RAS question
The Gupta ruler who performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice was:
Correct answer: (D) Samudragupta.
Samudragupta was the Gupta ruler who performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice.
Explanation
Samudragupta performed the Ashvamedha, or horse sacrifice, to mark the scale of his military conquests. Museums of India records an Ashvamedha-type gold coin showing that Samudragupta celebrated the horse sacrifice and issued gold coins on that occasion, supporting the numismatic evidence for the event. Those coins, showing the horse motif, matter because the Ashvamedha was not a routine ritual; in this context it signalled imperial authority after successful campaigns. The Allahabad Pillar Inscription by Harishena separately records his extensive military campaigns across India, explaining why Samudragupta, rather than another Gupta ruler, is linked with this sacrifice.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Kumaragupta I is associated here with the founding of Nalanda, not with the Ashvamedha-type coin evidence tied to the sacrifice.
- (B) Chandragupta II is identified with the title Vikramaditya, while the Museums of India Ashvamedha coin record names Samudragupta.
- (C) Chandragupta I assumed the title Maharajadhiraja, but he is not known for performing the Ashvamedha.
Concept
This tests Gupta political history through inscriptions and coins, especially how rituals and numismatic types are used as evidence for imperial claims. It recurs in RAS because Gupta rulers, titles, inscriptions and coin types are high-yield markers in ancient Indian history.