Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c20.s2.11

c20.s2.11

It will be seen that Vaiśālī (North Bihār) is not included in this list of Gupta possessions. Therefore, it is difficult to concur in Allan's view that Vaiśālī was one of Chandra Gupta's earliest conquests. Nor does Vaiśālī occur in the list of Samudra Gupta's acquisitions, though the reference to Nepāl as a border state in the famous Allahabad inscription may suggest that North Bihār was included within his dominions. It first appears definitely as a Gupta possession in the time of Chandra Gupta II, and constituted a viceroyalty under an imperial Prince. Prayāga (Allahabad) may have been conquered from a line of kings whose existence is disclosed in certain inscriptions discovered at Bhīṭā.³ Two of these kings, Mahārāja Gautamīputra Śrī Śivamagha and Rājan Vāsiśṭhīputra Bhīmasena are assigned by Marshall to the second or third century A.D. The name Śivamegha (or Śivamagha) reminds us of the ‘Meghas’ (Maghas) who ruled in Kosalā in the third century A.D.¹ Another king, Mahārāja Gautamīputra Vṛishadhvaja, is assigned to the third or fourth century A.D.