"Swordsman type" gold coin of Mahasenagupta from the 6th century CE. On the obverse, the King is shown holding a sword in his left hand. On the reverse, a Goddess is shown seated in a lotus pose.[1]
The Later Gupta dynasty, also known as the Later Guptas of Magadha, were the rulers of Magadha and Malwa from the 6th to 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas emerged after the disintegration of the Imperial Guptas. However, there is no evidence to connect the two dynasties and the Later Guptas may have adopted the -gupta suffix to link themselves with the Imperial Guptas.[4]
There are several important sources of information regarding the Later Guptas including two epigraphs, the Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena, which sets out the genealogy of the ruling family from Kṛṣṇagupta to Ādityasena, and the Deo Baranark inscription of Jīvitagupta II. The Harshacharita of Bāṇabhaṭṭa is also an important source of information as are the records of the Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing which also mentions them. The Gaudavaho of Vākpatirāja refers to the victory of King Yashovarman of the Varman dynasty against the king of Magadha, with the scholarly consensus being that this is a reference to Jīvitagupta II.[5][6]
Origins
The general consensus among researchers of the period including John Faithfull Fleet, Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha and Ram Shankar Tripathi,[7] is that the Later Guptas emerged from the Magadha region of what is now Bihar in India. The reasoning behind this is that all inscriptions relating to the dynasty have been found in this region. A Nepalese inscription also refers to King Ādityasena as the "Lord of Magadha". They were likely originally feudatories under the Imperial Guptas and came into possession of large territories in Magadha following the fall of the Empire.[8]
Hans T. Bakker also agrees that the bulk of the evidence points to Magadha as the homeland of the Later Guptas.[9]
The Later Gupta and main polities in Central Asia and South Asia c.576.
After the decline of the Gupta Empire, the Later Guptas succeeded them as the rulers of Magadha after originally being their vassals.[4] Krishnagupta was the first known member of the dynasty and probably assisted the Guptas in their battles against the Alchon Huns led by Toramana with his floruit being placed around 490 to 510 CE.[10] Krishnagupta's daughter is said to have married Prince Adityavarman of the Maukhari dynasty. He was succeeded by his son, Harshagupta, who was placed from 510 to 525 CE. Inscriptions have described him as "always displaying a glorious triumph" suggesting his participation in battles against Mihirakula, the successor of Toramana.[11]
Jivitagupta I succeeded Harshagupta in 525 CE and carried out military expeditions in the Himalayan region and southwestern Bengal.[12] The inscriptions left by his descendants describe him as being "dreaded by the haughty foes living on the seaside shores and the Himalayas". These campaigns in Bengal were likely aimed at the Varman dynasty of Kamarupa and the Kingdom of Gauda. Jivitagupta I was likely the first king of the Later Gupta dynasty to claim independent status. He also brought the Maukharis of Gaya under his authority.[13]
During the reign of Jivitagupta's son, Kumaragupta, from 550 CE, the dynasty developed a rivalry with the Maukharis of Kannauj for control of the Ganges valley after originally having cordial relations and marriage alliances.[5] Kumaragupta defeated the Maukhari king Ishanavarman in 554 CE, and extended his territory to Prayaga with Ishanavarman being forced to commit ritual suicide as a result of his loss.[14] His son Damodaragupta, who came to the throne probably around 560 CE, suffered reverses against the Maukharis and was pushed back into Magadha, with some historians claiming that he died on the battlefield.[15][12]
Damodaragupta's son, Mahasenagupta, allied with the Pushyabhuti dynasty in response to the continued threats from the Maukharis in the West and the Varmans in the East. He also extended the domain of the Later Gupta dynasty into Malwa, which had a power vacuum after the death of Yashodharman.[16] His sister married the ruler Adityavardhana. He invaded Kamarupa and defeated Susthita Varman.[12] But he subsequently faced three invaders: the Maukhari king Sharvavarman, the Kamarupa king Supratishthita-varman, and the Tibetan king Songtsen. His vassal Shashanka also abandoned him (and later established the independent Gauda Kingdom). The Maukhari king Sharvavarman is thought to have defeated Damodaragupta, invading Magadha circa 575 CE, which made him ruler of the entire Uttar Pradesh.[17][18] Under these circumstances, Mahasenagupta was forced to flee Magadha, and take shelter in Malwa. Subsequently, the Pushyabhuti emperor Harsha (ruled c.606– c.647 CE) restored the Later Gupta rule in Magadha, and they ruled as Harsha's vassals.[4] Mahasenagupta's grandson, Mahdhavagupta, redeclared the independence of the Later Guptas after Harsha's death.[19]
