Ramagupta was the elder son and immediate successor of Samudragupta and succeeded by is younger brother Chandragupta II. Initially, he was known from the traditional narratives only. But later, three inscriptions on Jaina tirthankara images were discovered from Durjanpur near Vidisha, which mention him as the Maharajadhiraja. A large number of his copper coins also have been discovered from Eran-Vidisha region.
Ramagupta in tradition
A.S. Altekar, on the basis of the evidences from the fragments of the Devichandragupta, copper plate inscriptions of Rashtrakuta kings Amoghavarsha I and Govinda IV from Sanjan, Khambhat and Sangli, brief reference of Banabhatta, a stray verse quoted by Rajashekhara in his Kavyamimamsa and the narrative of Rawwal and Barkamaris found in a Persian text, Mujmal-ut-Tawarikh (which is a translation of an Arabic work by Abu-al Hasan Ali, which in turn is a translation of an unknown Sanskrit work), concluded that Ramagupta mentioned in the traditional accounts really existed.
The modern scholars first became aware about the traditional accounts on Ramagupta, in 1923, when Sylvain Levi published some extracts of a Sanskrit play, named Devichandragupta, now lost, from Natyadarpana, which contains six quotations from this text. Natyadarpana is aSanskrit work on dramaturgy, written by two Jaina wrtiers, Ramachandra and Gunachandra. In the same year, R. Saraswati also found three passages of Devichandragupta, quoted by Bhoja in his Shringaraprakasha and Sarasvatikanthabharana. In 1924, Rakhaldas Banerjeesupplemented it by the information found from a verse of the Sanjan copper plate inscription of Amoghavarsha I dated 1924 and a brief remark made by Banabhatta in his Harshacharita, which was illucidated by the commentator Shankararya.
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.
This tale has parallels to the story of Rani Padmini of Chittor and the subterfuge she used to free her husband. Dhruvadevi was the chief queen of Chandragupta II and the mother of his heirKumara Gupta I. Chandragupta II also claimed the conquest of the Saka kingdom. What part the shadowy figure of Ramagupta played in these stories is unclear.
Ramagupta in Devichandragupta
In the play Devichandragupta by Vishakhadatta, Ramagupta is portrayed as a weak and impotent king, afraid and incapable of warfare. The play holds that Ramagupta usurped the right to the throne of his younger brother Chandragupta II and also married his betrothed Dhruvasvamini by force.
Chandragupta II
The Great (Sanskrit: चन्द्रगुप्त विक्रमादित्य; candragupta vikramāditya) was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta empire in northern India. His rule spanned c. 380–413/415 CE, during which the Gupta Empire achieved its zenith, art, architecture, and sculpture flourished, and the cultural development of ancient India reached its climax. The period of prominence of the Gupta dynasty is very often referred to as theGolden Age of India. Chandragupta II was the son of the previous ruler, Samudragupta the Great. He attained success by pursuing both a favorable marital alliance and an aggressive expansionist policy in this which his father and grandfather (Chandragupta I) set the precedent. Samudragupta set the stage for the emergence of classical art, which occurred under the rule of Chandragupta II. Chandragupta II gave great support to the arts. Artists were so highly valued under his rule that they were paid for their work — a rare phenomenon in ancient civilizations.
From 388 to 409 he subjugated Gujarat, the region north of Mumbai, Saurashtra, in western India, and Malwa, with its capital at Ujjain. Culturally, the reign of Chandragupta II marked a Golden Age. This is evidenced by later reports of the presence of a circle of poets known as the Nine Gems in his court. The greatest among them was Kalidasa, who authored numerous immortal pieces of literature including Abhijñānaśākuntalam. The others included Sanskrit grammarian Amara Sinha and the astronomer-mathematician Varahamihira.
