Narasimhagupta ( Gupta script: Gupta allahabad n

''Na-ra-si-ṅha-gu-pta'') Baladitya was an emperor of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gold ...

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

. He was son of

Purugupta Purugupta (Gupta script: ''Pu-ra-gu-pta'', sa, पुरुगुप्त) (reigned 467–473 CE) was an emperor of the Gupta dynasty in northern India. Purugupta was a son of the Gupta emperor Kumaragupta I by his queen ''Anantadevi''. He suc ...

and probably the successor of

Budhagupta Budhagupta (Gupta script: ''Bu-dha-gu-pta'', ) was a Gupta emperor and the successor of Kumaragupta II. He was the son of Purugupta and was succeeded by Narasimhagupta.Raychaudhuri, H.C. (1972). ''Political History of Ancient India'', Calcutta: ...

Defeat of the Hunas

According to the Chinese monk

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

, Narasimhagupta had to pay tribute to the Huna king

Mihirakula Mihirakula (Gupta script: , ''Mi-hi-ra-ku-la'', Chinese: 摩酰逻矩罗 ''Mo-hi-lo-kiu-lo''), sometimes referred to as Mihiragula or Mahiragula, was the second and last Alchon Hun king of northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent betwee ...

. Finally, Baladitya along with

Yasodharman Yashodharman (Gupta script: ''Ya-śo-dha-rmma'', ) (r. 515 – 545) was a ruler of Malwa, in central India, during the early part of the 6th century. He probably belonged to the Second Aulikara dynasty. He conquered much of the Indian subco ...

Malwa Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syn ...

is credited with driving the

Alchon Huns The Alchon Huns, ( Bactrian: αλχον(ν)ο ''Alchon(n)o'') also known as the Alchono, Alxon, Alkhon, Alkhan, Alakhana and Walxon, were a nomadic people who established states in Central Asia and South Asia during the 4th and 6th centuries C ...

from the plains of North India according to the Chinese monk

. In a fanciful account, Xuanzang, who wrote a century later in 630 CE, reported that

had conquered all India except for an island where the king of

Magadha Magadha was a region and one of the sixteen sa, script=Latn, Mahajanapadas, label=none, lit=Great Kingdoms of the Second Urbanization (600–200 BCE) in what is now south Bihar (before expansion) at the eastern Ganges Plain. Magadha was ruled ...

named Balditya (who could be Gupta ruler Narasimhagupta Baladitya) took refuge, but that Mihirakula was finally captured by the Indian king, who later spared his life. Mihirakula is then said to have returned to Kashmir to retake the throne.Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks by Jason Neeli
p.168
/ref> Narasimhagupta's governor in

Bhanugupta Bhanugupta was one of the lesser known kings of the Gupta dynasty. He is only known from an inscription in Eran, and a mention in the Manjushri-mula-kalpa. Only mentioned in the Eran inscription as a "Raja" and not a "Maharaja" or a "Maharajad ...

may also have been involved in this conflict.

shramanic philanthropy

The Guptas were traditionally a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

dynasty.A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India by Upinder Sing
p.521
/ref> Narasimhagupta Baladitya however, according to contemporary writer

Paramartha Paramārtha (Sanskrit, Devanagari: परमार्थ; ) (499-569 CE) was an Indian monk from Ujjain, who is best known for his prolific Chinese translations of Buddhist texts during the Six Dynasties era.Toru Funayama. The work of Paramār ...

, was brought up under the influence of the

Mahayana ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

philosopher,

Vasubandhu Vasubandhu (; Tibetan: དབྱིག་གཉེན་ ; fl. 4th to 5th century CE) was an influential Buddhist monk and scholar from ''Puruṣapura'' in ancient India, modern day Peshawar, Pakistan. He was a philosopher who wrote commentary ...

. He built a sangharama at Nalanda and also a high vihara with a Buddha statue within which, according to Xuanzang, resembled the "great Vihara built under the Bodhi tree". According to the '' Manjushrimulakalpa'' (c. 800 CE), king Narasimhsagupta became a Buddhist monk, and left the world through meditation (

Dhyana Dhyana may refer to: Meditative practices in Indian religions * Dhyana in Buddhism (Pāli: ''jhāna'') * Dhyana in Hinduism * Jain Dhyāna, see Jain meditation Other *''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener (1944-2013) * ''Dhyana'' ...

). The Chinese monk Xuanzang also noted that Baladitya's son, Vajra, who commissioned a sangharama as well, "possessed a heart firm in faith". His clay sealing has been found in Nalanda. The name of his queen mentioned in the Nalanda sealing is Shrimitradevi. He was succeeded by his son

Kumaragupta III Kumaragupta III (Gupta script: ''Ku-ma-ra-gu-pta'') was a later Gupta Emperor. He succeeded his father Narasimhagupta in about 530 CE. His silver-copper seal was discovered in Bhitari (Ghazipur district, Uttar Pradesh) in 1889, which mentions ...

Coinage

File:Narasimhagupta Baladitya Circa 495-530 CE.jpg, Coin of Narasimhagupta Baladitya, circa 495-530 CE. File:Nalanda clay seals of Narasimhagupta.jpg, Nalanda clay seals of Narasimhagupta. File:Toramana gold coin circa 490-515.jpg, A gold coin of contemporary

king

Toramana Toramana also called Toramana Shahi Jauvla (Gupta script: ''Toramāṇa'', ruled circa 493-515 CE) was a king of the Alchon Huns who ruled in northern India in the late 5th and the early 6th century CE. Toramana consolidated the Hephthalite po ...

with

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with ''Maya'' ("Illusion"). Alo ...

on the reverse (circa 490-515), inspired from contemporary Gupta coins, such as those of Narasimhagupta Baladitya.The Identity of Prakasaditya by Pankaj Tandon, Boston University
/ref>

References

Sources

* 5th-century Indian monarchs Gupta Empire {{India-royal-stub