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Ramagupta – It is usually noticed that literature is referred to supplement something which is known from epigraphic evidences. However there could be cases when something is brought into light through literature first and then after sought to be corroborated through epigraphic evidences. Such is the case with the successor of Samudragupta. Gupta inscriptions mention that Chandragupta II succeeded Samudragupta. However confusion arose when a Sanskrit work, Devi-Chandraguptam, suggested otherwise.
Devi-Chandraguptam, composed by Visakhadatta, probably same author as of Mudra-rakshasha, is first noticed by Sylvain Levi. Only few fragments are left of this long-lost political drama. These fragments are quoted in Natyadarpana of Ramachandra and Gunachandra. Few quotations of this drama are also found in Sringaraprakasha of Bhoja.
The drama begins with the second act where Rama Gupta has agreed to give away his queen, Dhruvadevi, to the Saka enemy. It appears that the Saka king has demanded Rama Gupta’s wife in some treaty in order to leave him and his kingdom intact. Rama Gupta showed his coward behavior and agreed to this treaty. A long dialogue passed between Dhruvadevi and Rama Gupta where the queen complained of his heartlessness. Chandragupta, younger brother of Rama Gupta, pitched in and proposed that he would go in disguise of the queen to the Saka camp. Chandragupta killed the Saka king and rescued Dhruvadevi from embarrassment. The concluding portion of the drama suggests that Chandragupta later killed his brother and married his widow, Dhruvadevi.
From this drama, we conclude that Samudragupta was succeeded by his son Ramagupta who married Druvadevi. Chandragupta II was younger brother of Ramagupta. Chandragupta II killed a Saka king in disguise of a lady and later he killed Ramagupta also. He also married his brother’s widow. Bana in his Harshacharita mentions that Chandragupta II killed a Saka king in disguise of a lady. Sankaracharya, the commentator of Harshacharita, explains that Chandragupta II killed the Saka king in private disguised as his brother’s wife.
However what all mentioned in this drama can be taken as historical evidence? The name of Ramagupta’s wife, later wife of Chandragupta II also, in Devi-Chandraguptam and the name of Chandragupta II’s wife in epigraphs is same, Dhruvadevi. However this drama is only left in fragments, is there some way to make it complete?
A S Altekar draws attention to Majmal-ut-Tawarikh composed by Abul Hassan Ali (1026 CE) and narrates the story of Rawaal and Barkamaris. This work is a translation of an Arabic work, which in turn was translation of a Hindu work. The story resemble to the plot of Devi-Chandraguptam that it can be used to fill in the details lost of the latter work. A N Dandekar mentions that Rawwal and Barkamaris are Arabian forms of Ramagupta and Vikramaditya respectively. The story is about two brothers, Rawwal and Barkamaris, and the queen had chosen first Barkamaris however Rawwal married her forcefully. A former rebel og their father attacked them. Rawwal with his brother and wife went to a hill fortress however the enemy besieged the fortress. Rawwal sued for peace and the enemy demanded his queen in offer. Rawwal agreed on condition however his brother pitched in. He suggested that he will go in disguise of the queen to the enemy camp. This way Barkamaris killed the enemy. However after this both brothers became rivals of each other which resulted in the murder of Rawwal by Barkamaris.
So now we have full story of Chandragupta II and Ramagupta. But was there any Ramagupta in the Gupta genealogy? A later finding proves it to be true. Three images found in Vidisha, two have inscription mentioning Maharahadhiraja-Sri-Ramagupta. This proves existence of some Ramagupta in the Gupta lineage. Sanjan copper grant of Amoghavarsa I (EI Vol XVIII), dated 871 CE, mentions that the donor, in the Kaliyuga, who was of the Gupta lineage, having killed his brother, we are told, seized his kingdom and wife. It suggests that this event was well known to the people of ninth century CE.
Who was this Saka king and where he was killed? It is very possible that many kingdoms were waiting for Samudragupta’s demise to assert their independence. We have seen such situations in downfalls of many great dynasties. Samudragupta was an able and powerful ruler and his death would provide opportunity for his territorial chiefs for asserting their independence. Though Chandragupta II, successor of Ramagupta & Samudragupta, was equally able and powerful as his father however it seems that for a small gap someone, the Saka king, rose against the Gupta throne. A S Altekar suggests that it was Rudrasena II who took up the title of Mahakshatrapa which for a long time was in abeyance. A N Dandekar mentions that if we identify this Saka king with Rudrasena II then how to corroborate the fact that the Guptas were besieged at some hill fortress as territory of Rudrasena does not have any such hill. Devi-Chandraguptam mentions Alipura as the hill fortress, Harshacharita mentions Aripura as the palace of Sakapati and Kavyamimansa of Rajashekhara mentions Kartikeyanagara where songs in praise of Chandragupta are sung by women. Kartikeyanagara is been identified with Baijanath village in Almora district. Dandekar further states that the Saka king was some king of Kushana line.
There is no doubt now with historicity of Ramagupta but for how long he would have ruled? Few of his coins are found in Eran which suggest that he would not have ruled for long. We may say that he would have ruled for less than a year.
Chandragupta II (375 – 414 CE) – V A Smith states that India did not have a better oriental monarch than him, before or after him. He gave to India a government which was an example in itself. Chandragupta II was the son of Samudragupta through his chief queen, Dattadevi as mentioned in his Allahabad Pillar Inscription. He was selected by his father as yuvaraja among his other sons as evident from Chandragupta II’s Mathura stone inscription and that’s why he is called as parigrahita in Bihar and Bhitari pillar inscriptions.
Fa-Hien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II. He visited Pataliputra, Nalanda, Rajgriha and other Buddhist centers. He wrote about Magadha, ” Of all the countries of Central India, this has the largest cities and towns. Its people are rich and thriving and emulate one another in practicing charity of heart and duty to one’s neighbor”. He also wrote about Ashoka’s palace, “..the king’s palace, with its various halls, all built by spirits who piled up stones, constructed walls and gates, carved designs, engraved and inlaid, after no human fashion, is still in existence”.
A seal found during the excavation at Vaisali mentions Mahadevi Dhruvaswamini, wife of Chandragupta II and mother of Govindagupta. He had two wives, Dhruvadevi or Dhruvaswamini and Kuberanaga, a Naga princess. Many Naga kingdoms were exterminated by Samudragupta however Nagas are one of the ancient and powerful kingdom of India. Associating with Nagas would have given required impetus to tackle Western Sakas. Nagas were ruling in western India hence their locality was perfect to tackle Saka problem. He begot Govindagupta and Kumaragupta through Dhruvaswamini and Prabhavatigupta through Kuberanaga.
He assumed title of Vikrama as evident from his coins. His other titles are Simha-Vikrama, Vikrama-Aditya, Vikramanka and Ajita-Vikrama. The earliest inscription of Chandragupta II, on a Mathura temple pilaster, is dated in year 61 of the Gupta Era. D C Sirkar noticed that this inscription is issued in fifth regnal year of the king which puts accession year as 375 CE.
There are many issues and riddles about Chandragupta II, let’s have a look on few of these in detail.
Devagupta or Chandragupta – In many Vakataka records, Pravarasena II calls himself a grandson of Devagupta. Pravarasena II was the son of Vakataka queen Prabhavatigupta who was a daughter of Chandragupta II through his queen, Kuberanaga. Scholars thus proposed that Devagupta is another name of Chandragupta II however there few scholars did not agree to this proposal. Finding of Pune (Poona) plates of Prabhavatigupta put a stop on all these speculations as there she has clearly mentioned Chandragupta II as her father. In Sanchi inscription of Chandragupta II’s reign, the name of the king is mentioned as Devaraja. Devaraja probably same as Devagupta, raja and gupta are mere suffixes.
Vakataka Connection – R K Mookerji mentions that the marriage of Chandragupta II’s daughter with a Vakataka prince would have come as a result of seeking his alliance with the Vakataka kingdom. He states that Samudragupta defeated the Vakataka prince Rudrasena I and took most of his region leaving a small share with them. However they increased their power in coming years and Chandragupta II made a treaty by marrying his daughter with the Vakataka prince, Rudrasena II. However D R Bhandarkar mentions that Samudragupta did not defeat any Vakataka king but he restored their lost kingdom and were in cordial relationship with them.
Many instances of connections between these two kingdoms are found in literature and inscriptions. Prakrita Kavya states that Pravarsena II, Chandragupta II’s grandson, wrote a poem, Setubandham, which underwent a revision at the hands of Kalidasa who was the court poet of Chandragupta II. If this is accepted then Chandragupta II, Kalidasa and Pravarsena II were contemporaries. Pravarsena II was ruling over Kuntala and a reference in Sringaraprakasa of Bhoja states that Kalidasa reported in a Gupta court the luxurious life enjoyed by the king of Kuntala court. Kshemendra in his Auchitya-Vichara mentions an embassy under Kalidasa was sent by a Gupta king to Kuntala court.
Saka Extermination – Most important event in the reign of Chandragupta II would be his conquest over the Western Ksahatrapas (Sakas) which put Malwa and Saurastra into his kingdom. In a Udayagiri undated inscription, Virasena sur-named Saba, war and peace minister of Chandragupta II, mentions that he was with his master on his world conquest. Why a world conquest when Samudragupta had already taken most parts of India under his rule? We know that many regions in Western India were mentioned as frontier states of Samudragupta’s kingdom. And these regions were most prone to foreign attacks. Sakas were a known problem from ages for the Guptas. It could be that some of the frontier regions rose in rebellion after the demise of Samudragupta which forced Chandragupta II to terminate the problem.
Another inscription at Udayagiri is dated to 401 CE and suggests that the eastern Malwa region was already into his dominion by this date. An inscription at Sanchi (EI XVI, p 232) is dated in thirteenth regnal year of king Sridharavarman who was styled as an independent king reigning in year 241 of unknown era. This unknown era will most probably be Saka era and this puts his rule in 319 CE. This suggests that at the time of Chandragupta II, Malwa was under the Sakas.
It is a well known fact now that he defeated Western Kshatrapas who were of Saka origin. A reference of this battle is found in Harshacharita where it is mentioned that Chandragupta slew the king of the Sakas while courting another man’s wife in his enemy town. We have already discussed the evidences from Devi-Chandraguptam where he is depicted killing a Saka enemy.
When this event would have taken place? Latest dated Western Kshatrapa coin is of 388 CE when Rudrasimha III, son of Svami-Satyasimha, was ruling. On his conquest of Kshtrapas, Chandragupta II minted special silver coins which earliest date is 409 CE, Gupta Era 90. His latest year is Gupta Era year 93 as per a Sanchi inscription. This important conquest would not have been taken in his last years hence Smith takes up median of both and sates that this conquest would have been taken up in about 395 CE.
