- Ramagupta
Ramagupta was a legendary king of
India , a ruler of theGupta empire and the elder son and successor ofSamudragupta . The actual existence of this king is in some dispute.भगवतोर्हतः चन्द्रप्रभस्य प्रतिमेऽयं कारिता महाराजाधिराज-श्री-रामगुप्तेन उपदेशात् पाणिपात्रिक-चन्द्रक्षमाचार्य्य-क्षमण-श्रमण-प्रशिष्य-आचार्य्य सर्प्पसेन-क्षमण-शिष्यस्य गोलक्यान्त्या-सत्पुत्रस्य चेलु-क्षमणस्येति |
|The Ramagupta Inscription found nearVidisha 375 CEAccording to legend, Ramagupta decided to expand his kingdom by attacking the
Sakas inGujarat . The campaign soon took a turn for the worse and the Gupta army was trapped. The Saka king,Rudrasimha III , demanded that Ramagupta hand over his wife Dhruvswamini in exchange for peace. The weak king was inclined to accept these terms, to the outrage of his wife and his brother Chandragupta. Using subterfuge, Chandragupta went to the Saka camp, killed the Saka king and won the victory and also the esteem of the people and the queen. A short while later, Ramagupta was deposed and killed by his brother, who becameChandragupta II . Chandragupta II also married his erstwhile sister-in-law, Dhruvswamini.This tale has parallels to the story of Rani Padmini of Chittor and the subterfuge she used to free her husband. Dhruvadevi was the chief queen of
Chandragupta II and the mother of his heirKumara Gupta I .Chandragupta II also claimed the conquest of the Saka kingdom. What part the shadowy figure of Ramagupta played in these stories is unclear.A few
Jain tirthankara idols have been found at Durjanpur nearVidisha that mention Ramagupta as the reigning king.
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