Английская Википедия:Gupta (king)
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Gupta (Gupta script: Файл:Gupta allahabad gu.jpgФайл:Gupta allahabad pt.jpg Gu-pta, fl. late 3rd century CE) was the founder of the Gupta dynasty of northern India. He is identified with king Che-li-ki-to (believed to be the Chinese transcription of "Shri-Gupta"), who, according to the 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, built a temple near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mṛgaśikhāvana) for Chinese pilgrims.
Name
Gupta is not attested by his own inscriptions or coins, although some seals and coins have been wrongly attributed to him.Шаблон:Sfn The earliest description of him occurs in his great-grandson Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription, and is repeated verbatim in several later records of the dynasty:Шаблон:Sfn
The Allahabad Pillar inscription names Samudragupta's ancestors as Shrī Gupta (Файл:Gupta allahabad shrii.jpgФайл:Gupta allahabad gu.jpgФайл:Gupta allahabad pt.jpg shri gu-pta), Shrī Ghatotkacha, and Shrī Chandragupta.Шаблон:Sfn Some earlier scholars believed that the name of the dynasty's founder was "Shri-gupta" (IAST: Śrigupta), as Gupta does not appear to be a given name. However, it is now generally agreed that Shri is an honorific title and not an integral part of the king's name; "Gupta" was the actual name of the king. The Vishnu Sahasranama mentions Gupta among the 1008 names of Vishnu, which suggests that it can be used as a given name.Шаблон:Sfn The name derives from the word gup ("to protect").Шаблон:Sfn
Date
Gupta most probably ruled in the second half of the 3rd century, although his reign cannot be dated with certainty based on existing evidence. Various estimates of his reign include:Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
- R. K. Mukherjee: c. 240–280 CE
- A. S. Altekar: c. 270–290 CE
- V. A. Smith: c. 275–300 CE
- Tej Ram Sharma: c. 275–295 CE
- S. R. Goel: c. 295–300 CE
Political status
The Allahabad Pillar inscription uses the title Maharaja (Файл:Gupta allahabad m.svgФайл:Gupta allahabad haa.jpgФайл:Gupta allahabad raa.jpgФайл:Gupta allahabad j.svg "Great King") for Gupta and his son Ghatotkacha, as opposed to the title Maharajadhiraja ("king of great kings") for later ruler Chandragupta I. In the later period, the title Maharaja was used by feudatory rulers, which has led to suggestions that Gupta and Ghatotkacha were feudatory kings.Шаблон:Sfn For example, scholars R. D. Banerji and K. P. Jayaswal theorize that they were Kushana vassals.Шаблон:Sfn
There is no doubt that Gupta and Ghatotkacha held a lower status and were less powerful than Chandragupta I.Шаблон:Sfn However, there are several instances of paramount sovereigns using the title Maharaja, in both pre-Gupta and post-Gupta periods, so the use of the title Maharaja cannot be considered as conclusive evidence of Gupta's vassal status.Шаблон:Sfn The sovereign kings of several contemporary or near-contemporary dynasties, including the Vakatakas, used the title Maharaja. Moreover, the Kushana Empire had already declined before the rise of the Guptas, so Gupta is unlikely to have been a Kushana vassal.Шаблон:Sfn
Identification with Che-li-ki-to
The 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, in his description of the itinerary of the earlier Korean traveler(of Silla) Hwui-lun(慧輪) alias Prajnavarma, mentions that in ancient times, king Che-li-ki-to (室利笈多) built a temple near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mṛgaśikhāvana) for Chinese pilgrims. The king endowed the temple with the revenue of 24 villages for its maintenance.Шаблон:Sfn Only the brick foundation of this temple survived in Yijing's time.Шаблон:Sfn
Numismatist John Allan read Che-li-ki-to as a transcription of Shri-Gupta. J. F. Fleet opposed this theory, pointing out that according to Yijing's writings, Che-li-ki-to flourished five hundred years before him (that is, in the second century), while Gupta ruled in the late 3rd century. Moreover, the Gupta inscriptions mention the king's name as "Gupta" (which would be transcribed as ki-to, 笈多), not "Shri-gupta" (Che-li-ki-to). Allan argued that Yijing's statement about the king's date should not be taken literally, and that the Chinese writers visiting India often used "Shri" as an honorific.Шаблон:Sfn
Based on available evidence, Gupta's religious affiliation is unclear. Historian A. K. Narain theorizes that he was a Vaishnavite, who was tolerant of Buddhist activity in his kingdom.Шаблон:Sfn This latter scenario would have been comparable with the later Gupta monarchs, who were predominantly Vaishnavite, but under whose regimes heterodox religious movements like Buddhism and Jainism were allowed to flourish.Шаблон:Sfn
Territory
Some scholars, such as D. C. Ganguly and R. C. Majumdar, have interpreted Yijing's description to mean that the temple was located more than 40 yojanas east of Nalanda, along the Ganges river, and have identified its location in present-day Bengal region.Шаблон:Sfn Majumdar read Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no as a transcription of Mriga-sthapana, the name of a stupa which was located in the historical Varendra region of Bengal.Шаблон:Sfn According to Ganguly, this suggests that the Gupta dynasty originated in Bengal, while according to Majumdar, this only proves that Bengal was a part of Gupta's kingdom.Шаблон:Sfn
Other scholars, such as B. P. Sinha and Jagannath Agrawal, read Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no of Yijing's account as a transcription of Mriga-shikha-vana (IAST: Mṛgaśikhāvana), and identify it with Mrigadaya (Deer Park) in Sarnath, in present-day eastern Uttar Pradesh.Шаблон:Sfn Ashvini Agrawal argues that Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no is not an exact transcription of Mriga-sthapana: Mriga-shikha-vana is closer, and a different interpretation of Yijing's writings suggests that Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no was located in Sarnath.Шаблон:Sfn Sinha theorizes that Hwui-lun erroneously mentioned its location as east of Nalanda.Шаблон:Sfn These historians propose that the Gupta dynasty originated in eastern Uttar Pradesh.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn
References
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