Chandra of the Iron Pillar (Garuda-dhwaja) at Mehrauli – Mehrauli is a small village in New Delhi where Qutub Complex, a World Heritage Site, is located. Inside the complex is standing an iron pillar which has an inscription engraved. The inscription mentions a king, with name Chandra, who enjoyed supreme sovereignty over earth. However no genealogy details are given for this king. It is also mentioned that he defeated a confederacy in Vanga, and he crossed seven mouths of river Indus (Sindhu) to defeat Vahlikas.
James Fergusson identifies Chandra of the Mehrauli Pillar Inscription with Chandragupta of the Imperial Gupta family because of its Persian capital form. J F Fleet identifies him with Chandragupta I which is also the opinion of Aiyangar and R G Basak. However Fleet admits that the characters of the inscription resemble with Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudragupta and Bilsad inscription of Kumaragupta I. In this circumstances, the Mehrauli inscription should be placed in between Samudragupta and Kumaragupta I. He further suggests that this Chandra could be a younger brother of Mihirakula, who was mentioned by Yuan Chwang, as the pillar was standing at Mihirapuri, an old name of Mehrauli.
It is clear from Samudragupta’s conquests that north part of Bengal was already in his kingdom which he got from his father, Chandragupta I. Hence the statement of pillar that Chandra defeated a confederacy at Vanga applies to Chandragupta I. However what about Vahlika and southern seas? We know from Samudragupta’s conquests that these parts were not under the rule of Chandragupta I.
Haraprasad Sastri identifies him with Chandra of Varman family, son of Simhavarman, whose ruled over Pushkarana as per Susania rock inscription. Pushkarna was first identified with Pokharan in Rajasthan however later is found a place named Pokharan near Susania itself. Mandsor inscription mentions Naravarman as son of Simhavarman. It is proposed that Naravarman was a brother of Chandravarman and hence the empire was spread from Bengal to Malwa. However the Chandra of Susania inscription is not styled as a sovereign king and also no coin of him is found. In such circumstances, identifying him with Chandra of Mehrauli pillar who is states to be a sovereign king would not be proper.
A V Venkatarama Aiyar and Hemachandra Ray Chaudhuri identify him with Sadachandra Bharasiva of Puranas who succeeded Bhavanaga who belonged to a dynasty ruling over Vidisha. If we accept this statement then how to find a route to Bengal without passing through Magadha? As Magadha was not under Bharasivas, how it is possible that they fought with a confederacy in Vanga? Also we do not have any other source than Puranas about Bharasivas and in Puranas nothing of this sort of achievement mentioned for Sadachandra. In such circumstances, the proposed theory is resting on very weak supports.
J Allan, R K Mookerji, D R Bhandarkar, O P Singh, A N Dandekar agree with V A Smith’s identification with Chandragupta II. However Allan states that this identification by Hoernle and Smith is based upon epigraphical grounds and on the difficulty of finding anyone other than Chandragupta II to whom this inscription could belong in the beginning of fifth century CE. Chandragupta II defeated the Sakas of Saurashtra and Kathiawad however did he defeat the Sakas of northern India? R K Mookerji mentions that it is very probable that he started conquering the Saka kingdoms from north India and culminated his conquest with incurring defeat on Western Sakas.
As the inscription mentions that Chandra attained supreme sovereignty of the world which is not possible in case of Chandragupta I however perfectly suits to Chandragupta II. Chandragupta II further expanded the vast empire which he received from his father, Samudragupta, whereas Chandragupta I was probably a feudatory only. The inscription further mentions that the breeze of his prowess still perfume the southern ocean. This applies more to Samudragupta than to Chandragupta II as the former carried out a conquest in south India.
The inscription further mentions that he put down the confederacy of enemies who have gathered and confronted him in Vanga country. Vanga was not mentioned in Samudragupta’s Allahabad inscription, which suggests that it was already included in his empire as Vanga was a part of Aryavarta. Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa mentions that Raghu conquered and reinstated the Vanga chiefs who were ruling along various streams of Ganges. It seems that the chiefs of these small regions came together against the Guptas after the demise of Samudragupta. This made Chandragupta to confront them.
The inscription further mentions that he crossed seven mounts of Sindhu (Indus) river and conquered Vahlikas. Ramayana mentions a route taken by a messenger who was sent by Vasishtha to Bharata. The messenger passed through the Valhikas country to Sudaman hill and saw Vishnupada and two rivers Vipasa and Salmali. In Kishkinda-Kanda of Ramayana, Vahlikas are mentioned with Kambojas, Yaudheyas, Sakas and said to be living in north. The same chapter later describes them to be living in west near Saurastra.
J Allan suggests that Vahlika can be identified with Balkh. People of Vahlika are mentioned in Brhat Samhita. However Allan suggests that it is not possible that Chandra’s arms penetrated till Balkh and the route to this country does not pass through Indus. It is most probable that Vahlika was used commonly to denote people of foreign origin. In such case these could be identified with the Later Kushanas who migrated from Balkh to India as suggested by D R Bhandarkar.
J F Fleet states that this inscription is a posthumous eulogy of some king Chandra. J Allan, A N Dandekar and V A Smith agrees with him on its posthumous character. However the inscription states that the king left one go (earth) to another go (heaven) in bodily form. D R Bhandarkar states that it is not possible for any living entity to reach heaven in bodily form hence the word go here does not mean heaven but sky. And hence it suggests that the king left to some high hill. As per the inscription, this pillar was standing at Vishnupada, which is denoted as a hill. The present place where it stands cannot be termed a hill in any manner.
Smith suggests that it was standing at the Katra Mound in Mathura where a Kesava temple was once standing. However that mound also is not high enough to be termed as a hill. J C Ghosh identifies this Vishnupada by giving references from Ramayana and Mahabharata. A passage in Mahabharata mentions that Vishnupada is located on Vipasa (Beas) river and Kashmir is visible from the hill. Beas makes a bend at Gurudaspur and here it meets with another river, probably old Salmali as mentioned in Ramayana. Vishnupada should be located somewhere here. It is written that Chandra rests at Vishnupada permanently which suggests that he has given off his responsibility to another candidate, probably his son, and has retired to Vishnupada. If this is accepted then the inscription was engraved when he has taken his retirement.
Legend of Vikramaditya – Who is the celebrated king Vikramaditya of Indian ancient literature and traditions? His reference is found in Simhasanadvatrimsat, Vetalapanchavimsati, Merutunga’s Prabandhachintamani, Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagar, Rajasekhara’s Chaturvimsatiprabandha, Kshemendra’s Brihatkathamanjari and Kalidasa’s Jyotirvidabharana. All of these mention that Vikramaditya was not only a ruler but a siddha yogi also who could control evil spirits.
Merutunga’s Theravali narrates the following story, ‘Then came Balamitra and Bhanumitra, whose joint reign covered 60 year, and Nabhavahana, who ruled for 40 years. Then came the Gardabhilla dynasty which was in power for 152 years. Gardabhilla reigned for 13 years and was then expelled by the Saka kings who ruled for 4 years. Vikramaditya, son of Gardabhilla, regained the kingdom of Ujjayini, commenced the Vikrama era and reigned for 60 years. His four successors ruled respectively for 40, 11, 14 and 10 years. Then the Saka era commenced’.
Kalakacharya-katha gives a similar but more detailed account. It narrates,’ Kalakacharya had a sister called Sarasvati who joined the convent. King Gardabhilla of Ujjayini was fascinated by her beauty and ravished her. Kalakacharya, being enraged, went to west of the Sindhu and lived with a Shahi (Saka) chief over whom he obtained great influence by means of his astrological knowledge. Gradually he came to learn that his patron and 95 other chiefs who lived in same locality all obeyed a common overlord. He persuaded his patron to invade the kingdom of Gardabhilla. Ujjayini fell to Saka chiefs. After 17 years Vikramaditya, son of Gardabhilla, regained his kingdom by expelling the Sakas. Kalakacharya, after defeating Gardabhilla, went with his sister to the court of Satvahana king at Pratishthana’.
We will see various arguments which suggests that Chandragupta II was same as Vikramaditya of these books.
Chandragupta assumed title of Vikramaditya as evident from his coins.
In a Gutta inscription, Chandragupta is stated to have mastered over ashta-mahasiddhi and referred as Ujjain-Vikramaditya. In a Udayagiri inscription, he is referred as rajadhiraj-arsheh coupled with his name which suggests his saint like character.
Vikramaditya is also referred in the literature as Sakari who started Vikrama Era. Chandragupta is known to have defeated Western Kshtrapas who were Saka by origin. Dhirendranath Mukhopadhyaya did a study which suggests that the date calculation done in Vikarama Era and in Gupta Era results in same results.
D R Bhandarkar suggests that Chandragupta II might ruling from two capitals to control his vast empire. O P Singh mentions that Chandragupta II would have spent a considerable time in Malwa to tackle the Sakas. During this period, he would have made Ujjain as his temporary, if not permanent, capital. A south Indian dynasty, Guttas of Guttal, claimed there descendant from Chandragupta who was Ujjayani-purava-adhisvara (supreme lord of Ujjayani) and Pataliputravar-adhisvara (Lord of Pataliputra). It suggests that Ujjain was another capital of Chandragupta along with the traditional capital at Pataliputra (present Patna).
Vikramaditya is associated with commencing the Vikrama Era. R C Majumdar mentions that this era was founded by a foreigner however there is no inherent incongruity in the belief that king Vikramaditya founded in 58 BCE to commemorate his recovery of Ujjayini by defeating the Sakas.
Vikramaditya is also associated to have navratna (nine gems) in his court. D R Bhandarkar states that many people given as nava-ratna were tenth grade in their arts and also do not belong to same era.
Kalidasa – Jyotirvidabharana speaks nava-ratna (nine gems) in the court of Vikramaditya. Kalidasa, one of the nava-ratna, is supposed to live during the age of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and probably during Kumaragupta I also. Rajtarangani informs about a sole sovereign of earth, the glorious Vikramaditya who lived at Ujjain. He also bore another name, Harsha. A poor poet, Matrigupta, came to his court and later he was sent to sit on the empty throne of Kashmir. Matrigupta left this throne to Pravarsena just after five years on death of his patron. Matrigupta retired to Varanasi. Now who was this Matrigupta? Kshemendra has referred a verse of this Matrigupta in his work. Bhau Daji proposes a theory that Matrigupta is same as Kalidasa. Another strange point is that Rajtarangani mentions Bhavabhuti, Vakpati and other poets but no mention of Kalidasa. Is it because he is already been referred as matrigupta?
Pravarsena II was the grandchild of Chandragupta II though his daughter, Prabhavatigupta. He set on Vakataka throne and Kalidasa was sent as an ambassador to his court. Pravasena’s Setubandha would have been composed with help from Kalidasa probably. Pravarsena II ruled at Kashmir is evident as his coins are found from that region.

