the year 80 (and) 2, on the eleventh lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month Âshâdha,— this (is) the appropriate religious gift of the Sanakânika, the Mahârâja . . dhala (?),— the son’s son of the Mahârâja Chhagalaga; (and) the son of the Mahârâja Vishnudâsa,— who meditates on the feet of the Paramabhattâraka and Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Chandragupta (II.) "

 

            So, the problem remains, as a first step,  is to establish the calendar date of the 82nd year of the Gupta Era where Chandragupta mentioned in the last line  is obviously not Chandragupta I .  The day mentioned is the eleventh lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Asadha .

 

            As the Sanakanika inscription refers to the 82nd year of the Gupta Era, calculations were performed for the years 401 AD to 403 AD ( shown in Tables 1 to 3 ) to determine -  which year and which  particular date mentioned in the inscription was close to a major event for the Vaishnavites where it has been established that the Guptas where Vaishnavites . The reason is that in cave 13 , the statues show Lord Vishnu laying in Kshirsagar ( Figs. 2, and 5 ) . On the ekadashi day,  Lord Vishnu goes to sleep in Kshirsagar , and this day is considered to be the beginning of the Chaturmasa ( four months ) of the rainy season which is full of festivals. Therefore, the descriptions in the inscriptions agree with the scene depicted in cave 13. Even to-day, this ekadashi day is celebrated with a lot of festivities at Puri in Orissa, Pandarpur in Maharashtra, and Ahmedabad in Gujarat.  

 

            The orientation of cave 13 is along the north – easterly direction in the passage ( refer to Figs. 1, and  3, and 4 ). On the summer solstice day, the morning rays of the sun at Udayagiri shine from the north-east. Therefore, this cave is aligned along the morning sunrise direction.

 

            Only on  certain days (during  a  week before and after the summer solstice ) , the passage is fully illuminated by the sun as mentioned in the work of [Sharan, and Subramanium, 2004]. Other researchers such as Dass, and Willis [2002 ], also mention this fact.

 

             Tables1, 2, and 3 show the variation of the angles per day for the moon and this is 13.333 degrees when measured with respect to the stars ( sidereal ) in the sky. The moon traverses one nakshatra in one day (tithi). Therefore, in 27 tithis (27 x 13.333) one would have 360 degrees . For the Purnima of the Asadha month, the moon's angle should differ from the sun’s by 180 degrees. In these tables, the positions of the sun and the moon are calculated using the astronomical software. In these positions, a correction is applied due to the precession of the earth’s axis [Devi, 1995 ]. The corrected values of the sun, and the moon are shown as SUNC, and MOONC respectively in these tables. Finally, to determine the Purnima (the full moon day ) ,  the absolute difference between the positions of the sun and the moon is  calculated and the values thus calculated are shown in a separate column in  these tables.

The results of the calculations presented in Tables 1,2, and 3  show that only in Table 2 ,  the Purnima of the Asadha month occurred on the 30th of June – close to the summer solstice day. Therefore, it is concluded that the ekadashi mentioned in the Sanakanika inscription in cave 6 was on the 26th of June, 402 AD. The ekadashi day ( eleventh day )  is known from the Purnima day.  The Purnima occurred far from the summer solstice day in the years 401 and 403 AD. So, in those years, the passage containing cave 13 would not have been illuminated.

 

Referring to Table  2 , the Purnima would have been on June 30, when the absolute difference in angle between the sun and the moon approaches 180 degrees from the lower side.

 

If we subtract 82 years from the year 402 AD, we get 320 AD as the beginning year of the Gupta era.

 

RELIGIOUS OCCASION FOR THE VISIT OF CHANDRAGUPTA II

 

          As established above , the date on the inscriptions in cave 6 was June 26, 402 AD, one wonders why did the Vikramaditya visited this site on this day. The answer comes from the Bhavishya-Uttara Purana [http://www.acbspn.com/ekadashis/sayana.htm ] where this particular day is called  the Sayana EkAdasii or  the Deva-sayana - PadmA Ekadasi. It is a very auspicious day for the Vaishnavites and when Vishnu goes to sleep in Kshirasagara and this day marks the beginning of the Chaturmasa ( four months ) starting from the month of Asadha to Kartika. During these months people are advised to keep fasts as water in the wells becomes impure due to flood or rain. The inscription does use the word religious in ‘ religious gift of the Sanakanika ‘  above. Obviously, it was an important day for Chandragupta II Vikramaditya.

