Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c27.s2.t1.3

v1.c27.s2.t1.3

The Sanskrit inscription on the pillar (even now sharp and distinct) states in three verses how the king Candragupta Vikramāditya II (AD 375-413) erected the pillar as a dhwaja or monument in a shrine dedicated to Viṣṇu, on his demitting his office (as king) and his taking to another, i.e., the life of renouncement of the world. On a unique coin-type of Kumāragupta I, son and successor of Candragupta Vikramāditya II, the new ruler is seen saluting his old parents of the iron pillar fame. The iron pillar was placed in the Viṣṇu temple (somewhere in north India — Kashmir or Mathurā?) from where the pillar was brought to the present site during the eleventh century AD.