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ramagupta – it is usually noticed that literature is referred to supplement something which is known from epigraphic evidences. however there could be cases when something is brought into light through literature first and then after sought to be corroborated through epigraphic evidences. such is the case with the successor of samudragupta. gupta inscriptions mention that chandragupta ii succeeded samudragupta. however confusion arose when a sanskrit work, devi-chandraguptam, suggested otherwise.
devi-chandraguptam, composed by visakhadatta, probably same author as of mudra-rakshasha, is first noticed by sylvain levi. only few fragments are left of this long-lost political drama. these fragments are quoted in natyadarpana of ramachandra and gunachandra. few quotations of this drama are also found in sringaraprakasha of bhoja.
the drama begins with the second act where rama gupta has agreed to give away his queen, dhruvadevi, to the saka enemy. it appears that the saka king has demanded rama gupta’s wife in some treaty in order to leave him and his kingdom intact. rama gupta showed his coward behavior and agreed to this treaty. a long dialogue passed between dhruvadevi and rama gupta where the queen complained of his heartlessness. chandragupta, younger brother of rama gupta, pitched in and proposed that he would go in disguise of the queen to the saka camp. chandragupta killed the saka king and rescued dhruvadevi from embarrassment. the concluding portion of the drama suggests that chandragupta later killed his brother and married his widow, dhruvadevi.
from this drama, we conclude that samudragupta was succeeded by his son ramagupta who married druvadevi. chandragupta ii was younger brother of ramagupta. chandragupta ii killed a saka king in disguise of a lady and later he killed ramagupta also. he also married his brother’s widow. bana in his harshacharita mentions that chandragupta ii killed a saka king in disguise of a lady. sankaracharya, the commentator of harshacharita, explains that chandragupta ii killed the saka king in private disguised as his brother’s wife.
however what all mentioned in this drama can be taken as historical evidence? the name of ramagupta’s wife, later wife of chandragupta ii also, in devi-chandraguptam and the name of chandragupta ii’s wife in epigraphs is same, dhruvadevi. however this drama is only left in fragments, is there some way to make it complete?
a s altekar draws attention to majmal-ut-tawarikh composed by abul hassan ali (1026 ce) and narrates the story of rawaal and barkamaris. this work is a translation of an arabic work, which in turn was translation of a hindu work. the story resemble to the plot of devi-chandraguptam that it can be used to fill in the details lost of the latter work. a n dandekar mentions that rawwal and barkamaris are arabian forms of ramagupta and vikramaditya respectively. the story is about two brothers, rawwal and barkamaris, and the queen had chosen first barkamaris however rawwal married her forcefully. a former rebel og their father attacked them. rawwal with his brother and wife went to a hill fortress however the enemy besieged the fortress. rawwal sued for peace and the enemy demanded his queen in offer. rawwal agreed on condition however his brother pitched in. he suggested that he will go in disguise of the queen to the enemy camp. this way barkamaris killed the enemy. however after this both brothers became rivals of each other which resulted in the murder of rawwal by barkamaris.
so now we have full story of chandragupta ii and ramagupta. but was there any ramagupta in the gupta genealogy? a later finding proves it to be true. three images found in vidisha, two have inscription mentioning maharahadhiraja-sri-ramagupta. this proves existence of some ramagupta in the gupta lineage. sanjan copper grant of amoghavarsa i (ei vol xviii), dated 871 ce, mentions that the donor, in the kaliyuga, who was of the gupta lineage, having killed his brother, we are told, seized his kingdom and wife. it suggests that this event was well known to the people of ninth century ce.
who was this saka king and where he was killed? it is very possible that many kingdoms were waiting for samudragupta’s demise to assert their independence. we have seen such situations in downfalls of many great dynasties. samudragupta was an able and powerful ruler and his death would provide opportunity for his territorial chiefs for asserting their independence. though chandragupta ii, successor of ramagupta & samudragupta, was equally able and powerful as his father however it seems that for a small gap someone, the saka king, rose against the gupta throne. a s altekar suggests that it was rudrasena ii who took up the title of mahakshatrapa which for a long time was in abeyance. a n dandekar mentions that if we identify this saka king with rudrasena ii then how to corroborate the fact that the guptas were besieged at some hill fortress as territory of rudrasena does not have any such hill. devi-chandraguptam mentions alipura as the hill fortress, harshacharita mentions aripura as the palace of sakapati and kavyamimansa of rajashekhara mentions kartikeyanagara where songs in praise of chandragupta are sung by women. kartikeyanagara is been identified with baijanath village in almora district. dandekar further states that the saka king was some king of kushana line.
there is no doubt now with historicity of ramagupta but for how long he would have ruled? few of his coins are found in eran which suggest that he would not have ruled for long. we may say that he would have ruled for less than a year.
chandragupta ii (375 – 414 ce) – v a smith states that india did not have a better oriental monarch than him, before or after him. he gave to india a government which was an example in itself. chandragupta ii was the son of samudragupta through his chief queen, dattadevi as mentioned in his allahabad pillar inscription. he was selected by his father as yuvaraja among his other sons as evident from chandragupta ii’s mathura stone inscription and that’s why he is called as parigrahita in bihar and bhitari pillar inscriptions.
fa-hien visited india during the reign of chandragupta ii. he visited pataliputra, nalanda, rajgriha and other buddhist centers. he wrote about magadha, ” of all the countries of central india, this has the largest cities and towns. its people are rich and thriving and emulate one another in practicing charity of heart and duty to one’s neighbor”. he also wrote about ashoka’s palace, “..the king’s palace, with its various halls, all built by spirits who piled up stones, constructed walls and gates, carved designs, engraved and inlaid, after no human fashion, is still in existence”.
a seal found during the excavation at vaisali mentions mahadevi dhruvaswamini, wife of chandragupta ii and mother of govindagupta. he had two wives, dhruvadevi or dhruvaswamini and kuberanaga, a naga princess. many naga kingdoms were exterminated by samudragupta however nagas are one of the ancient and powerful kingdom of india. associating with nagas would have given required impetus to tackle western sakas. nagas were ruling in western india hence their locality was perfect to tackle saka problem. he begot govindagupta and kumaragupta through dhruvaswamini and prabhavatigupta through kuberanaga.
he assumed title of vikrama as evident from his coins. his other titles are simha-vikrama, vikrama-aditya, vikramanka and ajita-vikrama. the earliest inscription of chandragupta ii, on a mathura temple pilaster, is dated in year 61 of the gupta era. d c sirkar noticed that this inscription is issued in fifth regnal year of the king which puts accession year as 375 ce.
there are many issues and riddles about chandragupta ii, let’s have a look on few of these in detail.
devagupta or chandragupta – in many vakataka records, pravarasena ii calls himself a grandson of devagupta. pravarasena ii was the son of vakataka queen prabhavatigupta who was a daughter of chandragupta ii through his queen, kuberanaga. scholars thus proposed that devagupta is another name of chandragupta ii however there few scholars did not agree to this proposal. finding of pune (poona) plates of prabhavatigupta put a stop on all these speculations as there she has clearly mentioned chandragupta ii as her father. in sanchi inscription of chandragupta ii’s reign, the name of the king is mentioned as devaraja. devaraja probably same as devagupta, raja and gupta are mere suffixes.
vakataka connection – r k mookerji mentions that the marriage of chandragupta ii’s daughter with a vakataka prince would have come as a result of seeking his alliance with the vakataka kingdom. he states that samudragupta defeated the vakataka prince rudrasena i and took most of his region leaving a small share with them. however they increased their power in coming years and chandragupta ii made a treaty by marrying his daughter with the vakataka prince, rudrasena ii. however d r bhandarkar mentions that samudragupta did not defeat any vakataka king but he restored their lost kingdom and were in cordial relationship with them.
many instances of connections between these two kingdoms are found in literature and inscriptions. prakrita kavya states that pravarsena ii, chandragupta ii’s grandson, wrote a poem, setubandham, which underwent a revision at the hands of kalidasa who was the court poet of chandragupta ii. if this is accepted then chandragupta ii, kalidasa and pravarsena ii were contemporaries. pravarsena ii was ruling over kuntala and a reference in sringaraprakasa of bhoja states that kalidasa reported in a gupta court the luxurious life enjoyed by the king of kuntala court. kshemendra in his auchitya-vichara mentions an embassy under kalidasa was sent by a gupta king to kuntala court.
saka extermination – most important event in the reign of chandragupta ii would be his conquest over the western ksahatrapas (sakas) which put malwa and saurastra into his kingdom. in a udayagiri undated inscription, virasena sur-named saba, war and peace minister of chandragupta ii, mentions that he was with his master on his world conquest. why a world conquest when samudragupta had already taken most parts of india under his rule? we know that many regions in western india were mentioned as frontier states of samudragupta’s kingdom. and these regions were most prone to foreign attacks. sakas were a known problem from ages for the guptas. it could be that some of the frontier regions rose in rebellion after the demise of samudragupta which forced chandragupta ii to terminate the problem.
another inscription at udayagiri is dated to 401 ce and suggests that the eastern malwa region was already into his dominion by this date. an inscription at sanchi (ei xvi, p 232) is dated in thirteenth regnal year of king sridharavarman who was styled as an independent king reigning in year 241 of unknown era. this unknown era will most probably be saka era and this puts his rule in 319 ce. this suggests that at the time of chandragupta ii, malwa was under the sakas.
it is a well known fact now that he defeated western kshatrapas who were of saka origin. a reference of this battle is found in harshacharita where it is mentioned that chandragupta slew the king of the sakas while courting another man’s wife in his enemy town. we have already discussed the evidences from devi-chandraguptam where he is depicted killing a saka enemy.
when this event would have taken place? latest dated western kshatrapa coin is of 388 ce when rudrasimha iii, son of svami-satyasimha, was ruling. on his conquest of kshtrapas, chandragupta ii minted special silver coins which earliest date is 409 ce, gupta era 90. his latest year is gupta era year 93 as per a sanchi inscription. this important conquest would not have been taken in his last years hence smith takes up median of both and sates that this conquest would have been taken up in about 395 ce.
