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The Gupta emperors were often worshippers of Siva and Vishnu, but loaded Buddhists and Buddhist monasteries with gifts, presents, and favours. One king was often a Buddhist and his son an ortho- dox Hindu ; and often two brothers followed or favoured the two religions without fighting. Every court had learned men belonging to both the religions, and Vikramdditya's court was no exception to the rule. We will speak of the great writers of Vikrama's court when we come to treat of literature and science, but our account of Vikrama's rule will not be complete Digitized by PAURANIK PERIOD [BOOK V. without some mention, however brief, of those writers here. A verse naming the nine gems* of Vikrama's Court is known to every Pandit in India. The verse is quoted in the Jyotirviddbharana, and as that astrological work is undoubtedly a modern work, falsely ascribed to KdlidAsa, Dr. Hall considered the tradition about the nine gems to be also modern. That is, however, not the case ; for in an inscription of Buddha Gayi dated Samvat 1015 or 948 A.D., we find the following pas- sage : — " Vikramiditya was certainly a king renowned in the world. So in his court were nine learned men known under the epithet of nava-ratndni" The anti- quity of the tradition is thus beyond question. Kalidisa is the central figure among these noted literary men. We read in the Rctjatarangini that, after the death of Toramina, his son Pravarasena was unable to assert his claims to the throne of Kashmir, and that VikrAmaditya of Ujjayini, the recognized emperor of India, sent an eminent poet of his court, M&trigupta by name, to rule in Kashmir. M&trigupta ruled till the death of his patron, when he retired as a Yati to Benares, and Pravarasena succeeded in Kashmir. Dr. Bhao Daji first started the bold theory that this Mitrigupta is no other than the poet K&liddsa. He argues that the names in the literary history of India * They are Dhanvantari, Kshapanaka, Araara Sioha, Sanku, Vei£la~ bhatta, Ghatakarpara, K&lidasa, Varahamihira and Vararuchi. Digitized by Google CHAP. I.] VIKRAMADITYA AND HIS SUCCESSORS. 2ig are generally honorific appellations, and Kalidasa means the same as Matrigupta, viz., the servant or the protected of the goddess mother Kali. Dr. Bhao Daji further argues that Matrigupta must have been a renowned poet, and yet unless he be the same as Kalidasa, Hindus know absolutely nothing of that renowned poet. On the other hand, the author of Rajatarangini must have known the author of Sakun- tala, and although he mentions the names of other poets, and even of Bhavabhuti, yet he makes no men- tion of the author of Sakuntala unless his Matrigupta is the poet. Lastly, king Pravarasena, who succeeded Matrigupta in Kashmir, built a famous bridge of boats on the Vitasta, and there exists a poem in Prakrit on the bridge, and the commentary to the poem attributes it to Kaliddsa. We need not pursue this subject further, and can only say that, although Dr. Bhao Daji has not proved his theory, he has made out a plaus- ible case. We next come to the poet Bharavi, the author of the Kirat&rjuniya. He does not appear to have flourished in the court of Vikramaditya, but an inscription has been found dated 637 A. D., in which his name and that of Kaiidasa are mentioned. If he was not a contem- porary of Kalidasa, he certainly lived in the sixth century A.D. Amara Sinha, the writer of the best known dictionary in Sanscrit, was one of the " nine gems," and was a Digitized 220 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK V. Buddhist. His work was translated into Chinese in the sixth century, and he is said to have built the Buddhist temple at Buddha Gay!* In astronomy Aryabhatta was the first writer of the Pauranik Period. He was born, as he tells us, in 476 A.D.f He did not belong to Vikramaditya's court ; he was born in Pdtaliputra, and made his mark early in the sixth century, before Vikramdditya became renowned. VarAhamihira, who followed Aryabhatta, was one of the " nine gems." He was a native of Avanti, and died in 587 A.D. His successor Brahmagupta was born at the very close of the sixth century in 598 A.D., and wrote his work when he was thirty years of age in 628 A.D. Brahmagupta^ father was Jishnu, and may have been the very Jishnu mentioned as one of the contemporaries of K4iid4sa. Of the remaining "gems" of Vikrama's court, Dhanvantari was a famous physician and is mentioned by Dandin in his Dasa Kum&ra Charita. Vetalabhatta was the author of Nitipradipa, and Vararuchi was a well known grammarian. Ghatakarpara, Sanku and Kshapanaka are little known ; and posterity has not held them in the same honour in which they were held in the royal court of Vikrama. * See discussions on the subject in Dr. Rajendralala Mitra's Buddha Gay&. t Dr. Bhao Daji on the age of Aryabhatta. Digitized by Google CHAP. I.] VIKRAMADITYA AND HIS SUCCESSORS. 