Gupta (king)
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Gupta (
Name
Gupta is not attested by his own inscriptions or coins, although some seals and coins have been wrongly attributed to him.[2] The earliest description of him occurs in his great-grandson Samudragupta's Prayagraaj Pillar inscription, and is repeated verbatim in several later records of the dynasty:[3]
Licchavi, son's son of the prosperous Ghaṭōtkacha, the Mahārāja and the son of the son's son of the prosperous Gupta, the Mahārāja[4][5]
The Allahabad Pillar inscription names Samudragupta's ancestors as Shrī Gupta (
Date
Gupta most probably ruled in the second half of the 3rd century, although his reign cannot be dated with certainty based on existing evidence. Various estimates of his reign include:[8][2]
- R. K. Mukherjee: c. 240–280 CE
- A. S. Altekar: c. 270–290 CE
- V. A. Smith: c. 275–300 CE
- Tej Ram Sharma: c. 275–295 CE
- S. R. Goel: c. 295–300 CE
Political status
The Allahabad Pillar inscription uses the title
There is no doubt that Gupta and Ghatotkacha held a lower status and were less powerful than Chandragupta I.
Identification with Che-li-ki-to
The 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, in his description of the itinerary of the earlier Korean traveler(of Silla) Hwui-lun(慧輪) alias Prajnavarma, mentions that in ancient times, king Che-li-ki-to (室利笈多) built a temple near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mṛgaśikhāvana) for Chinese pilgrims. The king endowed the temple with the revenue of 24 villages for its maintenance.[11] Only the brick foundation of this temple survived in Yijing's time.[12]
Numismatist
Based on available evidence, Gupta's religious affiliation is unclear. Historian A. K. Narain theorizes that he was a Vaishnavite, who was tolerant of Buddhist activity in his kingdom.[13] This latter scenario would have been comparable with the later Gupta monarchs, who were predominantly Vaishnavite, but under whose regimes heterodox religious movements like Buddhism and Jainism were allowed to flourish.[14]
Territory
Some scholars, such as D. C. Ganguly and
Other scholars, such as
References
Citations
- ^ Full inscription, Fleet, John Faithfull (1888). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol. 3. pp. 1-17.
- ^ a b Ashvini Agrawal 1989, p. 86.
- ^ a b R. C. Majumdar 1981, p. 6.
- Bhandarkar, D. R.; Chhabra, B. C. (1981). Gai, G. S. (ed.). Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum: Inscriptions of the early Gupta Kings. Archaeological Survey of India.
- ISBN 8170172225.
- ^ Ashvini Agrawal 1989, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Tej Ram Sharma 1989, p. 42.
- ^ Tej Ram Sharma 1989, pp. 49–55.
- ^ a b c R. C. Majumdar 1981, pp. 6–7.
- ^ a b c Ashvini Agrawal 1989, p. 85.
- ^ Dilip Kumar Ganguly 1987, p. 7.
- ^ a b Ashvini Agrawal 1989, p. 80.
- ^ A. K. Narain 1983, pp. 17–52.
- ^ A. K. Narain 1983, p. 44.
- ^ a b Ashvini Agrawal 1989, p. 79.
- ^ Ashvini Agrawal 1989, pp. 79–80.
- ^ a b Ashvini Agrawal 1989, pp. 81–82.
- ^ a b Tej Ram Sharma 1989, p. 38.
General sources
- A. K. Narain (1983). "Religious Policy and Toleration in Ancient India with Particular Reference to the Gupta Age". In Bardwell L. Smith (ed.). Essays on Gupta Culture. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-0-8364-0871-3.
- Ashvini Agrawal (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0592-7.
- Dilip Kumar Ganguly (1987). The Imperial Guptas and Their Times. Abhinav. ISBN 978-81-7017-222-2.
- OCLC 34008529.
- Tej Ram Sharma (1989). A Political History of the Imperial Guptas: From Gupta to Skandagupta. Concept. ISBN 978-81-7022-251-4.