chandra of the iron pillar (garuda-dhwaja) at mehrauli – mehrauli is a small village in new delhi where qutub complex, a world heritage site, is located. inside the complex is standing an iron pillar which has an inscription engraved. the inscription mentions a king, with name chandra, who enjoyed supreme sovereignty over earth. however no genealogy details are given for this king. it is also mentioned that he defeated a confederacy in vanga, and he crossed seven mouths of river indus (sindhu) to defeat vahlikas.
james fergusson identifies chandra of the mehrauli pillar inscription with chandragupta of the imperial gupta family because of its persian capital form. j f fleet identifies him with chandragupta i which is also the opinion of aiyangar and r g basak. however fleet admits that the characters of the inscription resemble with allahabad pillar inscription of samudragupta and bilsad inscription of kumaragupta i. in this circumstances, the mehrauli inscription should be placed in between samudragupta and kumaragupta i. he further suggests that this chandra could be a younger brother of mihirakula, who was mentioned by yuan chwang, as the pillar was standing at mihirapuri, an old name of mehrauli.
it is clear from samudragupta’s conquests that north part of bengal was already in his kingdom which he got from his father, chandragupta i. hence the statement of pillar that chandra defeated a confederacy at vanga applies to chandragupta i. however what about vahlika and southern seas? we know from samudragupta’s conquests that these parts were not under the rule of chandragupta i.
haraprasad sastri identifies him with chandra of varman family, son of simhavarman, whose ruled over pushkarana as per susania rock inscription. pushkarna was first identified with pokharan in rajasthan however later is found a place named pokharan near susania itself. mandsor inscription mentions naravarman as son of simhavarman. it is proposed that naravarman was a brother of chandravarman and hence the empire was spread from bengal to malwa. however the chandra of susania inscription is not styled as a sovereign king and also no coin of him is found. in such circumstances, identifying him with chandra of mehrauli pillar who is states to be a sovereign king would not be proper.
a v venkatarama aiyar and hemachandra ray chaudhuri identify him with sadachandra bharasiva of puranas who succeeded bhavanaga who belonged to a dynasty ruling over vidisha. if we accept this statement then how to find a route to bengal without passing through magadha? as magadha was not under bharasivas, how it is possible that they fought with a confederacy in vanga? also we do not have any other source than puranas about bharasivas and in puranas nothing of this sort of achievement mentioned for sadachandra. in such circumstances, the proposed theory is resting on very weak supports.
j allan, r k mookerji, d r bhandarkar, o p singh, a n dandekar agree with v a smith’s identification with chandragupta ii. however allan states that this identification by hoernle and smith is based upon epigraphical grounds and on the difficulty of finding anyone other than chandragupta ii to whom this inscription could belong in the beginning of fifth century ce. chandragupta ii defeated the sakas of saurashtra and kathiawad however did he defeat the sakas of northern india? r k mookerji mentions that it is very probable that he started conquering the saka kingdoms from north india and culminated his conquest with incurring defeat on western sakas.
as the inscription mentions that chandra attained supreme sovereignty of the world which is not possible in case of chandragupta i however perfectly suits to chandragupta ii. chandragupta ii further expanded the vast empire which he received from his father, samudragupta, whereas chandragupta i was probably a feudatory only. the inscription further mentions that the breeze of his prowess still perfume the southern ocean. this applies more to samudragupta than to chandragupta ii as the former carried out a conquest in south india.
the inscription further mentions that he put down the confederacy of enemies who have gathered and confronted him in vanga country. vanga was not mentioned in samudragupta’s allahabad inscription, which suggests that it was already included in his empire as vanga was a part of aryavarta. raghuvamsa of kalidasa mentions that raghu conquered and reinstated the vanga chiefs who were ruling along various streams of ganges. it seems that the chiefs of these small regions came together against the guptas after the demise of samudragupta. this made chandragupta to confront them.
the inscription further mentions that he crossed seven mounts of sindhu (indus) river and conquered vahlikas. ramayana mentions a route taken by a messenger who was sent by vasishtha to bharata. the messenger passed through the valhikas country to sudaman hill and saw vishnupada and two rivers vipasa and salmali. in kishkinda-kanda of ramayana, vahlikas are mentioned with kambojas, yaudheyas, sakas and said to be living in north. the same chapter later describes them to be living in west near saurastra.
j allan suggests that vahlika can be identified with balkh. people of vahlika are mentioned in brhat samhita. however allan suggests that it is not possible that chandra’s arms penetrated till balkh and the route to this country does not pass through indus. it is most probable that vahlika was used commonly to denote people of foreign origin. in such case these could be identified with the later kushanas who migrated from balkh to india as suggested by d r bhandarkar.
j f fleet states that this inscription is a posthumous eulogy of some king chandra. j allan, a n dandekar and v a smith agrees with him on its posthumous character. however the inscription states that the king left one go (earth) to another go (heaven) in bodily form. d r bhandarkar states that it is not possible for any living entity to reach heaven in bodily form hence the word go here does not mean heaven but sky. and hence it suggests that the king left to some high hill. as per the inscription, this pillar was standing at vishnupada, which is denoted as a hill. the present place where it stands cannot be termed a hill in any manner.
smith suggests that it was standing at the katra mound in mathura where a kesava temple was once standing. however that mound also is not high enough to be termed as a hill. j c ghosh identifies this vishnupada by giving references from ramayana and mahabharata. a passage in mahabharata mentions that vishnupada is located on vipasa (beas) river and kashmir is visible from the hill. beas makes a bend at gurudaspur and here it meets with another river, probably old salmali as mentioned in ramayana. vishnupada should be located somewhere here. it is written that chandra rests at vishnupada permanently which suggests that he has given off his responsibility to another candidate, probably his son, and has retired to vishnupada. if this is accepted then the inscription was engraved when he has taken his retirement.
legend of vikramaditya – who is the celebrated king vikramaditya of indian ancient literature and traditions? his reference is found in simhasanadvatrimsat, vetalapanchavimsati, merutunga’s prabandhachintamani, somadeva’s kathasaritsagar, rajasekhara’s chaturvimsatiprabandha, kshemendra’s brihatkathamanjari and kalidasa’s jyotirvidabharana. all of these mention that vikramaditya was not only a ruler but a siddha yogi also who could control evil spirits.
merutunga’s theravali narrates the following story, ‘then came balamitra and bhanumitra, whose joint reign covered 60 year, and nabhavahana, who ruled for 40 years. then came the gardabhilla dynasty which was in power for 152 years. gardabhilla reigned for 13 years and was then expelled by the saka kings who ruled for 4 years. vikramaditya, son of gardabhilla, regained the kingdom of ujjayini, commenced the vikrama era and reigned for 60 years. his four successors ruled respectively for 40, 11, 14 and 10 years. then the saka era commenced’.
kalakacharya-katha gives a similar but more detailed account. it narrates,’ kalakacharya had a sister called sarasvati who joined the convent. king gardabhilla of ujjayini was fascinated by her beauty and ravished her. kalakacharya, being enraged, went to west of the sindhu and lived with a shahi (saka) chief over whom he obtained great influence by means of his astrological knowledge. gradually he came to learn that his patron and 95 other chiefs who lived in same locality all obeyed a common overlord. he persuaded his patron to invade the kingdom of gardabhilla. ujjayini fell to saka chiefs. after 17 years vikramaditya, son of gardabhilla, regained his kingdom by expelling the sakas. kalakacharya, after defeating gardabhilla, went with his sister to the court of satvahana king at pratishthana’.
we will see various arguments which suggests that chandragupta ii was same as vikramaditya of these books.
chandragupta assumed title of vikramaditya as evident from his coins.
in a gutta inscription, chandragupta is stated to have mastered over ashta-mahasiddhi and referred as ujjain-vikramaditya. in a udayagiri inscription, he is referred as rajadhiraj-arsheh coupled with his name which suggests his saint like character.
vikramaditya is also referred in the literature as sakari who started vikrama era. chandragupta is known to have defeated western kshtrapas who were saka by origin. dhirendranath mukhopadhyaya did a study which suggests that the date calculation done in vikarama era and in gupta era results in same results.
d r bhandarkar suggests that chandragupta ii might ruling from two capitals to control his vast empire. o p singh mentions that chandragupta ii would have spent a considerable time in malwa to tackle the sakas. during this period, he would have made ujjain as his temporary, if not permanent, capital. a south indian dynasty, guttas of guttal, claimed there descendant from chandragupta who was ujjayani-purava-adhisvara (supreme lord of ujjayani) and pataliputravar-adhisvara (lord of pataliputra). it suggests that ujjain was another capital of chandragupta along with the traditional capital at pataliputra (present patna).
vikramaditya is associated with commencing the vikrama era. r c majumdar mentions that this era was founded by a foreigner however there is no inherent incongruity in the belief that king vikramaditya founded in 58 bce to commemorate his recovery of ujjayini by defeating the sakas.
vikramaditya is also associated to have navratna (nine gems) in his court. d r bhandarkar states that many people given as nava-ratna were tenth grade in their arts and also do not belong to same era.
kalidasa – jyotirvidabharana speaks nava-ratna (nine gems) in the court of vikramaditya. kalidasa, one of the nava-ratna, is supposed to live during the age of samudragupta, chandragupta ii and probably during kumaragupta i also. rajtarangani informs about a sole sovereign of earth, the glorious vikramaditya who lived at ujjain. he also bore another name, harsha. a poor poet, matrigupta, came to his court and later he was sent to sit on the empty throne of kashmir. matrigupta left this throne to pravarsena just after five years on death of his patron. matrigupta retired to varanasi. now who was this matrigupta? kshemendra has referred a verse of this matrigupta in his work. bhau daji proposes a theory that matrigupta is same as kalidasa. another strange point is that rajtarangani mentions bhavabhuti, vakpati and other poets but no mention of kalidasa. is it because he is already been referred as matrigupta?
pravarsena ii was the grandchild of chandragupta ii though his daughter, prabhavatigupta. he set on vakataka throne and kalidasa was sent as an ambassador to his court. pravasena’s setubandha would have been composed with help from kalidasa probably. pravarsena ii ruled at kashmir is evident as his coins are found from that region.


