RAS question
Which Gupta period inscription in Rajasthan, found on a victory pillar at Bayana (Bharatpur), belongs to the reign of Vishnuvardhana?
Correct answer: (D) Varika Vishnuvardhana inscription.
The Gupta-period inscription at Bayana in Bharatpur, associated with Vishnuvardhana, is the Varika Vishnuvardhana inscription.
Explanation
The inscription asked about is the Varika Vishnuvardhana inscription from Bayana in Bharatpur. The ASI Jaipur Circle page on Bayana Fort records that Bayana is an old site and notes an inscription of A.D. 372 connected with Vishnuvardhana. It says the record marks the erection of a sacrificial post after a pundarika sacrifice, and adds that Vishnuvardhana may have been a feudatory of the Gupta ruler Samudra Gupta. This fits the question's clue: a Gupta-period record from Bayana, linked to Vishnuvardhana and used to understand Gupta-period influence in eastern Rajasthan and local feudatory power.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Mandsaur inscription does not match the Bayana clue because Mandsaur is in Madhya Pradesh, not Bharatpur in Rajasthan.
- (B) Ghatiyala inscription is tied to the Pratihara dynasty, so it is not the Gupta-period Vishnuvardhana record from Bayana.
- (C) Bijolia inscription belongs to the Chahamana period and is dated 1170 AD, so it is chronologically outside the Gupta-period clue.
Concept
This tests Gupta-period epigraphy in Rajasthan, especially how inscriptions link local sites with wider imperial influence. RAS repeats such questions because inscriptions are core evidence for chronology, polity and regional cultural history.