काव्यमीमांसा (महाकवि राजशेखर - कवि-रहस्य एवं देश-विभाग सटीक)

194 EXPLANATORY NOTES known to be the grandson of Candragupta II. This leads us to believe that Candragupta II who was styled as S'akārāti was the hero of the drama Devīcandraguptam. In this verse the reign of Skandagupta is described to be so prosperous as to permit even the society ladies of the town freely to sing his fame without any danger coming from even the interior parts of the Himalayas where once king S'armagupta being defeated by the Khasa king was forced to give up even his queen Dhruvadevī. It may be remembered here that Skandagupta also bore the title Vikramāditya and inflicted a crushing defeat on the barbarous Huns. In this case the word कार्त्तिकेय should be taken in vocative. This interpretation should be abandoned if the word कार्त्तिकेयनगर is taken as a compound and identified with the कार्त्तिकेयपुर mentioned in Pāndukesvar copper plate and Talesvara charters. This कार्त्तिकेय- पुर is also reported to be the modern village of Baijnath or Vaidyanath in Kumaun. (See Ind. Ant. Vol. XXV. p. 178. and Ep. Ind. Vol. XIII pp. 115 and 118.) There is also another plausible solution ragarding the identity of the Khasādhipati. The Rājatarangiṇī of Kalhaṇa, mentions the Khasas as a foreign tribe settled in widely diffused parts of the Himalayan regions even previous to the accession of king Mihirakula, the despotic ruler of Kashmir (cir. 6th century A. D.). Thus the readings as शकपति in the MSS of the Harṣacarita, S'ṛṅgāraprakāśa and Nāṭyadarpaṇa may be ascribed to scribe's error for खसपति. Because it is clearly known from the verse quoted here that the Gupta king returned from the Himalayan regions after promising his queen to the Khasādhipati. Rājatarangiṇī also states that the kings of the Khasas were known as the rulers of राजपुरी or खसालय or खसालि. These names indeed, bear a striking resemblance to the names denoting the head-quarters of Khasas such as खसाधि(लि)पतये quoted in this verse or अरिपुर, अलिपुर and अलिस्कन्धावार as found in the MSS of the Harṣacarita and the S'ṛṅgāraprakāśa. (स्त्रीवेषनिन्हुतश्चन्द्रगुप्तः शत्रोः स्कन्धावारमलिपुरे शकपतिवधायागमत् ।) (For further information regarding the tribes Khasas who settled in the Himalayan regions, and once usurped the throne of Kashmir and whose descendants are known to-day as Khakhas in Kashmir, see notes by M. A. Stein in vol. I. 317 of the Rājatarangiṇī translation.)