Kumaragupta I.

King Kumaragupta I ( also Kumara Gupta, Mahendraditya; † 455 ) prevailed in the northern Indian Gupta Empire of between 415 and 455 The son of Chandragupta II, a long reign, in which the kingdom internally consolidated.

Swell

The inscription of Bilsad is the oldest evidence of his reign; it goes back to the year 96 of the Gupta era, the year 415 Other mentions of his name can be found on his undated coins and on a Yaksha statue from Mathura.

Religion

Kumaragupta I was - like his father and grandfather - followers of Vaishnavism; on some gold coins can be found but also a portrait of - rather the attributable Shaivism - war god Karttikeya on his mount ( vahana ), the Peacock. Although Hindu, Kumaragupta was known for his religious tolerance and extensive foundations of Buddhist and Jain monasteries. He and his father are regarded as the founder of many temples, which are summarized today as the Gupta temple. Some of these temple towns ( surname, Eran ) were probably conceived from the outset as a regional cult centers or developed in this direction, but most of the others were individual buildings ( Bhumara, Gop ). The Buddhist monasteries grew to - depending on the urban economy - financial centers and the Hindu monasteries trumped growing rapidly on land ownership.

Biography

At the end of the reign of Prince Kumaragupta I. Skandagupta saved his father's kingdom already against a great tribal uprising of Pushyamitras on the Narmada River. Kumaragupta I is said to have fallen in a Battle of the Huns according to an inscription, the same inscription tells of the victory Skandaguptas over the Huns. Skandagupta (reigned 455-467 ) repressed the Crown Prince Purugupta and went 458 with the first defense of Huna ( Huns ) as the penultimate significant Gupta king in history.