Kumaragupta I

Kumaragupta I Mahendraditya
Gupta emperor
Gold coin of Kumaragupta.
Reign	414 - 455 CE

Kumaragupta I (Mahendraditya) was ruler of the Gupta Empire from 415-455 CE. Like his father and predecessor, Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta was an able ruler. He retained, intact, the vast empire, which extended from North Bengal to Kathiawar and from the Himalayas to the Narmada. He ruled efficiently for nearly forty years. However, the last days of his reign were not good. The Gupta empire was threatened by the invasions of Pushyamitras. The Pushyamitras were a tribe of foreigners who were settled in Central India. However, Kumaragupta was successful in defeating the invaders and performed Ashvamedha Yajna (horse sacrifice) to celebrate his victory. He issued new coins with images of Lord Kartikeya.

Iron pillar

Inscriptions have survived the test of time on the iron pillar.

Kumaragupta erected an iron pilar, today visible at the Qutb complex. The iron pillar is one of the world's foremost metallurgical curiosities. The pillar was originally located in the temple of Muttra, with the idol of Garuda at the top. It is the only piece of the Hindu temple remaining, which stood there before being destroyed by Qutb-ud-din Aybak to build the Qutub Minar and Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque. Qutub built around it when he constructed the mosque. Made up of 98% wrought iron of impure quality, it is 23 feet, 8 inches high and has a diameter of 16 inches. The pillar is a testament to the high level of skill achieved by ancient Indian iron smiths in the extraction and processing of iron. It has attracted the attention of archaeologists and metallurgists as it has withstood corrosion for the last 1600 years, despite harsh weather.

Extract from An Advanced History of India

Silver coin of King Kumaragupta (414-455 CE).
Obv: Bust of King Kumaragupta with cap decorated with crescents, within pseudo-Greek legend "HOHO" (derived from the coin design of the Western Satraps).^[1]
Rev: Garuda bird, circled by legend in Brahmi "Parama-bhagavata rajahiraja Sri Kumaragupta Mahendraditya" ("Most devout King of Kings Kumaragupta Mahendraditya").

In one of the inscription the goddess of royal fortune is said to have chosen him as her lord, having discarded the other princes. The full import of this passage is obscure. It is, however, certain that the superior ability and prowess of Skandagupta in a time of crisis led to his choice as ruler in preference to other possible claimants. Proud of his success against the barbarians, Skandagupta assumed the title of Vikramaditya. But the continuous attack of the Huns weakened the Gupta empire. Skandagupta died in AD 467. After his death, the Gupta empire began to decline.

Dated inscriptions

An inscription on a figure of a yaksha from Mathura in the reign of Kumaragupta has been dated to 432 CE, and a pedestal (with no king's name on it - but presumably from Kumaragupta's reign - has been dated to 442 CE.^[2] The Bilsad inscription is the oldest record of his reign and it dates to Gupta year 96, which corresponds to 415 CE.

Decline of the Gupta Empire

Inscriptions prove that the Gupta sovereignty was acknowledged in the Jabbalpur region in the Narmada valley as late as AD 528, and in North Bengal till AD 543-544. Kumaragupta II is believed to have been ruling in AD 473-474, Buddhagupta from AD 476-495, Vainyagupta in AD 508 and Bhanugupta in AD 510-511. The Gupta empire became to disintegrate and till the middle of the sixth century AD, they had merely became petty chiefs.

The last known date of his reign occurs on an inscription on one of his silver coins, corresponding to 445 CE.

Notes

1. ^ "Evidence of the conquest of Saurastra during the reign of Chandragupta II is to be seen in his rare silver coins which are more directly imitated from those of the Western Satraps... they retain some traces of the old inscriptions in Greek characters, while on the reverse, they substitute the Gupta type (a peacock) for the chaitya with crescent and star." in Rapson "A catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. The Andhras etc...", p.cli
2. ^ Falk, Harry. (2004) "The Kaniṣka era in Gupta Records." Silk Road Art and Archaeology 10. Kamakura: The Institute of Silk Road Studies, pp. 167-176.