 

          Fig 2 shows Lord Vishnu sleeping in the ocean whereas in Fig. 5, one can see Sheshnag ( left top corner ) covering Lord Vishnu’s head. Such scenes are displayed in other temples in India also.

 

          Vikramaditya is famous for Betaal stories whereas here, we have confirmation of his deep religious ( Vaishnavite ) beliefs in Vaishnavism.

 

          For the first time in history , this cave shows any evidence of lifestyle of  Vikramaditya  It shows the magnificence of the Gupta era’s reaching the peak of Indian Civilization where one can see a combination of art, religion, and science ( astronomy ) existing in unison.

 

CONCLUSIONS      

           

            In this work, there was a brief review carried out of the historical dates of the beginning of the Gupta . From these reviews it was determined that the beginning years ranged from 319 AD to 321 AD.

            The date mentioned in the inscriptions in cave 6 of the Udayagiri hills show that Chandragupta II in the 82nd year of the Gupta era  was there on the ekadashi day. This was ascertained from the astronomical calculations made for this ekadashi day in the year 402 AD and not in either 401 AD.or 403 AD.

 

            This work also sheds light on the lifestyle of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya having deep religious faith in Vaishanavism just like his father Samudragupta.  

 

            Here, we also see Chandragupta II having taste for art just like his father Samudragupta who used to play Veena, an instrument.       

 

REFERENCES

 

1.      Balasubramaniam, R., “Identity of Chandra and Vishnupadagiri of the Delhi Iron Pillar Inscription: Numismatic, Archaeological and Literary Evidence,” Bull. Metals Museum, 2000, 32, 42-64.

2.      Balasubramaniam, R., Delhi Iron Pillar: New Insights, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 2002, pp. 8-46.

3.      Cunningham , A., Book of Indian Eras with Tables for Calculating Indian Dates " , Indological Book House  Varanasi, India , 1970 , p 47

4.      Dass, M.I., and Willis, M., “The Lion Capital from Udayagiri and the Antiquity of Sun Worship in Central India,” South Asian Studies, 2002, 18, 25-45.

5.      Devi, S., 1995, “Astrology For You”, Orient Paperbacks, New Delhi, India

6.      Fleet, J.F.,, 1888, “ Inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings and Their Successors, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, III “Volume 3, pp. 324-327.

7.      Jain, K. C., 1997,  " Madhya Pradesh Through Ages, Part I " , B. R. Publishing Corporation , Delhi , India, pp  131-305

8.      Sharan, A. M., 2004, “ Understanding of Periodic Motions  and Utilization of this  Knowledge in Ancient India ” Advances in Vibration Engineering, Vol 3, No 2, pp 177 - 183.

9.      Sharan, A. M., and Balasubramanium, R., 2004,  "Date of Sanakanika Inscriptions and Its Astronomical Significance for Archaelogical Structures at Udayagiri.", Current Science, Vol 87, No 11 , pp. 1562 – 1566

10.  Sircar , D. C. , 1969 , " Ancient Malwa and Vikramaditya Tradition " , Munshiram Manoharlal , New Delhi , India , pp  21 - 93

11.  Smith , V. A, 1958, " The Oxford History of India " , Oxford University Press , Delhi , India  ,    pp 66 -184

12.  Tripathy, R. S. , 1985,  "  History of Ancient India " Motilal Banarsidas , Delhi ,  pp. 82 -289

13.  Wolpert , S., 1993,  "  A New History of India " , Oxford University Press, New York ,    pp. 55 - 103 .

14.  http://www.acbspn.com/ekadashis/sayana.htm

15.  Sharan A. M., and Dass, M., 2007, “ Udayagiri Hills in Madhya Pradesh – An Astronomical Site, “http://www.engr.mun.ca/~asharan/UDAYAGIRI/UDAYAGIRI_II_V7.htm

 

                TABLE 1: POSITIONS OF SUN AND MOON IN THE YEAR 401 AD

 

