Vainyagupta () was one of the lesser known kings of the

Gupta dynasty The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

. He is known from the fragmentary clay sealing discovered at

Nalanda Nalanda (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: , ) was a renowned Buddhism, Buddhist ''mahavihara'' (great monastery) in medieval Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha (modern-day Bihar), eastern India. Widely considered to be am ...

and the Gunaighar copper plate inscription dated Gupta era 188 (507 CE). R. C. Majumdar considers him as son of Purugupta. In the Nalanda fragmentary clay sealing he is mentioned as the ''Maharajadhiraja'' and a ''paramabhagavata'' (devout worshipper of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

), while the Gunaighar copper plate inscription mentions him as the ''Maharaja'' and a ''Bhagavan Mahadeva padanudhyato'' (devotee of

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

Vainyagupta had the first construction of Kashi Vishwanath temple between 500 CE - 508 CE during his reign.

Identification

Historians came to know about Vainyagupta after discovering the Nalanda clay seal, Gunaighar copper plate and coins belonging to his reign. The artifacts neither contain his father nor his grandfather's name. According to R.C. Majumdar, Vainyagupta's father was Purugupta. The Gunaighar copper plate mentions one Vainyagupta donating land to a Buddhist monastery at Gunaighar. Majumder and D.C. Ganguli amongst others feel that Vainyagupta mentioned in Gunaighar copper plate is same the Vainyagupta of the Nalanda clay seal who was a ruler of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

. However, Vainyagupta of the Gunaighar copper plate is a devotee of

and the Vainyagupta of the Nalanda seal is a worshipper of

Reign

Vainyagupta ascended the throne in . According to the Nalanda seal, his title was ''Maharajadhiraja''. However, according to the Gunaighar plate, his title was simply ''Maharaja''.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vainyagupta Gupta monarchs 6th-century Indian monarchs