[3] Dhanabhuti may have been a feudatory of the Sunga Empire, or a ruler in a neighbouring territory, such as Kosala or Panchala,[4][2] or possibly a northern king from Sughana in Haryana.

[3] An epigraph on a pillar of the eastern gateway of the stupa of Bharhut mentions its erection "by Vatsiputra Dhanabhuti".

[19][2] Cunningham further suggested that king Amoghabhuti, from the same general period and location, and who shares a similar name ending with Dhanabhuti, was from the same regnal line.

[4] He was probably either a tributary of the Sungas, or a ruler in a neighbouring territory, such as Kosala or Panchala:[4] Dhanabhūtisa rājano putasa Kumārasa Vādha Pālasa (Dānam) 𑀥𑀦𑀪𑀽𑀢𑀺𑀲 𑀭𑀸𑀚𑀦𑁄 𑀧𑀼𑀢𑀲 𑀓𑀼𑀫𑀸𑀭𑀲 𑀯𑀸𑀥 𑀧𑀸𑀮𑀲 Gift of Rajah Danabhuti's son, the Prince Vādha Pāla A last inscription seems to mention Dhanabhuti at Bharhut, but the inscription is defaced.

Dhana bhūtisa danam vedaka 5. torunana cha ratana graha sa 6. va Budha pujaye saha mata pi 7. trolisaha chaluha parishahi Again, this inscription suggests that Dhanabhuti was probably not a Sunga king, as the Indo-Greeks were likely ruling Mathura at the time the inscription was made: they are thought to have ruled the area of Mathura between 185 BCE-85 BCE, as suggested by literary, numismatic and epigraphical evidence such as the Yavanarajya inscription.

[25] The Brahmi script used in the Mathura inscription is more angular and typical of the Northern Satraps period in the 1st century CE.

[24] Although the writing style remains traditional, some of the shapes of the Bharhut torana inscription have some modern features, such as the shapes of the letters va, ha, pa, ra, and the long flourish of the i, which suggest a closer temporal proximity with the Mathura inscription.

[27] For Sonya Rhie Quintanilla, this implies that Dhanabhuti belonged to the period circa 150 BCE, when he probably made both dedicatory inscriptions in Bharhut and Mathura.