YEAR

MONTH

DATE

SUN

MOON

AYANAMSHA

SUNC

MOONC

ABS(MOONC-SUNC)

TITHI

401

6

27

93.4

93.7

1.955

91.445

91.745

0.3

1

401

6

28

94.4

106.5

1.955

92.445

104.545

12.1

2

401

6

29

95.3

119.3

1.955

93.345

117.345

24

3

401

6

30

96.3

132.3

1.955

94.345

130.345

36

4

401

7

1

97.2

145.4

1.955

95.245

143.445

48.2

5

401

7

2

98.2

158.6

1.955

96.245

156.645

60.4

6

401

7

3

99.2

172

1.955

97.245

170.045

72.8

7

401

7

4

100.1

185.5

1.955

98.145

183.545

85.4

8

401

7

5

101.1

199.1

1.955

99.145

197.145

98

9

401

7

6

102

212.6

1.955

100.045

210.645

110.6

10

401

7

7

103

226

1.955

101.05

223.95

122.9

11

401

7

8

103.9

239.2

1.955

101.945

237.245

135.3

12

401

7

9

104.9

252.2

1.955

102.945

250.245

147.3

13

401

7

10

105.9

265.2

1.955

103.945

263.245

159.3

14

401

7

11

106.8

278

1.955

104.845

276.045

171.2

15

 

 

 

                TABLE 2: POSITIONS OF SUN AND MOON IN THE YEAR 402 AD

 

YEAR

MONTH

DATE

SUN

MOON

AYANAMSHA

SUNC

MOONC

ABS

(MOONC-SUNC)

TITHI

402

6

16

85.355

89.46

1.955

83.4

87.5

4.1

1

402

6

17

86.255

102.3

1.955

84.3

100.3

16

2

402

6

18

87.255

115.1

1.955

85.3

113.1

27.8

3

402

6

19

88.155

128.1

1.955

86.2

126.1

39.9

4

402

6

20

89.155

141.2

1.955

87.2

139.2

52

5

402

6

21

90.155

154.5

1.955

88.2

152.5

64.3

6

402

6

22

91.055

167.9

1.955

89.1

165.9

76.8

7

402

6

23

92.055

181.4

1.955

90.1

179.4

89.3

8

402

6

24

92.955

194.9

1.955

91

192.9

101.9

9

402

6

25

93.955

208.4

1.955

92

206.4

114.4

10

402

6

26

94.855

221.8

1.955

92.9

219.8

126.9

11

402

6

27

95.855

235.1

1.955

93.9

233.1

139.2

12

402

6

28

96.755

248.2

1.955

94.8

246.2

151.4

13

402

6

29

97.755

261.1

1.955

95.8

259.1

163.3

14

402

6

30

98.655

274

1.955

96.7

272

175.3

15

 

 

TABLE 3: POSITIONS OF SUN AND MOON IN THE YEAR 403 AD

YEAR

MONTH

DATE

SUN

MOON

AYANAMSHA

SUNC

MOONC

ABS

(MOONC-SUNC)

TITHI

403

7

6

101.3

107.6

1.955

99.345

105.645

6.3

1

403

7

7

102.3

120.3

1.955

100.345

118.345

18

2

403

7

8

103.2

133.2

1.955

101.245

131.245

30

3

403

7

9

104.2

146.2

1.955

102.245

144.245

42

4

403

7

10

105.1

159.4

1.955

103.145

157.445

54.3

5

403

7

11

106.1

172.7

1.955

104.145

170.745

66.6

6

403

7

12

107.1

186.1

1.955

105.145

184.145

79

7

403

7

13

108

199.7

1.955

106.045

197.745

91.7

8

403

7

14

109

213.2

1.955

107.045

211.245

104.2

9

403

7

15

109.9

226.7

1.955

107.945

224.745

116.8

10

403

7

16

111

240

1.955

108.95

238.15

129.2

11

403

7

17

111.8

253.4

1.955

109.845

251.445

141.6

12

403

7

18

112.8

266.5

1.955

110.845

264.545

153.7

13

403

7

19

113.8

279.4

1.955

111.845

277.445

165.6

14

403

7

20

114.7

292.3

1.955

112.745

290.345

177.6

15