Mentions in literature
Not much is known about the personal details of Chandragupta II. The most widely accepted details have been built upon the plot of the play Devi-chandraguptam by Vishakadatta. The play is now lost, but fragments have been preserved in other works (such as Abhinava-bharati, Sringara-prakasha, Natya-darpana, Nataka-lakshana Ratna-kosha). There even exists an Arabic work, written in Persia near the Indian subcontinent, Mojmal al-tawarikh (12th century CE) which tells a similar tale of a king whose name appears to be a corruption of 'Vikramaditya'. The name 'Vikramaditya' holds a semi-mythical status in India. India has many interesting stories about King Vikramaditya, his guru Manva-Patwa and his queens. It is widely believed that the great poet inSanskrit, Kalidasa was one of the jewels of Vikramaditya's royal court.
BiographyHistorians still don't know what liberties the author Vishakadatta took with the incidents, but Dhruvadevi was indeed Chandragupta II's Chief Queen as seen in the Vaisali Terracotta Seal that calls her "Mahadevi" (Chief Queen) Dhruvasvamini. The Bilsad Pillar Inscription of their son Kumaragupta I (r. 414–455 CE) also refers to her as "Mahadevi Dhruvadevi". Certain "Ramagupta" too is mentioned in inscriptions on Jain figures in the District Archaeological Museum, Vidisha and some copper coins found at Vidisha.
Chandragupta II's mother, Datta Devi, was the chief queen of Samudragupta the Great. After Samudragupta's death his elder son, Ramagupta, took over the throne and married Chandragupta II's fiance Dhruvaswamini by force. The fragment from Vishakadatta's "Natya-darpana" mentions the kingRamagupta, the elder brother of Chandragupta II, deciding to surrender his queen Dhruvaswamini to the Saka ruler of the Western KshatrapasRudrasimha III (r. 388 - 395 CE), after a defeat at the Saka ruler's hands. To avoid the ignominy the Guptas decide to send Madhavasena, a courtesan and a beloved of Chandragupta II, disguised as the queen Dhruvaswamini. Chandragupta II changes the plan and himself goes to Rudrasimha IIIdisguised as the queen. He then assassinates Rudrasimha III and later his brother Ramagupta. Dhruvaswamini is then married to Chandragupta II.
The fact that Chandragupta II and Dhruvadevi are the protagonists of Vishakadatta's play indicates that marrying his widowed sister-in-law was not given any significance by the playwright. Later Hindus did not view such a marriage with favour and some censure of the act is found in the Sanjan Copper Plate Inscription of Rashtrakuta ruler Amoghavarsha I (r. 814-878 CE) and in the Sangali and Cambay Plates of the Govinda IV (r. 930-936 CE).
Vakataka-Gupta Age
The Allahabad Pillar Inscription mentions the marriage of Chandragupta II with a Naga princess Kuberanaga. A pillar from Mathura referring to Chandragupta II has recently been dated to 388 CE.
Chandragupta II's daughter, Prabhavatigupta, by his Naga queen Kuberanaga was married to the powerful Vakataka dynasty ruler Rudrasena II (r.380-385 CE).
Chandragupta II's son-in-law, the Vakataka ruler Rudrasena II, died fortuitously after a very short reign in 385 CE, following which Queen Prabhavati Gupta (r. 385-405) ruled the Vakataka kingdom as a regent on behalf of her two sons. During this twenty-year period the Vakataka realm was practically a part of the Gupta empire. The geographical location of the Vakataka kingdom allowed Chandragupta II to take the opportunity to defeat the Western Kshatrapas once for all. Many historians refer to this period as the Vakataka-Gupta Age.
His greatest victory was his victory over the Shaka-Kshatrapa dynasty and annexation of their kingdom in Gujarat, by defeating their last ruler Rudrasimha III.
Chandragupta II controlled a vast empire, from the mouth of the Ganges to the mouth of the Indus River and from what is now NorthPakistan down to the mouth of the Narmada. Pataliputra continued to be the capital of his huge empire but Ujjain too became a sort of second capital. The large number of beautiful gold coins issued by the Gupta dynasty are a testament to the imperial grandeur of that age. Chandragupta II also started producing silver coins in the Saka tradition.