text:
Know Riverton Class of 1995 graduates that are NOT on this List? Help us Update the 1995 Class List by adding missing names.
More 1995 alumni from Riverton HS Riverton, IL have posted profiles on Classmates.com®. Click here to register for free at Classmates.com® and view other 1995 alumni.
The Riverton High Riverton, IL class of '95 alumni are listed below. These are former students from Riverton High in Riverton, IL who graduated in 1995. Alumni listings below have either been searched for or they registered as members of this directory.
If you are a Riverton alumn, we encourage you to register and be sure to sign up for the alumni newsletter.

lowercased:
know riverton class of 1995 graduates that are not on this list? help us update the 1995 class list by adding missing names.
more 1995 alumni from riverton hs riverton, il have posted profiles on classmates.com®. click here to register for free at classmates.com® and view other 1995 alumni.
the riverton high riverton, il class of '95 alumni are listed below. these are former students from riverton high in riverton, il who graduated in 1995. alumni listings below have either been searched for or they registered as members of this directory.
if you are a riverton alumn, we encourage you to register and be sure to sign up for the alumni newsletter.


text:
If you’ve ever driven to a familiar place and arrived not remembering how you got there, you could be said to ‘dissociate’ from time to time – that is, to disconnect your conscious mind from your bodily experience.
Dissociation is an adaptive, automatic and universal mechanism of the mind that shapes our conscious sense of self. Contemporary thinkers see each of us as a collection of ‘self-states’ – aspects of self, each with its own set of feelings, memories, values, and thinking capacity. At a level of healthy functioning, we move fluidly between self-states to adapt to our environment. However in some circumstances, dissociation will lock out particular self-states or prevent them from developing.
Imagine a situation in which your survival is at stake, for example a car crash or violent assault. In the face of a potentially annihilating event like these, we may be terrified yet powerless. This is trauma (even if the anticipated event does not ultimately happen). Unable to fight or to flee, our only remaining possible response is to freeze, effectively to dissociate. We see this in animals, when they ‘play dead’ in the face of predator threat. Bodily systems drastically slow down, and the overwhelmed conscious mind (or left brain) goes offline.
Survival through dissociation comes at a price. As the conscious mind is not there to process emotion, record, remember or make sense of what is happening, the traumatic experience is registered only somatically. If we later see, hear or smell something reminiscent of the trauma, the somatic memory may be triggered. Still disconnected from the part of the brain that remembers the event as a narrative within a time and place, the trauma will feel as if it’s happening again now. This is PTSD. To protect us from the intolerable experience of being re-traumatised, dissociation may kick in whenever the body (linked to the right brain) senses potential triggers, creating huge disruption to living our lives.
If we define trauma as an experience of terror and impotence in the face of annihilation – either physical or psychical - then many experiences could be called traumatic. The extent of so-called ‘relational’ or ‘developmental’ trauma, is described by one US expert as an ‘epidemic.’ This is childhood trauma such as sexual, physical or emotional abuse or neglect, and more broadly, growing up caregivers who can’t recognise or meet our needs when we are so young that the survival of our sense of self depends on it. Such caregivers may, to varying degrees, collapse, ignore or retaliate in the face of a child’s expression of need; they may be struggling in difficult circumstances, or their own experience of being parented may have deprived them of the capacity to understand, respond to or cope with their child.
Infants and very young children cannot regulate themselves emotionally or physiologically; they rely on their caregivers to do this for them until, through being regulated in relationship, they develop this capacity in themselves. The absence of regulation by those an infant depends on, exposes him/her to emotionally and physiologically intolerable states that can feel like psychic annihilation. To survive this trauma, dissociation kicks in, effectively disconnecting mind from body. Traumatic experience and self-states unmet by early caregivers (for example being helpless or distressed) are then dissociated from a conscious sense of ‘me’. Babies and toddlers don’t yet have the language to process or make sense of their experiences, contributing to this disconnection. The body knows and remembers the traumatic feeling states but there are no words to describe them.
As babies and young children, we can’t yet distinguish between an environment that fails to support us in being ourselves, and whom we are. We experience ourselves, rather than the environment on which we depend, as wrong. We are likely, then, to feel, believe and behave as if we are worthless and the outside world is unsafe or hostile.
Dissociation as an adaptive mechanism may enable survival through traumatic relational interactions that objectify, violate, shame, or psychically annihilate. But from being a means of escape, it can become a prison. The mechanism will likely continue to kick in whenever a relational interaction seems reminiscent of the original trauma. As far as the body and unconscious (or right brain) are concerned, it’s not safe, even if consciously we may now live in a different time, place and relationship.
Some may re-experience dissociation whenever triggered, finding themselves feeling utterly cut off from the world around them and from their own body, for hours, days or even weeks. For others, unprocessed, dissociated, parts of the self, may drive behaviours or patterns of relating. These may be unconscious attempts to avoid, heal, or re-enact the original trauma in the hope of a different outcome. It's not uncommon for clients to present in therapy with a problematic and incomprehensible behaviour they describe as 'not me' (or perhaps something they can’t tolerate in others). ‘Not me’ can describe perfectly, the part of them that has been dissociated. The helpless, objectified child, for example, may embody any of a multitude of behaviours such as angry outbursts, bingeing, sexual promiscuity, or impulsive behaviour. Our relationships with our selves - including our bodies, what we do to them and what we put into them – reflect our early relationships – whether nurturing and responsive, or neglectful, painful or abusive.
It may feel threatening to become aware of such wounded parts of ourselves, to consciously come to know and eventually come to terms with them. This is where therapy and the therapeutic relationship can help.
The relationship with the therapist offers a space both for familiar relational dynamics to emerge and be explored, and for new relational experiences to be created. It offers both regulation and potential reminders of traumatic dysregulation. Aspects of the therapeutic relationship may trigger dissociation and therapists are trained to pick up on underlying dissociated experience, which can show up quite subtly, for example the client (and the therapist too) might abruptly change the subject, go blank, feel unable to be present, lose connection to what they are saying or to parts of their body, experience visual disturbance, unexplained bodily sensations, or get sleepy. These states and their triggers can be explored, increasing awareness of them at an embodied level, processing emotion and finding words and meaning.
Getting in touch with the traumatic experience underlying dissociative states is a possibility. This can be distressing however there are ways to minimise the risk of re-traumatisation. For example, developing a strong therapeutic relationship in which you can work collaboratively and carefully, getting to know the edge of what’s tolerable, and working with your therapist to develop inner resources you can draw on. Your so-called 'window of tolerance' can be gradually widened, so that what was once intolerable and dissociated becomes conscious, survivable and increasingly manageable.
As trauma and dissociation occur on a spectrum, their imprint may range from perhaps limiting us in some areas, to leaving us in a state of constant fear and disrupting our lives, to creating a fragmented rather than continuous sense of self. For some clients it may be appropriate to pursue a recognised, specialised therapeutic approach to trauma, such as EMDR. There are many different paths to healing.
The more our self-states are accessible, the more fully and freely we can experience life. We may still feel the pull of familiar triggers, but can respond through mindful awareness and choice rather than unconscious action.

