Page:The Tamils Eighteen Hundred Years Ago.djvu/22

Rh reigned. In the early history of the emperors of Magadha, the only date which may be safely relied upon is that of Chandragupta, the contemporary of Seleucus Nicator, who began his reign in B.C. 310, and concluded a treaty with him in B.C. 305 The year of accession of Chandragupta may be fixed at B.C. 312, two years earlier than that of Seleucus Nicator, and calculating from that year the reign of the first Satakarnin ought to have extended from A.D. 77 to A.D. 133 according to the Matsya Purana as shown below:


 * Ten Mauryas for 137 years, B.C. 312—175.
 * Ten Sungas for 112 years, B.C. 175—63.
 * Four Kanvayanas for 45 years, B.C. 63 to 18.

Thirty Andhras of whom the first six are:


 * Sisuka for 23 years, B.C. 18—A.D. 5.
 * Krishna for 18 years, A.D. 5—23.
 * Simalakarnin for 18 years, A.D. 23—41.
 * Purnotsunga for 18 years, A.D. 41—59.
 * Sirivaswami for 18 years, A.D. 59—77.
 * Satakarnin for 56 years, A.D. 77—133.

The, reign of this Satakarnin covers the entire period of the reign of Gajabâhu, King of Ceylon, which lasted 12 years from AD. 113 to 125 according to the Mahawanso. Satakarnin, Emperor of Magadha, who is alluded to in the Chilappathikaram as the contemporary of Chenkudduvachera and Gajabâhu, is therefore doubtless the first Satakarnin in the list of the Matsya Purana, who reigned from A.D. 77 to 133. The synchronism of the Puranas and the Mahawanso is perfect, at least from the reign of Chandragupta up to that of the first Satakarnin; and this coincidence is a strong proof of the general accuracy of the traditional history preserved in Puranic accounts and in the Mahawanso.

The Mahawanso was composed in the fifth century A.D. and the Dipavanso still earlier; and both these historical works mention Gajabâhu I. It appears that during the reign of his father “crooked nosed” Tissa, a Chôla king had invaded Ceylon, and carried away several thousands of captives; and that in retaliation Gajabâhu invaded the Chôla dominions soon after his accession to the throne in A.D. 113. The tradition is that the captives were carried away to work on the banks of the River Kaviri, which were