Madhavagupta was succeeded by Ādityasena who became the sovereign ruler of a large kingdom extending from the Himalayan foothills in the north to the Chhota Nagpur in the south; and from Gomati River in the west to the Bay of Bengal in the east.[20] Ādityasena's reign marked the end of the influence of the Tibetan Empire in North Bihar, allowing him to incorporate the region into his domain. He was also the first Later Gupta ruler to use imperial titles and in his Mandar Hill inscription, he is referred to with the title of Paramabhattaraka Maharajadhiraja translating to "Supreme Lord, King of Kings".[19]
Adityasena's son, Devagupta, came to the throne around 680 CE. He held the same imperial titles as his father, indicating that there was no reduction in the size of the territory ruled by the Later Guptas during his reign.[21] He did however, have an encounter with the Chalukyas on or around 696 CE which ended in defeat.[22] The Chinese monk, Yijing also visited the region during his reign and referred to him as the "King of Eastern India".[23] Devagupta's son was Vishnugupta who came to the throne around 700 CE and it seems during his rule that the territory of the kingdom saw a substantial reduction. An inscription of his has been found in Buxar.[24]
Jivitagupta II, the last known ruler of the dynasty, still ruled Magadha, parts of Bengal and possibly up to Varanasi into the beginning of the 8th century.[25] He appears to have been defeated by Yashovarman of the Varman dynasty of Kannauj circa 750 CE.[20] The details of his defeat were recorded in the 8th century poem, the Gaudavaho. The end of the Later Guptas marked the end of the Magadha region as a centre of Indian political power.[26]
Archaeology
Remains of a Vishnu temple built by King Adityasena of the Later Gupta dynasty in Aphsad, Nawada district
The remains of a 7th-century temple dedicated to Vishnu were found by the ASI in the area of Apshad in modern-day Nawada district of Bihar during excavations between 1973 and 1983.[27] The building of the temple has been connected to King Ādityasena of the Later Gupta dynasty on the basis of an inscription in nearby Mandar Parvat which attributes the building of a Vishnu temple from the same period to Ādityasena. The temple measured 15 metres in height, composed of five stories and was described as being a "rectangular pyramidal brick structure".[27] Within the temple are stucco reliefs depicting scenes from the Ramayana.[28] Sculptures including a well-preserved Vishnu have also been found in and around the site of Apshad from the Later Gupta period.[29] Many of the shrines within the modern village of Aphsad contain statues dating back to the Later Gupta period which are still used for worship amongst the locals to this day.[27]
Later Gupta period sculpture of Vishnu from Apshad
Coinage
Coinage from the reign of the Later Gupta kings has been relatively scarce. So far the only coins discovered are from the period of Mahasenagupta who ruled from 562-601 CE. The numismatic evidence makes it clear that the Later Guptas were devout Shaivites with depictions of Nandi replacing the depictions of Garuda that were present in the coinage of the imperial Guptas. Two types of coinage from Mahasenagupta's reign have been discovered, the "archer type" and the "swordsman type".[1]
During the reign of Jivitagupta in 539, the Later Guptas received a delegation of Buddhist monks sent by the Liang EmperorWu who came with the purpose of collecting and translating original copies of Mahayana sutras to take back to China. The delegation was warmly received by Jivitagupta, who assigned the task of translating the texts to the monk, Paramartha.[3] During the reign of Adityasena in the latter half of the 7th century, a Chinese Buddhist monk named Hwui Li visited the Later Gupta kingdom. Hwui Li translates Adityasena's name as "Sun Army" and records that he built a "Chinese temple" (tohina) specifically to house visiting priests from China. It is speculated that Adityasena himself may have been a Buddhist.[3]
During the time of the Later Guptas, the Tibetan Empire had influence to the north of Magadha in Tirhut until around 703 CE. The threat of the Tibetans may have pushed the Later Guptas to ally with the Maukharis and Licchavis for a time. Once the Tibetans had left Tirhut, it was probably annexed by the Later Guptas during the reign of Jivitagupta II.[31]
A small kingdom that ruled the area around Lakhisarai district during the 11th and 12th centuries bore the name Gupta and have subsequently been linked as a surviving line of the Later Guptas.[35] Evidence of their rule comes from the Panchob copper-plate inscription which was discovered in 1919.[36]
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