Gupta Empire - Quiz

Chandragupta I was a king of the Gupta Empire around 320 CE. As the ruler of the Gupta Empire, he is known for forging alliances with many powerful families in the Ganges region.

Chandragupta I was the son of Ghatotkacha and the grandson of Sri Gupta. Unlike his predecessors, who were known as Maharaja (king), he came to be known as Maharajadhiraja (king of kings). He came to power in 320 CE as his father Ghatotkacha died leaving him on the throne. However, it remains unknown how he expanded a "small principality to the status of an important kingdom" by annexing neighbouring kingdoms. He also married a Licchhavi princess, Kumaradevi, indicating that the matrimonial connections between the two led to the "political greatness" of the Gupta dynasty.

Nalanda's datable history begins under the Gupta Empire and a seal identifies a monarch named Shakraditya as its founder. Both Xuanzang and a Korean pilgrim named Prajnyavarman attribute the foundation of a sangharama (monastery) at the site to him. Shakraditya is identified with the 5th-century CE Gupta emperor, Kumaragupta I (r.c. 415 - c. 455 CE), whose coin has been discovered at Nalanda. His successors, Buddhagupta, Tathagatagupta, Baladitya, and Vajra, later extended and expanded the institution by building additional monasteries and temples.

The Guptas were traditionally a Brahmanical dynasty. Narasimhagupta (Baladitya) however, was brought up under the influence of the Mahayanist philosopher, Vasubandhu. He built a sangharama at Nalanda and also a 300 ft (91 m) high vihara with a Buddha statue within which, according to Xuanzang, resembled the "great Vihara built under the Bodhi tree". The Chinese monk also noted that Baladitya's son, Vajra, who commissioned a sangharama as well, "possessed a heart firm in faith".

Economic collapse due to over taxation is not a factor that contributed to the decline of the Gupta Empire, although oppressive taxation may have played a role in the rise of the Gupta dynasty.

Philosophy is not listed as a field in which the Guptas made great advancements, although Hinduism was followed by the rulers and the Brahmins flourished in the Gupta empire.

The inscription mentions that several foreign kings tried to please Samudragupta by personal attendance; offered him their daughters in marriage (or according to another interpretation, gifted him maidens and sought the use of the Garuda-depicting Gupta seal for administering their own territories. This is an exaggeration: for example, the inscription lists the king of Simhala among these kings

According to the Eran inscription, Samudragupta appears to have been a Vaishnavite, which is a sect within Hinduism that worships the god Vishnu as the supreme deity.

The Allahabad Pillar inscription mentions that several tribal oligarchies paid tribute to Samudragupta, including the Malavas. The Malavas were a group of people who lived in the northwestern part of present-day India.

As per the given information, the protagonist of the Raghuvaṃśa is Raghu, the legendary ancestor of Rama, and his campaigns are believed to reflect those of Chandragupta II.

The given information mentions that the king's forces clashed against the powerful, cavalry-centric forces of the Persians and later the Yavanas (probably Huns) in the North-West.

According to the information provided, Kumaragupta I is said to have founded Nalanda.