The Bhikṣuṇī Maṇimēkhalai

88 - The Historical Materials
The next point for consideration is a reference to kuccharakuḍikai,
the guṭikā or a small temple described as kucchara. Kucchara is the
Tamil equivalent of the word Gūrjara in Sanskrit, referring either to
the country or to the people of Gujarat when that had come into being.
The learned commentator has suggested this equation in the course of
his comments. This had been taken to fix the age of the poem by the
fact that the Gūrjaras were not in India before the beginning of the
sixth century A.D. at the earliest.
The reference is to the temple of Champāpati, the patron deity of the
city of Puhār. The Mahāmahopādhyaya’s interpretation is based on
the tradition that the Gūrjaras were well known artisans in building.
There undoubtedly is a later tradition to that effect. The Gūrjaras
were good builders but there are references in the Maṇimēkhalai to
artisans from various countries engaged in the building of the hall in
the royal garden in Puhār, among whom the Gūrjaras as such do not
figure. There are references to the people of Magadha, Avanti,
Yavana and Mahrāṭṭa, but no reference to the Gūjara at all. This
omission is a clear indication that the reputation of the Gūrjaras as
experts in building had not been known then. In a corresponding
passage from the Peruṁkadai, which the Mahāmahopādhyaya quotes,
there is a reference to jewellers from Magadha, carpenters from
Yavana, smiths from Avanti, painters from Kōśala, workmen in
stones from Vatsa, and [54] there is a name given of expert goldsmiths.
In none of these do we find any reference to the Gūrjaras as such. If
the omitted name should be that of the Gūrjaras in the Peruṁkadai, it
would still be workmen in gold, and it is not the goldsmith that is
likely to be under reference in the guṭikā or small temple to the
goddess Champāpati in the Cakravāḷakoṭṭam at Puhār.