He is generally considered the last of the great Gupta Emperors.
Rule
Skandagupta's antecedents remain unclear. Later official genealogies omit his name, and even the inscriptions of his own age omit the name of his mother. Another contemporary record notes that the "goddess of sovereignty, of her own accord, selected him as her husband, having in succession discarded all other princes." This has been interpreted as suggesting that Skandragupta was the son of a junior wife. It may even be that he was simply a successful general who promoted himself into the ruling Gupta clan.
Skandagupta died in 467 and was succeeded by his half-brother Purugupta (467–473), Kumaragupta II (473–476), Budhagupta (476–495?) and Narasimhagupta, whose kingdom in the plains of Northern India was continuously attacked by the Hunas. Skandagupta's name appear in the Javanese text `Tantrikamandaka', and Chinese writer, Wang-hiuen-tse refers that an ambassador was sent to his court by King Meghvarma of Sri Lanka, who had asked his permission to build a Buddhist monastery atBodh Gaya for the monks traveling from Sri Lanka.
He certainly faced some of the greatest challenges in the annals of the empire having to contend with the Pushyamitras and the Hunas (a name by which the "White Huns" were known in India). He defeated thePushyamitras, a tribe who were settled in central India but then rebelled. He was also faced with invadingIndo-Hephthalites or Hunas, from the northwest. Skandagupta had warred against the Huns during the reign of his father, and was celebrated throughout the empire as a great warrior. He crushed the Huna invasion in 455, and managed to keep them at bay; however, the expense of the wars drained the empire's resources and contributed to its decline. In particular, coinage issued under SkandaGupta is seriously debased.
Coins of Skandagupta
Skandagupta issued four types of gold coins: Archer type, King and queen type, Chhatra type and Horseman type. His silver coins are of four types: Garuda type, Bull type, Altar type and Madhyadesha type. The initial gold coinage was on the old weight standard used by his father Kumaragupta of approximately 8.4 gm. This initial coinage is quite scarce. At some point in his reign, Skandagupta revalued his currency, switching from the old dinar standard to a new suvarna standard that weighed approximately 9.2 gm. These later coins were all only of the Archer type, and this standard and type was followed by all subsequent Gupta rulers.
Purugupta ;(Sanskrit: पुरुगुप्त) (reigned 467–473) was an emperor of the Gupta dynasty in northern India. Purugupta was son of the Gupta emperorKumaragupta I by his queen Anantadevi. He succeeded his half-brother Skandagupta. No inscription of Purugupta has been found so far. He is known from the Bhitari silver-copper seal of his grandson Kumaragupta III and Nalanda clay sealings of his sons Narasimhagupta and Budhaguptaand his grandson Kumaragupta III. From the Saranath Buddha image inscription, it is concluded that he was succeeded by Kumaragupta II.
Purugupta ;(Sanskrit: पुरुगुप्त) (reigned 467–473) was an emperor of the Gupta dynasty in northern India. Purugupta was son of the Gupta emperorKumaragupta I by his queen Anantadevi. He succeeded his half-brother Skandagupta. No inscription of Purugupta has been found so far. He is known from the Bhitari silver-copper seal of his grandson Kumaragupta III and Nalanda clay sealings of his sons Narasimhagupta and Budhaguptaand his grandson Kumaragupta III. From the Saranath Buddha image inscription, it is concluded that he was succeeded by Kumaragupta II.
Budhagupta ;(Sanskrit: बुधगुप्त) (reigned c. 476–495) was a Gupta emperor. He was the successor of Kumaragupta II and the predecessor of Narasimhagupta Baladitya. He was the son ofPurugupta. He had close ties with the rulers of Kannauj kingdom and together they sought to rule the Huns out of the fertile plains of Northern India.
The Damodarpur copper-plate inscription informs us that Pundravardhana bhukti (the present-day North Bengal) was ruled by his two viceroys (Uparika Mahararaja) Brahmadatta and Jayadatta. The Eran stone pillar inscription of two brothers, Matrivishnu and Dhanyavishnu mentions Budhagupta as their emperor (Bhupati), under whom Maharaja Surashmichandra was governing the land between the Yamuna and the Narmada The Buddha image inscription found from Mathura is dated in Budhagupta's reign. It shows that his authority was extended to Mathura in the north.
Narasimhagupta Baladitya; was a Gupta dynasty ruler of northern India. He was son of Purugupta and probably the successor of Budhagupta. Baladitya along with Yasodharman of Malwa is credited with driving the Hunas or White Huns from the plains of Northern India. His clay sealing has been found in Nalanda. The name of his queen mentioned in the Nalanda sealing is Shrimitradevi. He was succeeded by his son Kumaragupta III.He defeated Huna ruler Mihirkula on the delta of Ganga-Brahmaputra.
Vishnugupta; (Sanskrit: विष्णुगुप्त) was one of the lesser known kings of the Gupta Dynasty. He is generally considered to be the last recognized king of the Gupta Empire. His reign lasted 10 years, from 540 to 550 CE. From the fragment of his clay sealing discovered at Nalanda during the excavations of 1927-28, we came to know that he was the son of Kumaragupta III and the grandson of Narasimhagupta Baladitya.
Vainyagupta; (Sanskrit: वैन्यगुप्त) was one of the lesser known kings of the Gupta Dynasty. He is known from the fragmentary clay sealing discovered at Nalanda and the Gunaighar copper plate inscription dated Gupta era 188 (507 CE). R. C. Majumdar considers him as son of Purugupta. In the Nalanda fragmentary clay sealing he is mentioned as the Maharajadhiraja and aparamabhagavata (devout worshipper of Vishnu), while the Gunaighar copper plate inscription mentions him as the Maharaja and a Bhagavan Mahadeva padanudhyato (devotee of Shiva)
Narasimhagupta Baladitya; was a Gupta dynasty ruler of northern India. He was son of Purugupta and probably the successor of Budhagupta. Baladitya along with Yasodharman of Malwa is credited with driving the Hunas or White Huns from the plains of Northern India. His clay sealing has been found in Nalanda. The name of his queen mentioned in the Nalanda sealing is Shrimitradevi. He was succeeded by his son Kumaragupta III.He defeated Huna ruler Mihirkula on the delta of Ganga-Brahmaputra.
Vishnugupta; (Sanskrit: विष्णुगुप्त) was one of the lesser known kings of the Gupta Dynasty. He is generally considered to be the last recognized king of the Gupta Empire. His reign lasted 10 years, from 540 to 550 CE. From the fragment of his clay sealing discovered at Nalanda during the excavations of 1927-28, we came to know that he was the son of Kumaragupta III and the grandson of Narasimhagupta Baladitya.
Vainyagupta; (Sanskrit: वैन्यगुप्त) was one of the lesser known kings of the Gupta Dynasty. He is known from the fragmentary clay sealing discovered at Nalanda and the Gunaighar copper plate inscription dated Gupta era 188 (507 CE). R. C. Majumdar considers him as son of Purugupta. In the Nalanda fragmentary clay sealing he is mentioned as the Maharajadhiraja and aparamabhagavata (devout worshipper of Vishnu), while the Gunaighar copper plate inscription mentions him as the Maharaja and a Bhagavan Mahadeva padanudhyato (devotee of Shiva)