Gupta Empire - Quiz

Sri Gupta (r.240 -280 CE) was a pre-imperial Gupta king in northern India and the founder of the Gupta dynasty. Northern or central Bengal might have been the home of Guptas at that time, however, little evidence is available.

The Poona copper inscription of Prabhavati Gupta, a daughter of Chandragupta II, describes "Maharaja Sri-Gupta" as the founder of the Gupta dynasty. Sri Gupta is identified with the king Che-li-ki-to mentioned in the writings of the Chinese traveller Yijing, who wrote around 690 CE, and described the king as having ruled 500 years earlier. According to Yijing's account, Sri Gupta ordered the construction of a temple at Mrgasikhavana for the use of Buddhist pilgrims coming from China, endowing it with the revenue from 40 villages.

Chandragupta I was a king of the Gupta Empire around 320 CE. As the ruler of the Gupta Empire, he is known for forging alliances with many powerful families in the Ganges region.

Chandragupta I was the son of Ghatotkacha and the grandson of Sri Gupta. Unlike his predecessors, who were known as Maharaja (king), he came to be known as Maharajadhiraja (king of kings). He came to power in 320 CE as his father Ghatotkacha died leaving him on the throne. However, it remains unknown how he expanded a "small principality to the status of an important kingdom" by annexing neighbouring kingdoms. He also married a Licchhavi princess, Kumaradevi, indicating that the matrimonial connections between the two led to the "political greatness" of the Gupta dynasty.

According to Natya-darpana, Ramgupta was a coward. He married the woman, Dhruvaswamini by force who was engaged with his brother Chandragupta II. He also became the King of the Gupta empire, though his brother was declared as the future King of the Gupta empire after Samudragupta's death. According to traditional accounts, Ramagupta decided to expand his kingdom by attacking the Sakas in Gujarat. The campaign soon took a turn for the worse and the Gupta army was trapped. The Saka king, Rudrasimha III, demanded that Ramagupta hand over his wife Dhruvswamini in exchange for peace. The weak king was inclined to accept these terms, to the outrage of his wife and his brother Chandragupta. Using subterfuge, Chandragupta went to the Saka camp, killed the Saka king and won the victory and also the esteem of the people and the queen. A short while later, Ramagupta was deposed and killed by his brother, who became Chandragupta II. Chandragupta II also married his erstwhile sister-in-law, Dhruvswamini.

The Gupta Empire began to decline in the 5th century CE due to various factors, including the loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories, as well as the invasion by the Huna peoples (Kidarites and Alchon Huns) from Central Asia.

The Allahabad Pillar inscription mentions that rulers of several frontier kingdoms and tribal oligarchies paid Samudragupta tributes, obeyed his orders, and performed obeisance before him. The frontier kingdoms included Samatata, Davaka, Kamarupa, Nepala, and Karttripura

Samudragupta appears to have been Vaishnavite, as attested by his Eran inscription.

Samudragupta performed the Ashvamedha ritual, which was used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty. The ceremony involved the sacrifice of a horse, and it symbolized the king's control over a large territory.

According to the given information, the Guptas introduced several military innovations to Indian warfare, including the use of siege engines, heavy cavalry archers, and heavy sword cavalry.

As per the given information, the protagonist of the Raghuvaṃśa is Raghu, the legendary ancestor of Rama, and his campaigns are believed to reflect those of Chandragupta II.

The use of horse archers by the Guptas is evidenced by the depictions of emperors as horse archers on Gupta coinage. The coinage of Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta I, and Prakash Aditya all show the emperors as horse archers. While there is a paucity of contemporary sources detailing the tactical operations of the Gupta army, the use of horse archers is also mentioned in the Sanskrit epic poem Raghuvaṃśa by Kalidasa.