RAS question
The Allahabad Pillar Inscription (Prayag Prashasti) eulogizes which Gupta ruler?
Correct answer: (B) Samudragupta.
The Allahabad Pillar Inscription, also known as the Prayag Prashasti, eulogises the Gupta ruler Samudragupta.
Explanation
Below Ashoka's inscriptions on the Allahabad Pillar is a later Gupta inscription known as the Prayag Prashasti. It concerns the 4th-century CE Gupta emperor Samudragupta, whose reign is dated to 335-375 CE. Harishena, Samudragupta's poet and minister, composed it in refined Sanskrit using the Gupta script. As a panegyric, it is not a neutral account: it praises Samudragupta through descriptions of his political and military achievements, journeys to the south, and conquests across India. This portrayal of him as a conqueror led historian V. A. Smith to call him the "Indian Napoleon". The Prayag Prashasti therefore concerns Samudragupta, not another Gupta ruler.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) In this context, Chandragupta II is associated with the Mehrauli Iron Pillar, not with the Prayag Prashasti on the Allahabad Pillar.
- (C) Chandragupta I was an important early Gupta ruler, but the Allahabad Pillar's Prayag Prashasti praises Samudragupta.
- (D) In this context, Kumaragupta I is associated with the founding of Nalanda, whereas the Allahabad Pillar's Prayag Prashasti praises Samudragupta.
Concept
This question tests Gupta-period epigraphy. In particular, it asks you to identify the ruler and achievements described in a major inscription or panegyric. RAS asks such pairings because inscriptions are primary sources for reconstructing political history and royal ideology in ancient India.