lowercased:
if you’ve ever driven to a familiar place and arrived not remembering how you got there, you could be said to ‘dissociate’ from time to time – that is, to disconnect your conscious mind from your bodily experience.
dissociation is an adaptive, automatic and universal mechanism of the mind that shapes our conscious sense of self. contemporary thinkers see each of us as a collection of ‘self-states’ – aspects of self, each with its own set of feelings, memories, values, and thinking capacity. at a level of healthy functioning, we move fluidly between self-states to adapt to our environment. however in some circumstances, dissociation will lock out particular self-states or prevent them from developing.
imagine a situation in which your survival is at stake, for example a car crash or violent assault. in the face of a potentially annihilating event like these, we may be terrified yet powerless. this is trauma (even if the anticipated event does not ultimately happen). unable to fight or to flee, our only remaining possible response is to freeze, effectively to dissociate. we see this in animals, when they ‘play dead’ in the face of predator threat. bodily systems drastically slow down, and the overwhelmed conscious mind (or left brain) goes offline.
survival through dissociation comes at a price. as the conscious mind is not there to process emotion, record, remember or make sense of what is happening, the traumatic experience is registered only somatically. if we later see, hear or smell something reminiscent of the trauma, the somatic memory may be triggered. still disconnected from the part of the brain that remembers the event as a narrative within a time and place, the trauma will feel as if it’s happening again now. this is ptsd. to protect us from the intolerable experience of being re-traumatised, dissociation may kick in whenever the body (linked to the right brain) senses potential triggers, creating huge disruption to living our lives.
if we define trauma as an experience of terror and impotence in the face of annihilation – either physical or psychical - then many experiences could be called traumatic. the extent of so-called ‘relational’ or ‘developmental’ trauma, is described by one us expert as an ‘epidemic.’ this is childhood trauma such as sexual, physical or emotional abuse or neglect, and more broadly, growing up caregivers who can’t recognise or meet our needs when we are so young that the survival of our sense of self depends on it. such caregivers may, to varying degrees, collapse, ignore or retaliate in the face of a child’s expression of need; they may be struggling in difficult circumstances, or their own experience of being parented may have deprived them of the capacity to understand, respond to or cope with their child.
infants and very young children cannot regulate themselves emotionally or physiologically; they rely on their caregivers to do this for them until, through being regulated in relationship, they develop this capacity in themselves. the absence of regulation by those an infant depends on, exposes him/her to emotionally and physiologically intolerable states that can feel like psychic annihilation. to survive this trauma, dissociation kicks in, effectively disconnecting mind from body. traumatic experience and self-states unmet by early caregivers (for example being helpless or distressed) are then dissociated from a conscious sense of ‘me’. babies and toddlers don’t yet have the language to process or make sense of their experiences, contributing to this disconnection. the body knows and remembers the traumatic feeling states but there are no words to describe them.
as babies and young children, we can’t yet distinguish between an environment that fails to support us in being ourselves, and whom we are. we experience ourselves, rather than the environment on which we depend, as wrong. we are likely, then, to feel, believe and behave as if we are worthless and the outside world is unsafe or hostile.
dissociation as an adaptive mechanism may enable survival through traumatic relational interactions that objectify, violate, shame, or psychically annihilate. but from being a means of escape, it can become a prison. the mechanism will likely continue to kick in whenever a relational interaction seems reminiscent of the original trauma. as far as the body and unconscious (or right brain) are concerned, it’s not safe, even if consciously we may now live in a different time, place and relationship.
some may re-experience dissociation whenever triggered, finding themselves feeling utterly cut off from the world around them and from their own body, for hours, days or even weeks. for others, unprocessed, dissociated, parts of the self, may drive behaviours or patterns of relating. these may be unconscious attempts to avoid, heal, or re-enact the original trauma in the hope of a different outcome. it's not uncommon for clients to present in therapy with a problematic and incomprehensible behaviour they describe as 'not me' (or perhaps something they can’t tolerate in others). ‘not me’ can describe perfectly, the part of them that has been dissociated. the helpless, objectified child, for example, may embody any of a multitude of behaviours such as angry outbursts, bingeing, sexual promiscuity, or impulsive behaviour. our relationships with our selves - including our bodies, what we do to them and what we put into them – reflect our early relationships – whether nurturing and responsive, or neglectful, painful or abusive.
it may feel threatening to become aware of such wounded parts of ourselves, to consciously come to know and eventually come to terms with them. this is where therapy and the therapeutic relationship can help.
the relationship with the therapist offers a space both for familiar relational dynamics to emerge and be explored, and for new relational experiences to be created. it offers both regulation and potential reminders of traumatic dysregulation. aspects of the therapeutic relationship may trigger dissociation and therapists are trained to pick up on underlying dissociated experience, which can show up quite subtly, for example the client (and the therapist too) might abruptly change the subject, go blank, feel unable to be present, lose connection to what they are saying or to parts of their body, experience visual disturbance, unexplained bodily sensations, or get sleepy. these states and their triggers can be explored, increasing awareness of them at an embodied level, processing emotion and finding words and meaning.
getting in touch with the traumatic experience underlying dissociative states is a possibility. this can be distressing however there are ways to minimise the risk of re-traumatisation. for example, developing a strong therapeutic relationship in which you can work collaboratively and carefully, getting to know the edge of what’s tolerable, and working with your therapist to develop inner resources you can draw on. your so-called 'window of tolerance' can be gradually widened, so that what was once intolerable and dissociated becomes conscious, survivable and increasingly manageable.
as trauma and dissociation occur on a spectrum, their imprint may range from perhaps limiting us in some areas, to leaving us in a state of constant fear and disrupting our lives, to creating a fragmented rather than continuous sense of self. for some clients it may be appropriate to pursue a recognised, specialised therapeutic approach to trauma, such as emdr. there are many different paths to healing.
the more our self-states are accessible, the more fully and freely we can experience life. we may still feel the pull of familiar triggers, but can respond through mindful awareness and choice rather than unconscious action.


text: Organized in 1996, the Savannah is an affiliate of the 100 Black Men of America, Inc. one of the preeminent African- American organizations that champion issues that face our communities. They're legacy has been one of hard work, innovative solutions, and an unwavering commitment to mentoring and empowering Savannah's young people. They lead the way by Mentoring the 100 Way Across a Lifetime through our mentoring, education, leadership, and economic empowerment programs and as an advocate for Savannah's youth.

lowercased: organized in 1996, the savannah is an affiliate of the 100 black men of america, inc. one of the preeminent african- american organizations that champion issues that face our communities. they're legacy has been one of hard work, innovative solutions, and an unwavering commitment to mentoring and empowering savannah's young people. they lead the way by mentoring the 100 way across a lifetime through our mentoring, education, leadership, and economic empowerment programs and as an advocate for savannah's youth.


text: Mixed Chicks offers a line of hair care and styling products that are specially designed to help women, men, and kids manage their unruly, curly hair without using multiple styling products. All Mixed Chicks products are cruelty free and vegan. The brand has been featured in magazines including Marie Claire, Lucky, Women’s Health, and InStyle.

lowercased: mixed chicks offers a line of hair care and styling products that are specially designed to help women, men, and kids manage their unruly, curly hair without using multiple styling products. all mixed chicks products are cruelty free and vegan. the brand has been featured in magazines including marie claire, lucky, women’s health, and instyle.


text:
Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common health problem in the United States, affecting more than 46 million people today.
Among chronic diseases in the U.S., arthritis causes more disability than any other condition, with roughly 19 million people left disabled by the condition.
Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease causing inflammation and pain in the joints, including hands, feet and wrists.
In rare cases RA can even affect the eyes, lungs, heart, skin, blood or even the nerves.
More women are affected by rheumatoid arthritis than men, with the condition being most common in people 40 – 70 years of age.
Please read Rheumatoid Arthritis Explained if you would like more information on RA.
The exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, even with the tremendous amount of research done on the disease.
RA is suspected to be caused by the body’s immune system attacking the synovial membranes.
These synovial membranes surround the joints.
When theses membranes are attacked, the membranes thicken, thus causing inflammation.
The process begins to destroy cartilage and bone from inside the joint.
Research has shown several factors can contribute to the development of rheumatoid arthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis varies from one person to another, but it usually starts off gradually with symptoms coming and going over time while gradually increasing in frequency and degree.
For more information on dealing with RA, please read Managing Rheumatoid Arthritis.
The treatment involves a combination of therapies.
These may include patient education, rest, exercise and joint protection.
Traditional forms of medication prescribed to treat rheumatoid arthritis include alpha inhibitors, immunosuppressant, painkillers and steroids.
This form of oral medication is unsafe and ineffective with well documented long-term side effects and other major complications, including death.
RA patients have been searching for other methods of managing their pain because traditional treatments are not delivering as promised.
As an alternative to using prescription pain pills, compound pharmacies now offer a different approach to treating symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
Compounding pain creams are customized medications developed to a specific strength, with active ingredients tailored to suite each individual patient.
This topical treatment is applied directly onto the inflamed or swollen area and is absorbed through the skin, bypassing the body’s metabolic system.
This serves to decrease the chance of drug interactions and minimizes any adverse effects.
Because the compounded pain cream is applied locally, higher concentrations of the medication may also be absorbed at the exact site of pain.
This form of treatment is often covered by your health insurance.
It also offers long-term results with a non-opioid solution, and eliminates the chance of dependency.
What Are The Benefits Of Compound Cream?
There are many advantages of using custom compounded creams, especially when treating rheumatoid arthritis.
So why should I use a compound cream?
rheumatoid arthritis will change your life.

