The Kaca Problem

Summary

Nalininath Das Gupta revisits the so‑called Kaca problem in Gupta genealogy. Some chapters of the Kaliyuga‑rāja‑vṛttānta section of the Bhaviṣyottara Purāṇa, printed in M. Krishnamachariar’s history, include verses about a prince Kaca who is said to have ruled jointly with his father and was later slain by his half‑brother Samudragupta. These passages have been used to identify Kaca with the Sarvarājocchetta Kacha whose coins were found in northern India. Das Gupta explains that many verses in Krishnamachariar’s text bear obvious signs of interpolation. He notes that the original manuscript used by the author is unknown and that no other copy of the Bhaviṣyottara contains these lines. Furthermore, the chronology implied by the story is untenable. If Kaca was a minor when he sat on the throne with his father, he could not be the same as the Sarvarājocchetta Kacha who, judging from his coins, was an independent ruler. Das Gupta reviews alternative theories suggesting that Kacha was another name for Ramagupta or an otherwise unknown prince and concludes that the interpolation dates from the late nineteenth century. He argues that the Kaca problem remains unresolved and cautions against using unverified Purāṇa passages to settle historical debates.