RAS question
The Allahabad Pillar inscription (Prayag Prashasti) was composed by:
Correct answer: (A) Harisena, court poet of Samudragupta.
The Allahabad Pillar inscription, or Prayaga Prashasti, was composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta.
Explanation
The answer is Harishena because NCERT identifies the Prayaga Prashasti, also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription, as a Sanskrit composition by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta. The inscription matters because it is a prashasti: a formal composition in praise of a king, from which historians draw evidence while reading it carefully as royal praise rather than neutral reporting. In this case, the text praises Samudragupta, described in the question’s explanation as a Gupta ruler whose military conquests are recorded in the inscription. That is why the Allahabad Pillar inscription is treated as the key Gupta-era inscription for reconstructing Samudragupta’s rule and conquests.
Why the other options are wrong
- (B) Banabhatta is linked in the option to Harsha, whereas the Allahabad Pillar inscription is specifically attributed to Harishena, Samudragupta’s court poet.
- (C) Kalidasa is linked in the option to Chandragupta II, but the inscription in question concerns Samudragupta and is attributed to Harishena.
- (D) Ravikirti is linked in the option to Pulakeshin II, while the Prayaga Prashasti is a Gupta-era inscription composed by Harishena for Samudragupta.
Concept
This tests ancient Indian epigraphy, especially prashastis as sources for reconstructing Gupta political history. It recurs in RAS because inscriptions, authors and royal patronage are a standard way to connect factual history with source-based interpretation.