Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c20.s3.85

c20.s3.85

If Harisheṇa, the writer of the Allahabad *Praśasti*, is to be believed, the great Gupta was a man of versatile genius. "He put to shame the preceptor of the lord of Gods and Tumburu² and Nārada and others by his sharp and polished intellect and choral skill and musical accomplishments. He established his title of *Kavirāja* by various poetical compositions."³ "He alone is worthy of the thoughts of the learned. . . His is the poetic style which is worthy of study, and his are the poetic works which multiply the spiritual treasures of poets." Unfortunately none of these compositions have survived.⁴ But the testimony of Harisheṇa to his musical abilities finds corroboration in the lyrist type⁵ of his coins. Himself a poet like Harsha, Mahendravarman and other kings of a later age, the Gupta monarch associated with men of letters who were none too prosperous and "put an end to the war between good poetry and plenty" (*satkāvyaśrīvirodha*). As a result "he enjoyed in the world of the learned, a far-extending sovereignty whose shining glory endured in many poems."