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
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, Chandragupta II. 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. The conquest gave the Guptas the western sea ports and the revenue of the trade passing through them, and it is the reason he began issuing silver rupakas modelled on Shaka coins for that region.
Option A, Samudragupta, campaigned in the Ganga plain and the Deccan but left the western Kshatrapas alone; the Prayag Prashasti names the Shakas only among rulers offering submission. Option B, Kumaragupta I, is remembered for founding Nalanda and for the first signs of Huna pressure. Option D, Skandagupta, fought the Hunas and repaired the Sudarshana lake, not the Shakas.
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 →The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim who visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II was:
- A.Hiuen Tsang
- B.Fa-Hien
- C.I-tsing
- D.Megasthenes
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Fa-Hien came to India in search of Buddhist texts and travelled through the Gupta dominions during the reign of Chandragupta II.
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