In Gupta administration, a province was called a bhukti and was headed by an officer titled:
- A.Vishayapati
- B.Uparika
- C.Gramika
- D.Rajuka
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, Uparika. The Gupta empire was divided into provinces called bhuktis, each placed under a governor called an uparika who was often a prince of the royal family. The bhukti was subdivided into districts, and the whole structure is known mainly from the Damodarpur copper plates of Bengal, which also name the town board of the chief banker, the caravan leader, the chief artisan and the chief scribe.
Option A, vishayapati, was the officer in charge of a vishaya, that is a district, one level below the bhukti. Option C, gramika, was the headman of a village, the lowest unit of the system. Option D, rajuka, belongs to Mauryan administration, where rajukas were rural officers entrusted by Ashoka with both revenue duties and judicial authority, and the term is not used for Gupta provinces.
Read the full article: Gupta Empire: Rulers, Administration and PYQs
Practice Questions
View allWhich dynasty ruled India between 320 AD and 550 AD?
- A.Mauryan Dynasty
- B.Hoysala Dynasty
- C.Magadha Dynasty
- D.Gupta Dynasty
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Gupta imperial rule is conventionally dated from about 320 CE, the epoch of the Gupta era that begins with the accession of Chandragupta I, and it faded out by about 550 CE after the Huna invasions.
Read the full explanation →During the Gupta Period, gold coins were called by which of the following names?
- A.Rupaka
- B.Tanka
- C.Drama
- D.Dinaras
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Gupta gold coins were called dinaras, a name borrowed from the Roman denarius that had already reached India through trade and through Kushana coinage.
Read the full explanation →Who was the first ruler of the Gupta Dynasty who claimed the title of Maharajadhiraja?
- A.Ramagupta
- B.Chandragupta I
- C.Samudragupta
- D.Skandagupta
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The first two members of the family, Sri Gupta and Ghatotkacha, used only the modest title Maharaja, which historians read as a sign that they were subordinate rulers.
Read the full explanation →The Allahabad Pillar Inscription, also known as the Prayag Prashasti, was composed by which court poet?
- A.Kalidasa
- B.Harishena
- C.Banabhatta
- D.Vishakhadatta
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Harishena was the court poet and a high officer of Samudragupta, and he composed the Prayag Prashasti in ornate Sanskrit, partly in verse and partly in prose.
Read the full explanation →Which Gupta ruler defeated the Shaka Kshatrapas of western India and assumed the title Shakari?
- A.Samudragupta
- B.Kumaragupta I
- C.Chandragupta II
- D.Skandagupta
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He ended the long rule of the Shaka Kshatrapas over Gujarat, Kathiawar and Malwa, took the title Shakari meaning enemy of the Shakas, and is also known by the title Vikramaditya.
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