221 We will only mention two more names which Kilidasa himself has mentioned. Dr. Bhao Daji first pointed out that Mallinatha, in commenting on the 14th verse of the Meghaduta, stated that Dignaga and Nichula were contemporaries of Kalidasa, the former being his adversary, and the latter his friend. This Dignaga was a pupil of Asanga, and Asanga's brother Vasubandhu was a pupil of Manoratha, who, as we have seen in a previous chapter, was humiliated in Vikrama's court in a controversy with the Hindu party. Under the successor of Vikramaditya, Vasabandhu won in argu- ment and restored the credit of the Buddhist party.* One more work which in some form or other has be- come known to all the civilized nations of the world deserves mention in connexion with the age of Vikra- maditya. The fables of Panchatantra (known as Pilpay) were translated into Persian in the reign of Naushar- wan 531 — 579 A.D. The fables were probably long current in India, and were collected by the author of Panchatantra, who was probably a native of the Deccan, about the time when Vikrama was ruling in Ujjayini. In the same way the stories of the Brihat Kathd long prevalent in India were recast in Kashmir in the twelfth century in the shape of the Kathasarit Sagara. We are now able to form some idea of the great literary activity which marked Vikramaditya's age, • See the whole question ably discussed in Max Mutter's India, &c, p. 302, &c. Digitized by Google 222 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK V. and has shed an undying lustre round his name. We arc able after a lapse of over thirteen centuries to form some conception of the upheaval of the Hindu mind and the rise of literary genius which marked the revival of Hinduism. We can imagine how after a prostration of centuries, after harassing wars and invasions, the na- tional mind suddenly rose to vigour, to greatness, to glory. The nation wanted a leader, and Vikram&ditya, the conqueror of the foreigners, the master of all Northern India, the enlightened patron of genius and learning, be it Buddhist or be it Hindu, stood forth as the leader. The times called for a great man, and the great man appeared. And the nation gathered round their great king, and achieved results in literature and science, such as were seldom achieved before. Thus if we try to read history carefully and aright, if we brush aside fables and silly exaggerations and un- founded pretentions to antiquity, we can understand each period of Indian History philosophically, and trace each result to its true cause. We trace the greatness of Vik- ram£ditya himself to the circumstances by which he was surrounded ; we understand the matchless flights of Kdliddsa's fancy in the light of the general exhilaration of the Hindu spirit in his time ; we appreciate the labours of Variharaihira and Amara Sinha, incited as they were by a spirit of emulation in a very learned court ; and we understand the healthy rivalry between Hindus and Buddhists at a time when difference of opinion had Digitized by Google CHAP. L] VIKRAMADITYA AND HIS SUCCESSORS. 223 not degenerated into intolerance and persecution. Rud- dhism was decaying and Hinduism was reviving, and naturally enough the reviving religion shewed the great- est signs of vigor, of learning, of genius. Vikram&ditya the Great was succeeded by Sfliditya Pratipasila about 550 A. D. We know from Houen Tsang that he was inclined towards Buddhism, and in his court, Vasubandhu, the pupil of Manoratha, was honored, and won a great victory in controversy over the Hindu party. Vasubandhu was the son of a Brah- man, and was the brother of the famous Asanga. He studied in Kashmir, returned to Magadha, became a Pundita in the University of Naianda, and died in Nepal. We do not know of any other great men of Sil&ditya's court Sil&ditya I was succeeded by PrabhSkara Vardhana probably about 580 A. D. Prabhdkara's sister Rajyasrt was married to Grahavarman, but a war broke out with M&Iava, and Prabh&kara was defeated and Grahavar- man was killed. Prabh&kara was succeeded by R&jyavardhana about 605 A. D. R&jyavardhana continued the war with M&lava, and slew the king of that country. We know from Houen Tsang that RAjyavardhana was afterwards defeated and killed by SasAnka Narendra Gupta, king of Kama Suvarna or Western Bengal. He was succeeded by his younger brother Sil&ditya II, called Harshavardhana and also Kum4rar£ja, about Digitized by Google 224 PAURANIK PERIOD. [BOOK V. 6 10 A. D. He was a great and powerful king, and both by his conquests and by his patronage of learning revived the memories of Vikram^ditya's reign. In six years he conquered the " five Indies ; " but he could never defeat Paulakesin II, king of the Mahdr&shtras.