lowercased:
rheumatoid arthritis (ra) is a common health problem in the united states, affecting more than 46 million people today.
among chronic diseases in the u.s., arthritis causes more disability than any other condition, with roughly 19 million people left disabled by the condition.
rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease causing inflammation and pain in the joints, including hands, feet and wrists.
in rare cases ra can even affect the eyes, lungs, heart, skin, blood or even the nerves.
more women are affected by rheumatoid arthritis than men, with the condition being most common in people 40 – 70 years of age.
please read rheumatoid arthritis explained if you would like more information on ra.
the exact cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, even with the tremendous amount of research done on the disease.
ra is suspected to be caused by the body’s immune system attacking the synovial membranes.
these synovial membranes surround the joints.
when theses membranes are attacked, the membranes thicken, thus causing inflammation.
the process begins to destroy cartilage and bone from inside the joint.
research has shown several factors can contribute to the development of rheumatoid arthritis.
rheumatoid arthritis varies from one person to another, but it usually starts off gradually with symptoms coming and going over time while gradually increasing in frequency and degree.
for more information on dealing with ra, please read managing rheumatoid arthritis.
the treatment involves a combination of therapies.
these may include patient education, rest, exercise and joint protection.
traditional forms of medication prescribed to treat rheumatoid arthritis include alpha inhibitors, immunosuppressant, painkillers and steroids.
this form of oral medication is unsafe and ineffective with well documented long-term side effects and other major complications, including death.
ra patients have been searching for other methods of managing their pain because traditional treatments are not delivering as promised.
as an alternative to using prescription pain pills, compound pharmacies now offer a different approach to treating symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
compounding pain creams are customized medications developed to a specific strength, with active ingredients tailored to suite each individual patient.
this topical treatment is applied directly onto the inflamed or swollen area and is absorbed through the skin, bypassing the body’s metabolic system.
this serves to decrease the chance of drug interactions and minimizes any adverse effects.
because the compounded pain cream is applied locally, higher concentrations of the medication may also be absorbed at the exact site of pain.
this form of treatment is often covered by your health insurance.
it also offers long-term results with a non-opioid solution, and eliminates the chance of dependency.
what are the benefits of compound cream?
there are many advantages of using custom compounded creams, especially when treating rheumatoid arthritis.
so why should i use a compound cream?
rheumatoid arthritis will change your life.


text:
I grew up in a family of five children and it was usually noisy in our house. There were those that called us the loud family. We would run after each other laughing and shouting around and around the kitchen table. It was necessary to shout if you were going to be heard.
There would even be the sound of a basketball hitting the floor most of the time making it even harder to communicate.
Later I was given my own car. It was a Ford Falcon six-cylinder with a three-speed shifter on the column. The first thing I did was to put some holes in the muffler so you could hear it better. Thinking back, it didn’t sound good, it was just louder; sort of a roaring sound as I recall. It seemed to have more power but in truth it was not more powerful, just a louder obnoxious roaring sound.
Through life we have all encountered people that are loud talkers. Some of them might have been raised as I was and had to talk loud to be heard. Others may be hard of hearing, and when you cannot hear, you have a tendency to talk loud.
I have been with people who have ear phones on and they tend to talk loud because they cannot hear their own voice because of the ear phones.
There is, however, a third kind of person that talks loud. This is someone who is trying to force their opinion on you. These people think they know it all but their knowledge is usually based on less than all of the facts. They will take a piece of the picture and build a conviction on it. They are the ones who will march into your office and let you have it because you are not seeing it their way; right or wrong. They are the loudest voice in the meeting that is going to be heard whether or not it is the best for all concerned.
Like my Ford Falcon six-cylinder, they are just making a roaring obnoxious sound. Why then do we give in to such a voice? Are we so unaware of the facts that we believe what they are saying, or are we intimidated by them? If a person is loud and assertive, does that make what they are trying to force on you the truth of the matter?

lowercased:
i grew up in a family of five children and it was usually noisy in our house. there were those that called us the loud family. we would run after each other laughing and shouting around and around the kitchen table. it was necessary to shout if you were going to be heard.
there would even be the sound of a basketball hitting the floor most of the time making it even harder to communicate.
later i was given my own car. it was a ford falcon six-cylinder with a three-speed shifter on the column. the first thing i did was to put some holes in the muffler so you could hear it better. thinking back, it didn’t sound good, it was just louder; sort of a roaring sound as i recall. it seemed to have more power but in truth it was not more powerful, just a louder obnoxious roaring sound.
through life we have all encountered people that are loud talkers. some of them might have been raised as i was and had to talk loud to be heard. others may be hard of hearing, and when you cannot hear, you have a tendency to talk loud.
i have been with people who have ear phones on and they tend to talk loud because they cannot hear their own voice because of the ear phones.
there is, however, a third kind of person that talks loud. this is someone who is trying to force their opinion on you. these people think they know it all but their knowledge is usually based on less than all of the facts. they will take a piece of the picture and build a conviction on it. they are the ones who will march into your office and let you have it because you are not seeing it their way; right or wrong. they are the loudest voice in the meeting that is going to be heard whether or not it is the best for all concerned.
like my ford falcon six-cylinder, they are just making a roaring obnoxious sound. why then do we give in to such a voice? are we so unaware of the facts that we believe what they are saying, or are we intimidated by them? if a person is loud and assertive, does that make what they are trying to force on you the truth of the matter?


text:
The Warm Bodies trailer served up an entertaining blend of zombie humor and romantic comedy, refashioning the story of Romeo and Juliet in a zombpocalyptic world. Today, we have a second theatrical promo that's lighter on the rom-com and somewhat heavier on horror elements (for the first ten seconds or so, that is).
Warm Bodies is based on the best-selling novel by Isaac Marion, which revolves around R (Nicholas Hoult) - an emotionally-wanting zombie who begins to change after he encounters the girlfriend of one of his victims (Teresa Palmer). The new trailer focuses on their budding relationship, rather that diving deeper into just how their newfound love begins to 'cure' the undead masses (like in the first trailer).
Next year will be a big year for Hoult, as he's being upgraded to leading man in two movies: Warm Bodies and Jack the Giant Slayer, which is the first collaboration between the actor and director Bryan Singer (before they re-team for X-Men: Days of Future Past, that is). Hoult seems to be more in his element playing the emotional R in Bodies, rather than the unexpected hero Jack in Slayer - based on trailer footage, that is. Of course, the opposite could prove to be true in the final films.
Writing and directing duties on Warm Bodies were handled by Jonathan Levin, who has shown a knack for crafting sweet and funny films - such as the coming-of-age flick The Wackness and cancer dramedy 50/50. Warm Bodies does indeed stand to benefit from Levine's smart storytelling touch; though, we will have to wait and see how well Levine handles the larger-budget demands of Bodies, seeing how his previous films were smaller and simpler by comparison.
Then again, Levine is a director who does well working with actors and the Bodies cast as a whole is solid - including, Hoult and Palmer (who is usually a standout, even in stuff like I Am Number Four) appearing with John Malkovich, Rob Corddry (Hot Tub Time Machine) and Analeigh Tipton (Crazy, Stupid, Love.). So, that should help.
Warm Bodies open in U.S. theaters on February 1st, 2013.

lowercased:
the warm bodies trailer served up an entertaining blend of zombie humor and romantic comedy, refashioning the story of romeo and juliet in a zombpocalyptic world. today, we have a second theatrical promo that's lighter on the rom-com and somewhat heavier on horror elements (for the first ten seconds or so, that is).
warm bodies is based on the best-selling novel by isaac marion, which revolves around r (nicholas hoult) - an emotionally-wanting zombie who begins to change after he encounters the girlfriend of one of his victims (teresa palmer). the new trailer focuses on their budding relationship, rather that diving deeper into just how their newfound love begins to 'cure' the undead masses (like in the first trailer).
next year will be a big year for hoult, as he's being upgraded to leading man in two movies: warm bodies and jack the giant slayer, which is the first collaboration between the actor and director bryan singer (before they re-team for x-men: days of future past, that is). hoult seems to be more in his element playing the emotional r in bodies, rather than the unexpected hero jack in slayer - based on trailer footage, that is. of course, the opposite could prove to be true in the final films.
writing and directing duties on warm bodies were handled by jonathan levin, who has shown a knack for crafting sweet and funny films - such as the coming-of-age flick the wackness and cancer dramedy 50/50. warm bodies does indeed stand to benefit from levine's smart storytelling touch; though, we will have to wait and see how well levine handles the larger-budget demands of bodies, seeing how his previous films were smaller and simpler by comparison.
then again, levine is a director who does well working with actors and the bodies cast as a whole is solid - including, hoult and palmer (who is usually a standout, even in stuff like i am number four) appearing with john malkovich, rob corddry (hot tub time machine) and analeigh tipton (crazy, stupid, love.). so, that should help.
warm bodies open in u.s. theaters on february 1st, 2013.


text:
This week Aaron is joined by Josh Kershenbaum from Frankel & Kershenbaum in Radnor, PA (mykidslawyer.com) to talk about special needs summer camps.
When your child has special needs, it is important that the school system gives them the care and attention they deserve. Josh explains some of the options out there for special needs families and provides some valuable resources!
As always, if you like the show, please review and subscribe!
You can learn more about Josh by visiting his website, sending him an email, or giving him a call at 610-922-4200.
The ESY article Josh references in the episode can be found here.

lowercased:
this week aaron is joined by josh kershenbaum from frankel & kershenbaum in radnor, pa (mykidslawyer.com) to talk about special needs summer camps.
when your child has special needs, it is important that the school system gives them the care and attention they deserve. josh explains some of the options out there for special needs families and provides some valuable resources!
as always, if you like the show, please review and subscribe!
you can learn more about josh by visiting his website, sending him an email, or giving him a call at 610-922-4200.
the esy article josh references in the episode can be found here.


text: known about Castaneda's personal life. He was briefly married to Margaret Runyan in 1960. They only lived together as man and wife for six months before going to Mexico for a divorce. In 1973, after realizing that their first divorce was not legal, Castaneda and Runyan were formally divorced. Castaneda died of cancer on April 27, 1998, at his home in Westwood, California. His death was kept a secret for more than two months before word of it was finally leaked to the press.

lowercased: known about castaneda's personal life. he was briefly married to margaret runyan in 1960. they only lived together as man and wife for six months before going to mexico for a divorce. in 1973, after realizing that their first divorce was not legal, castaneda and runyan were formally divorced. castaneda died of cancer on april 27, 1998, at his home in westwood, california. his death was kept a secret for more than two months before word of it was finally leaked to the press.


