This short thread would detail the origin of Gupta dynasty, laying special emphasis on first of its two kings, Sri Gupta and Ghatotkacha Gupta.
The origin of Guptas is shrouded in mystery.
Like all great empires before them, the imperial Gupta family must have had a small and obscure origin.
Some have debated that they were from the area of Benaras or Bengal, and they started out as feudatories of Kushans.
Though the available evidences are not conclusive regarding Guptas as being feudatories of Kushans, several later era Gupta inscriptions and travelogue from Chinese pilgrims like I-tsing, gives an indication as to the origins of Gupta dynasty.
The first evidence of Gupta connection with Magadha comes from a foreign source.
The Chinese traveller, I-tsing, who came to India in 672 AD heard of 'Maharaja Sri Gupta' ( che-li-ki-to) who built a temple near Mrigasikhavana for Chinese pilgrims & endowed it with 24 villages'.
I-tsing states that ' the temple was built 500 years before his time', which gives a date of around 170 AD.
However, 500 years cannot be taken as 'accurate' as Dr. Mookerji puts it, and hence this temple must have been constructed around 250 AD by Sri Gupta.
Thus, historians have given a date of between 240-280 AD for 'Sri Gupta'.
'Sri' here is a title, and hence 'Gupta' is the word used for the first Gupta king.
He has been titled 'Maharaja' & not Maharajadhiraja' ( king of kings) !
Image of word 'Sri Gupta' on Allahabad pillar
The word ' Maharaja' was used by later Gupta inscriptions to denote governors of a region.
Hence, this would prove that 'Sri Gupta' was a small king and his area of suzerainty must have included area of Magadha, and adjoining areas.
Ghatotkacha Gupta (c. 280-319 AD)
Ghatotkacha Gupta was the son of 'Sri Gupta', and the father of Chandragupta- I, who created the Gupta empire in 319 AD.
'Mahārāja Shrī Ghatotkacha' as written in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta
Again, we observe that the title of this king is written as 'Mahārāja', and not 'Maharajadhiraja', as was the title used by his son, and by the later Gupta emperors.
This would suggest that the kingdom of Ghatotkacha was still relegated to Magadha and adjoining parts.
This Ghatotkacha, must not be confused with another 'Ghatotkacha' of the Gupta family, who was the brother of Emperor Kumara Gupta- I, and whose clay seals and inscriptions have been found at Vaishali, where he was ruling as a Viceroy.
Image of clay seal of Ghatotkacha Gupta
The only political event of this king was the matrimonial alliance conducted between his son, Chandragupta- I to the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi of Nepal.
Dr. V.A. Smith has dated this marriage to have taken place in 308 AD, and birth of Samudra Gupta to c. 309 AD.
This political alliance was of great benefit to the Guptas, who were very proud of this marriage-alliance.
Samudra Gupta struck coins to celebrate this marriage, & calls himself ' 'Lichchhavi-dohitra' ( maternal relative of the Lichchhavis), rather than 'Gupta-putra'.
Ghatotkacha must have been a strong and tall man, as he was named after the son of Bheem, one of the five-pandavas in the Mahabharata, and was the strongest of them all.
Dr. Raichaudhary has theorized that some of the sins committed by Ghatokacha of Mahabharata were edited out in the final redaction of the epic out of respect for the Gupta king Ghatotkacha.
Source: ' A comprehensive History of India Part-I', by R.C. Mazumdar, page number 9.
Mycenae is an archaeological site 120 km SW of Athens.
During the late bronze Age, it was one of major centres of Greek civilization.
The period of Greek history between 1600-1100 BCE, is called 'Mycenaean' in reference to Mycenae.
Image of Lion/Lioness gate at Mycenae
At its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares.
The Mycenaeans have been described in the Linear B tablets, by the Hittites in their diplomatic correspondence, and by Homer who describes it as 'rich in gold'.
Perhaps Mycenae was the strongest of all the Greek regions in those times, bounded by a loose confederation.
This confederation, perhaps sacked Troy ( Wallusia, in Hittite texts) in the Asia Minor.
This short thread will chronicle the details of India, after the demise of Mauryas up till the rise of Guptas.
After the death of Ashoka in 232 BCE Mauryan empire was consigned to the pages of history less than 50 years after his death.
A succession of weak kings, rebellions & foreign attacks ended the empire by 184 BCE when Pushyamitra deposed the last Mauryan King.
The Mauryas were able to achieve the Vedic political ideal as defined in the 'Atraeya Brahmana' , that a king should be 'Ekarat', the 'supreme sovereign of the country up to the seas.'
Samudra Gupta (335-375/380 AD), was the Second Emperor of Gupta dynasty, who campaigned in South India, and brought this whole area under his suzerainty.
The main source of his campaigns to the South is the famous Allahabad Pillar inscription.
The inscription is undated, but inscribed before his Ashvamedha, and the writer of this composition is his court-poet, Harisena.
The pillar is undated, however, it could be ascertained that this campaign must have occured before Samudra Gupta's ' Second War of Extermination', against kings of North India in around 348 AD.
Hence this campaign must have occured in around 340 AD.
Ashoka was a Buddhist at least 2.5 years before Kalinga, as he himself admits in his minor rock edict at Maski, 260 BCE.
Hence, any views of him converting to Buddhism after seeing the carnage at Kalinga is an utter lie.
He uses the 'Buddha-Sakya' = Ordinary Follower of Buddhism in his edict at Maski.
The word 'Buddha-Sakya' in Brahmi
Ashoka, however, did not inherit, but was a convert to Buddhism.
Like his predecessors, he freely allowed the slaughter of animals in royal kitchens every day, prior to conversion. In fact, Ashoka did not become an absolute vegetarian, even after his conversion.