The Age of the Imperial Guptas c4.126

c4.126

The long reign of Kumāragupta I brought the prosperous part of the Gupta period to an end. With the accession of Skandagupta begins the next dark period of Indian history, which ends only with the rise of the Rajputs in the 7th and 8th centuries, save and except for the well illuminated reign of Harṣavardhana in the first half of the 7th century. Skandagupta was most probably the eldest son of Kumāragupta I. We know the name of only one queen of Kumāragupta I named Anantadevī, who was the mother of Puragupta, the successor of Skandagupta. Among the officers of the reign of Kumāragupta I we know only one other person besides the *Uparika* Cirātadatta of Puṇḍravardhana or Northern Bengal and his subordinate the *Kumārāmātya* Vetravarman. This is Pṛthivīṣeṇa, the son of Candragupta II's minister Śikharasvāmin. Pṛthivīṣeṇa was at first a *Kumārāmātya* and a minister (*Mantrin*), but later on he became the Commander-in-chief (*Mahābalādhikṛta*).¹ Of the inscriptions of the reign of Skandagupta which indicate very clearly that the closing years of the reign of Kumāragupta I were not passed in peace, we have referred to before.