The Vakataka–Gupta Age (circa 200–550 A.D.) c10.2

c10.2

Gupta families or clans existed in India from very early times. The names of officials ending in Gupta are found in the records of the Sātavāhanas, and even a queen of Gupta family (*Gupta-vaṃśoditā*) is referred to in an old Brāhmī inscription. The well-known Bharhut Pillar inscription of the Śuṅga period also refers to the son of Rājan Visadeva as *Gotiputa*, indicating thereby that his queen was a *Gaupti* (i.e., belonging to the Gupta clan). The same surname, *Gotiputa*, occurs in many other ancient records.¹ These instances show the importance and antiquity of the Gupta family or clan. Whether there was one parent clan from which all others branched or there were different families, without any connection, who adopted this name at different times, cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. But the latter seems more probable in view of the wide spread of the name all over North India and the Deccan.