The Age of the Imperial Guptas c4.93

c4.93

Rāmagupta was succeeded by his younger brother Candragupta II, who assumed the title of *Vikramāditya* and is very probably the famous king of that name of Indian folklore. He married his brother’s widow Dhruvadevī or Dhruvasvāminī and had by her at least two sons, the emperor Kumāragupta I and Govindagupta. As Kumāragupta succeeded Candragupta II on the throne Dhruvadevī must have been legally married to her first husband’s younger brother. Up to this time the emperors of the Gupta dynasty have been regarded as models of propriety by the most conservative Hindus of the present day. But this instance of widow marriage is bound to shock them. The marriage of Dhruvadevī only strengthens our belief that widow marriages or remarriage, according to the legal principles laid down by Nārada and Parāśara were prohibited later than the 5th century A.D.¹