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Some New Light from the Skanda-purana on the Dharana Gotra of the Guptas [guptarajnam dharanagotravisaye skandapuranat navina samagri] / By Dr. Dasharatha Sharma; Delhi University, Delhi. / 183-185

[ atra guptasasakanam 'dharana ' gotravisayako vicarah kriyate | puna pradesatprapta prabhavatiguptaya abhilekhe tasya dharanagotramasiditi nirdeso vidyate | vidusa lekhakena etadvisayakam jayasavalamahodayasya matam rayacaudhari mahodayasya ca matam nirakrtya svanumanam pradarsitam yat skandapurane dharmaranyanivasinam brahmananam 'dharana ' gotramapyasidityu- llekhena jnayate - dharanagotriya brahmana guptarajnam purohita asan tesameva ca gotram guptarajabhih svikrtamiti | ] It is known from the Poona Plates of Prabhavati Gupta that she belonged to the Dharana gotra; and as this was not her husband's gotra, it has been rightly surmised that it must have been the gotra of her father's family. Dr. K. P. Jayaswal, who had on the basis of the Kaumudimahotsava concluded that Chandragupta I was a Karaskara or Kakkar Jat, presumed still further that "amongst the Karaskaras, the particular sub-division to which Guptas belonged was evidently Dharana" and that "the word gotra in Prabhavati Gupta's inscription would mean a caste subdivision Dhanri found in Amritsar". Thinking on the same lines, we also contributed in 1934 a short note to the Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research Society, pointing out that the Dharana gotra of the Imperial Guptas made one think of the Dharaniya Jats who are fairly numerous in the Ganganagar Distrit of Rajasthan. The Jat origin of the Guptas seemed to be indicated also by Chandragomin's grammatical illustration "ajayat Jarto Hunan", i.e. the Jarta or Jat King defeated the Hunas. The word Jarta here has been taken to refer to the Gupta ruler Skandagupta who is known to have actually defeated the Hunas. Prof. H.C. Raychaudhuri, however, reached quite a different conclusion on the basis of the mention of the Dharana gotra in the Poona Plate of Prabhavati Gupta. Rejecting Dr. Jayaswal's 1. History of India, 150 B.C.-150 A.D., pp. 115-116. 2. page 235.

184 puranam - PURANA [Vol. VII., No. 1 view that the Guptas were of Karaskara origin, he suggested that the Guptas "may have been related to Queen Dharini, the chief queen of Agnimitra"." As far as the rejection of the historicity of the Kaumudimahotsava is concerned, most historians would agree with Dr. Raychaudhuri. We are not sure also whether anything could be built on the basis of Chandragomin's grammatical illustration, for the reading. But "ajayad Jarto Hunan" is uncertain." Dr. Raychaudhuri's suggestion about the relationship of the Guptas with Dharini lacks proof; the name Dharini might like Iravati, the name of the second queen of Agnimitra, be a proper name without any reference to the gotra in which she was born. Nor have we found it possible to rest satisfied with our own equation of the Dharaniya Jats with the Guptas of the Dharana gotra. Consequently we have been on the look-out for other references to the Dharana gotra, and are now gratified to have one from the Skanda Purana which shows that Dharana was a gotra of the Brahmanas. Gotra being primarily a Brahmana institution, this evidence is sure to interest students of Indian history. Describing the origin of the Brahmanas of Dharmaranya (a tract in the present Mirzapur District of Eastern Uttar Pradesh), the Skanda-Purana states that they had the following twenty-four gotras - (1) Bharadvaja (2) Vatsa (3) Kausika (4) Kusa (7) Gautama (8) Chhandana (9) Jatukarnya (10) Vasistha (11) Atreya (12) Bhandila (13) Dharana (14) Krsnayana (15) Upamanyu (16) Gargya (5) Sandilya (6) Kasyapa (17) Mudgala (18) Mausaka (19) Punyasana (20) Parasara (21) Kaundinya (22) Gangasana (23) Kunta (24) Laugaksa 3. Political History of Ancient India, 5th edition, p. 526, note 1. 4. See IA, 1896, p. 105. 5. Skanda-Purana, Mor's edition, pp. 336 and 454.

Jan., 1965] SOME NEW LIGHT FROM THE SKANDA-PURANA 185 The Brahmanas of the Dharana gotra had three pravaras, Agasti, Dardhyachuta and Rathyavahana." Their Devis were Thalaja and Chhatraja and they resided in the villages Dudhia and Thalatyaja. They have been further described as brahmanya (well-versed in the Vedas), brahmavittama (the best among the knowers of the Supreme Being), sattvavan (virtuous), gunanvita (possessed of merits), dhanz (rich), Jnananistha (intent on acquiring true knowledge) and kriyanistha (devoted to the performance of their Brahmanical duties and ceremonies)." 8 As from a fairly early period in our history, Ksatriyas and Vaisyas have been using the gotras of their purohitas, is it not likely that these Dharana Brahmanas of Dharmaranya were the gurus of the Imperial Guptas? There is nothing impossible about this. These Brahmanas lived in an area not far from Magadha where the Guptas established a strong kingdom of their own. And if the view propounded by Dr. B.P. Sinha and Prof. Jagannath be adopted, they actually resided in an area which was the original home of the Imperial Guptas. Being either Ksatriyas or Vaisyas, the Guptas could have therefore easily accepted the Dharana Brahmanas as their gurus and adopted their gotra. It is hardly possible to say this with any certainty; but in view of the identity of the gotra of the Imperial Guptas and these Brahmanas the probability of this being a fact has to be borne in mind. -DASHARATHA SHARMA 6. Ibid., pp. 337 and 461. 7. Ibid., p. 461, verses 145-148. 8. " rajanyavisam prati svikagotrabhavat pravarabhavastathapi purohitapravarau afaaout" (Mitaksara, N. S. edn., p. 151). This is the view also of Baudhayana, Apastamba and Laugaksi. 9. B. P. Sinha, JBRS, XXVII, Parts 3-4 and XXXVII, Parts 3-4, Jagannath, IHQ., XXII, pp. 28 ff. 24