text:
Still, I love me some retro-tinged mini-games, especially when they harken back to the 8-bit gems of my childhood, and that certainly describes the titles that will be included in this upcoming, likely-to-be-import-only compilation.
You can see two of those titles in action by zooming to the 26:50 mark in the video below (and here), by the way.
I especially like the first one, which is a blatant Mario Bros. rip-off, although the second one--which riffs on Namco's Sky Kid--looks pretty sweet, too.
Are any of you Japanese 3DS owners planning to pick up a copy of Game Center CX 3 after it hits the streets?
Also, I fully understand not wanting to import this--or not wanting to import it and a Japanese 3DS.
Since I already have a 3DS, though, I really want to do it--especially since I never imported the 2nd game.
It helps, of course, knowing that if I don't like it or whatever I can always sell it on eBay later, and possibly for a nice profit.

lowercased:
still, i love me some retro-tinged mini-games, especially when they harken back to the 8-bit gems of my childhood, and that certainly describes the titles that will be included in this upcoming, likely-to-be-import-only compilation.
you can see two of those titles in action by zooming to the 26:50 mark in the video below (and here), by the way.
i especially like the first one, which is a blatant mario bros. rip-off, although the second one--which riffs on namco's sky kid--looks pretty sweet, too.
are any of you japanese 3ds owners planning to pick up a copy of game center cx 3 after it hits the streets?
also, i fully understand not wanting to import this--or not wanting to import it and a japanese 3ds.
since i already have a 3ds, though, i really want to do it--especially since i never imported the 2nd game.
it helps, of course, knowing that if i don't like it or whatever i can always sell it on ebay later, and possibly for a nice profit.


text:
Currently only the ruins of the monumental building constructed during the reign of Kazimierz Wielki remain on the hill. Originally, it was a defensive structure, consisting of a six-room ground floor and an upper floor. It had a small tower on the side facing the town, and a taller one on the side of the building facing the Vistula river. The elongated courtyard was surrounded by a wall, with a gate on the side opposite to the town. The castle was constructed mostly from limestone. The greatest changes were made to the original building in the Renaissance era. The courtyard was enlarged to the east, and many decorative details in the new style were added.
A round tower dating to the turn of the 14th century rises on the top of the castle hill. This tower, as the 'upper castle', played the defensive role until the castle itself was built. Some historians claim that it also operated as a customs post, and was used as a river lighthouse at night. In any case, today it affords a beautiful view of the town of Kazimierz and the Vistula valley. At its highest point (the height of the structure varies because of the uneven ground), the tower is 19.2 meters high, with a circumference of approximately 32.5 meters and walls' thickness decreasing gradually towards the top.
The hill overlooking the town is also known as the Cross Mountain. Three crosses, referencing Calvary, were erected on the hill in 1708, to commemorate victims of pestilence that took many lives in the area. The hillsides and the top of the Three Cross Mountain are covered by vegetation, with many protected species including European dwarf cherry, Inula and Stipa. Despite the hillsides being covered by elm, hornbeam and hazel, you can see all of Kazimierz from the top.
These town houses were built in the 17th century. They belonged to Mikolaj and Krzysztof Przybylowie brothers, who decorated the houses with the likenesses of their patron saints (thus the names). Both houses share the same layout: the ground floor with three arches and the first floor with three windows. The facades are adorned with relief sculptural decorations, including human and animal figures, and plant motifs. Christianity and ancient myths combine with medieval fantasy and Renaissance grotesque here, creating an epic work carved in limestone and modelled in lime mortar.
Kamienica Celejowska is also known as the St Bartholomew House because the saint's figure forms a part of the decoration of the facade, on the right side of the roof attic. It was also known as the Black House, because of the dark colour of the plaster on the front. The precise date of the house's construction isn't known, but it's likely to be a 16th century building, constructed for Bartlomiej Celej, a wealthy merchant and a member of the town council. It was built from limestone and the rich ornamentation of the facade features all typical forms used by the stonemasons and builders at that time.
The detailed history of the Farna (the oldest parish church in Kazimierz) is lost because not many documents have survived. Some researchers suggest that there could have been a late Romanesque style stone church here as early as the 12th century. So far, this theory has not been definitely confirmed by architectural research. The first mentions of the parish appear in the Acts of the Apostolic Camera dating to 1325-1328. The church was much smaller then, and built of limestone.
St Anne's Church is also known as the Hospital, Xenodochial or Oriented church. A wooden temple was located at this site as early as 1530, and a masonry structure was erected around 1670, as witnessed by the inscription on the rainbow beam. Another inscription, on the north wall of the church, commemorates the consecration of the building by bishop Mikolaj Oborski in 1671. The church models the Kaziemierz Farna (Parish Church) in its layout, shape, thickness of the walls and even the major decorative elements. It consists of a rectangular nave and a narrower chancel, ending with a straight wall, behind which there is the sacristy and the treasury on the upper floor.
The Museum of Goldsmith Art is the only institution of this kind in Poland. It focuses on collecting old and contemporary objects produced by goldsmiths, particularly Polish ones and ones working in Poland. The Museum supports the work of contemporary goldsmiths, organising temporary exhibitions of groups and individual artists. The exhibits shown in the Museum include Polish silver items, from the Gothic period to modern forms, as well as a collection of silver from the most important European centres of the craft.
Built in 1921, on the site of an old slaughterhouse, designed by the brilliant architect Jan Koszczyc-Witkiewicz. Initially the building was used as a town bathhouse and laundry, and more recently has been functioning as a guest house and a restaurant. On the wall there is a memorial plaque stating: 'A bath and disinsection facility erected by the General Extraordinary Commission for Epidemic Control, 1921'.
Kobialki Granary – a PTTK hotel at Krakowska 61, is the last of the string of Kazimierz granaries that have remained intact. It is situated in the old Krakowskie Przedmieście (Krakow Suburb), facing Vistula. It used to form a complex of granaries, together with at least four others. The granary consisted of two chambers located on two floors. The building dates to 1636, thus the Mannerist ornamentation of the gable. A wide loggia in front of the building was used for transporting the grain to the upper floor.

lowercased:
currently only the ruins of the monumental building constructed during the reign of kazimierz wielki remain on the hill. originally, it was a defensive structure, consisting of a six-room ground floor and an upper floor. it had a small tower on the side facing the town, and a taller one on the side of the building facing the vistula river. the elongated courtyard was surrounded by a wall, with a gate on the side opposite to the town. the castle was constructed mostly from limestone. the greatest changes were made to the original building in the renaissance era. the courtyard was enlarged to the east, and many decorative details in the new style were added.
a round tower dating to the turn of the 14th century rises on the top of the castle hill. this tower, as the 'upper castle', played the defensive role until the castle itself was built. some historians claim that it also operated as a customs post, and was used as a river lighthouse at night. in any case, today it affords a beautiful view of the town of kazimierz and the vistula valley. at its highest point (the height of the structure varies because of the uneven ground), the tower is 19.2 meters high, with a circumference of approximately 32.5 meters and walls' thickness decreasing gradually towards the top.
the hill overlooking the town is also known as the cross mountain. three crosses, referencing calvary, were erected on the hill in 1708, to commemorate victims of pestilence that took many lives in the area. the hillsides and the top of the three cross mountain are covered by vegetation, with many protected species including european dwarf cherry, inula and stipa. despite the hillsides being covered by elm, hornbeam and hazel, you can see all of kazimierz from the top.
these town houses were built in the 17th century. they belonged to mikolaj and krzysztof przybylowie brothers, who decorated the houses with the likenesses of their patron saints (thus the names). both houses share the same layout: the ground floor with three arches and the first floor with three windows. the facades are adorned with relief sculptural decorations, including human and animal figures, and plant motifs. christianity and ancient myths combine with medieval fantasy and renaissance grotesque here, creating an epic work carved in limestone and modelled in lime mortar.
kamienica celejowska is also known as the st bartholomew house because the saint's figure forms a part of the decoration of the facade, on the right side of the roof attic. it was also known as the black house, because of the dark colour of the plaster on the front. the precise date of the house's construction isn't known, but it's likely to be a 16th century building, constructed for bartlomiej celej, a wealthy merchant and a member of the town council. it was built from limestone and the rich ornamentation of the facade features all typical forms used by the stonemasons and builders at that time.
the detailed history of the farna (the oldest parish church in kazimierz) is lost because not many documents have survived. some researchers suggest that there could have been a late romanesque style stone church here as early as the 12th century. so far, this theory has not been definitely confirmed by architectural research. the first mentions of the parish appear in the acts of the apostolic camera dating to 1325-1328. the church was much smaller then, and built of limestone.
st anne's church is also known as the hospital, xenodochial or oriented church. a wooden temple was located at this site as early as 1530, and a masonry structure was erected around 1670, as witnessed by the inscription on the rainbow beam. another inscription, on the north wall of the church, commemorates the consecration of the building by bishop mikolaj oborski in 1671. the church models the kaziemierz farna (parish church) in its layout, shape, thickness of the walls and even the major decorative elements. it consists of a rectangular nave and a narrower chancel, ending with a straight wall, behind which there is the sacristy and the treasury on the upper floor.
the museum of goldsmith art is the only institution of this kind in poland. it focuses on collecting old and contemporary objects produced by goldsmiths, particularly polish ones and ones working in poland. the museum supports the work of contemporary goldsmiths, organising temporary exhibitions of groups and individual artists. the exhibits shown in the museum include polish silver items, from the gothic period to modern forms, as well as a collection of silver from the most important european centres of the craft.
built in 1921, on the site of an old slaughterhouse, designed by the brilliant architect jan koszczyc-witkiewicz. initially the building was used as a town bathhouse and laundry, and more recently has been functioning as a guest house and a restaurant. on the wall there is a memorial plaque stating: 'a bath and disinsection facility erected by the general extraordinary commission for epidemic control, 1921'.
kobialki granary – a pttk hotel at krakowska 61, is the last of the string of kazimierz granaries that have remained intact. it is situated in the old krakowskie przedmieście (krakow suburb), facing vistula. it used to form a complex of granaries, together with at least four others. the granary consisted of two chambers located on two floors. the building dates to 1636, thus the mannerist ornamentation of the gable. a wide loggia in front of the building was used for transporting the grain to the upper floor.