Later Gupta dynasty | |||||||||||||||
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c. 6th century CE–c. 8th century CE | |||||||||||||||
"Swordsman type" gold coin of Mahasenagupta from the 6th century CE. On the obverse, the King is shown holding a sword in his left hand. On the reverse, a Goddess is shown seated in a lotus pose.[1]
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Capital | Pataliputra | ||||||||||||||
Religion | |||||||||||||||
Government | Monarchy | ||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||
• Established | c. 6th century CE | ||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | c. 8th century CE | ||||||||||||||
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The Later Gupta dynasty, also known as the Later Guptas of Magadha, were the rulers of Magadha and Malwa from the 6th to 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas emerged after the disintegration of the Imperial Guptas as the rulers of Magadha and Malwa however, there is no evidence to connect the two dynasties and the Later Guptas may have adopted the -gupta suffix to link themselves the Imperial Guptas.[3]
There are several important sources of information regarding the Later Guptas including two epigraphs, the Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena, which sets out the genealogy of the ruling family from Kṛṣṇagupta to Ādityasena, and the Deo Baranark inscription of Jīvitagupta II. The Harshacharita of Bāṇabhaṭṭa is also an important source of information as are the records of the Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing which also mentions them. The Gaudavaho of Vākpatirāja refers to the victory of King Yashovarman of the Varman dynasty against the king of Magadha, with the scholarly consensus being that this is a reference to Jīvitagupta II.[4][5]