The Later Gupta dynasty ruled the

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

region in eastern India between the 6th and 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas succeeded the imperial Guptas as the rulers of Magadha, but there is no evidence connecting the two dynasties; these appear to be two distinct families. The Later Guptas are so-called because the names of their rulers ended with the suffix "-gupta" ( Late Brahmi: Gupta in the Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena

Gupta in the Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena

''gu-pta''), which they might have adopted to portray themselves as the successors of the imperial Guptas.

History

After the decline of the Gupta Empire, the Later Guptas succeeded them as the rulers of Magadha. The daughter of the dynasty's founder Krishnagupta is said to have married prince Adityavarman of the

Maukhari The Maukhari dynasty (Gupta script: , ''Mau-kha-ri'') was a post-Gupta dynasty who controlled the vast plains of Ganga-Yamuna for over six generations from their capital at Kannauj. They earlier served as vassals of the Guptas and later of Harsha ...

dynasty. According to the

Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena The Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena is an Indian inscription from the reign of the Later Gupta dynasty king Aditya-sena (r. c. 655-680 CE). The inscription was found in 1880 by Markham Kittoe in the village of Apasadha, Bihar, and is now locate ...

, Krishnagupta's grandson Jivitagupta carried out military expeditions in the Himalayan region and southwestern

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

. During the reign of Jivitagupta's son Kumaragupta, the dynasty developed a rivalry with the Maukharis. Kumaragupta defeated the Maukhari king

Ishanavarman Iśanavarman ( Gupta script: , ''Ī-śā-na-va-rmmā'') was the first independent Maukhari ruler of Kannauj. He was a very powerful king, and adopted the title of ''Maharajadhiraja''. Early life Ishanavarman was the son of the powerful Maukhari ...

in 554 CE, and died at

Prayaga Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the admini ...

. His son Damodaragupta suffered reverses against the Maukharis. Damodaragupta's son Mahasenagupta allied with the

Pushyabhuti dynasty The Pushyabhuti dynasty (IAST: Puṣyabhūti), also known as the Vardhana dynasty ruled in northern India during 6th and 7th centuries. The dynasty reached its zenith under its last ruler Harsha Vardhana (c. 590–647 CE), and the Empire of Har ...

. His sister married the ruler

Adityavardhana Adityavardhana was a king of Thanesar in northern India around the time of the decline of the Gupta Empire. He was the third ruler of the Pushyabhuti dynasty, and father of Prabhakaravardhana. Adityavardhana's father was Rajyavardhana I and his gra ...

. He invaded Kamarupa and defeated Susthita Varman. But he subsequently faced three invaders: the Maukhari king

Sharvavarman Sharvavarman (Brahmi script: 𑀰𑀭𑁆𑀯𑁆𑀯𑀯𑀭𑁆𑀫𑁆𑀫𑀸 , Gupta script: ''Śa-rvva-va-rmmā'', complete form: ''Śarvavarman Indra Bhattarika'') was a ruler of the Maukhari dynasty of Kannauj. He ruled circa 560-575 C ...

, the Kamarupa king Supratishthita-varman, and the

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

king Songtsen. His vassal

Shashanka Shashanka ( IAST: Śaśāṃka) was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom and is a major figure in Bengali history. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his rule between cir ...

also abandoned him (and later established the independent

Gauda Kingdom The Gauḍa Kingdom (Gāuṛ Rājya) or Shashankas, was a classic kingdom during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal (modern-day West Bengal and Bangladesh) in 4th century CE or possibly ...

). The Maukhari king

is thought to have defeated Damodaragupta, invading

circa 575 CE, which made him ruler of the entire

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

. Under these circumstances, Mahasenagupta was forced to flee Magadha, and take shelter in

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syn ...

. Subsequently, the Pushyabhuti emperor

Harsha Harshavardhana ( IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajy ...

(ruled c.606–647 CE) restored the Later Gupta rule in Magadha, and they ruled as Harsha's vassals. After Harsha's death, the Later Gupta ruler Adityasena became the sovereign ruler of a large kingdom extending from the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

in the north to the Chhota Nagpur in the south; and from

Gomati River Gomati, which means, among other things, "full of water", may refer to: Geography * Gomati district, a district of Tripura state, India * Gomati monastery, a monastery in Khotan, Turkistan, see Buddhism in Khotan * Gomati Lake, a lake in Vadtal, du ...

in the east to the

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean, bounded on the west and northwest by India, on the north by Bangladesh, and on the east by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Its southern limit is a line betwee ...

in the west. However, he was defeated by the

Chalukya The Chalukya dynasty () was a Classical Indian dynasty that ruled large parts of southern and central India between the 6th and the 12th centuries. During this period, they ruled as three related yet individual dynasties. The earliest dynasty ...

s. Jivitagupta II, the last known ruler of the dynasty, appears to have been defeated by

Yashovarman Yashovarman (IAST: Yaśovarman) was a medieval Indian ruler of Kannauj, who founded the Varman dynasty of Kannauj. There are few sources that provide information of his life, although he was indubitably a powerful man. Life Yashovarman was k ...

of the

Varman dynasty of Kannauj The Varman dynasty of Kannauj was a dynasty that ruled Kannauj and the surrounding areas from the mid 7th century to the late 8th century.Map of the territory of the Varman dynasty in It was founded by Yashovarman, who filled the power vacuum cre ...

circa 750 CE.

Rulers

The known Later Gupta rulers include: Aphsad Stone of Adityasena (photograph)

* ''Nrpa Shri'' Krishna-gupta (Kṛṣṇagupta), r. c. 490-505 CE * ''Deva Shri'' Harsha-gupta (Harṣagupta), r. c. 505-525 CE * ''Shri'' Jivita-gupta I, r. c. 525-550 CE * ''Shri'' Kumara-gupta, r. c. 550-560 CE * ''Shri'' Damodara-gupta, r. c. 560-562 CE * ''Shri'' Mahasena-gupta, r. c. 562-601 CE * ''Shri'' Madhava-gupta, r. c. 601-655 CE (Queen: Shrimati) * ''Maharajadhiraja'' Aditya-sena, r. c. 655-680 CE (Queen: Konadevi) * ''Maharajadhiraja'' Deva-gupta, r. c. 680-700 CE (Queen: Kamaladevi) * ''Maharajadhiraja'' Vishnu-gupta (Viṣnugupta) (Queen: Ijjadevi) * ''Maharajadhiraja'' Jivita-gupta II

Guptas of Jayapura

A small kingdom that ruled the area around

Lakhisarai district Lakhisarai district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar state, India, and Lakhisarai town is the administrative headquarters of this district. Lakhisarai district is a part of Munger Division. The district occupies an area of . History ...

during the 11th and 12th centuries bore the name ''Gupta'' and have subsequently been linked as a surviving line of the Later Gupta. Evidence of their rule comes from the Panchob copper-plate inscription which was discovered in 1919.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{ref end Dynasties of India Kingdoms of Bihar States and territories established in the 6th century States and territories disestablished in the 8th century Ancient empires and kingdoms of India