Visit of Faxian
Faxian (337 – c. 422 CE) was the first of three great Chinese pilgrims who visited India from the fifth to the seventh centuries CE, in search of knowledge, manuscripts and relics. Faxian arrived during the reign of Chandragupta II and gave a general description of North India at that time. Among the other things, he reported about the absence of capital punishment, the lack of a poll-tax and land tax. Most citizens did not consume onions, garlic, meat, and wine.
End of Chandragupta II
4th century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, credits Chandragupta Vikramaditya with having conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both in and outside India. After finishing his campaign in the East and West India, Vikramaditya (Chandra Gupta II) proceeded northwards, subjugated the Parasikas (Persians), then the Hunas and the Kambojas tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys respectively. Thereafter, the king proceeds across the Himalaya and reduced the Kinnaras, Kiratas etc. and lands into India proper. The Brihatkathamanjari of theKashmiri writer Kshmendra states, king Vikramaditya (Chandra Gupta II) had "unburdened the sacred earth of the Barbarians like the Sakas,Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Tusharas, Parasikas, Hunas, etc. by annihilating these sinful Mlecchas completely".
Chandragupta II was succeeded by his second son Kumaragupta I, born of Mahadevi Dhruvasvamini.
Religion
In addition, Chandragupta II was the first Gupta king to issue silver coins, such as the one illustrated at right. These coins were intended to replace the silver coinage of the Western Kshatrapas after Chandragupta II defeated them, and were modeled on the Kshatrapa coinage. The main difference was to replace the dynastic symbol of the Kshatrapas (the three-arched hill) by the dynastic symbol of the Guptas (the mythic eagle Garuda). Further, Chandragupta also issued lead coins based on Kshatrapa prototypes and rare copper coins probably inspired by the coins of another tribe he defeated, the Nagas.
From Chandragupta II kings of Gupta dynasty are known as Parama Bhagavatas or Bhagavata Vaishnavas.
The Bhagavata Purana entails the fully developed tenets and philosophy of the Bhagavata tradition wherein Krishna gets fused with Vasudevaand transcends Vedic Vishnu and cosmic Hari to be turned into the ultimate object of bhakti.
CoinageIn addition, Chandragupta II was the first Gupta king to issue silver coins, such as the one illustrated at right. These coins were intended to replace the silver coinage of the Western Kshatrapas after Chandragupta II defeated them, and were modeled on the Kshatrapa coinage. The main difference was to replace the dynastic symbol of the Kshatrapas (the three-arched hill) by the dynastic symbol of the Guptas (the mythic eagle Garuda). Further, Chandragupta also issued lead coins based on Kshatrapa prototypes and rare copper coins probably inspired by the coins of another tribe he defeated, the Nagas.
Chandragupta continued issuing most of the gold coin types introduced by his father Samudragupta, such as the Sceptre type (rare for Chandragupta II), the Archer type, and the Tiger-Slayer type. However, Chandragupta II also introduced several new types, such as the Horseman type and the Lion-slayer type, both of which were used by his son Kumaragupta I.
Iron pillar of Delhi
Close to the Qutub Minar is one of Delhi's most curious structures, an iron pillar, dating back to 4th century CE. The pillar bears an inscription which states that it was erected as a flagstaff in honour of the Hindu god Vishnu, and in the memory of Chandragupta II (A derivation of "Natya-darpana" by Vishakadata states that the pillar had been put up by Chandragupta II himself after defeating Vahilakas. And after this great feat, he put up this pillar as a memory of the victory). The pillar also highlights ancient India's achievements in metallurgy. The pillar is made of 98% wrought iron and has stood more than 1,600 years without rusting or decomposing. This iron pillar is similar to the pillars of ashoka.
Vikram-Samvat Calendar
The next day after the Hindu festival Diwali is called Padwa or Varshapratipada, which marks the coronation of King Vikramaditya. He was a Hindu king who ruled in first century BCE. The title 'Vikramaditya' was later used by Gupta king Chandragupta II and 16th century Hindu king Samrat Hem Chandra Vikramaditya as well. Vikram-Samvat calendar starts from 57 BCE. The Hindu Vikram-Samvat calendar is celebrated as New Year's Day in Nepal where Vikram Sambat is the official calendar.