Ancient Dynasty Capitals and Inscriptions

Capitals from the Sungas to Harsha, the famous inscriptions and who they praise, Gupta-age temples, with UPSC years.

On this map (19)

Pataliputra (Patna) — Maurya and Gupta capital · Bihar — Maurya + Gupta capital. Megasthenes described it as Palimbothra
Vidisha — Sunga and Kanva seat · Madhya Pradesh — Sunga capital (regional). Pushyamitra Sunga killed the last Mauryan, Brihadratha (about 185 BC)
Purushapura (Peshawar) — Kushana capital · Pakistan — Kushana capital. Kanishka’s Shaka era began in 78 AD
Mathura — second Kushana capital · Uttar Pradesh — Kushana capital + art school. Headless statue of Kanishka found at Mathura
Kanauj — Harsha’s capital · Uttar Pradesh — Vardhana capital. Harsha of the Pushyabhuti line; 7th century; Xuanzang visited
Thanesar — Pushyabhuti capital · Haryana — Vardhana capital (early). Harsha’s father Prabhakaravardhana ruled from here; Harshacharita by Banabhatta
Badami (Vatapi) — Chalukya capital · Karnataka — Chalukya capital. Pulakeshin II defeated Harsha on the Narmada (about 618–19 AD)
Kanchi — Pallava capital · Tamil Nadu — Pallava capital. Pallavas: Mahendravarman I, Narasimhavarman I (Mamalla), builders of Mahabalipuram
Nandivardhana (Nagardhan, Nagpur) — Vakataka seat · Maharashtra — Vakataka capital. Prabhavatigupta ruled as regent; Ajanta caves were patronised under the Vakataka Harishena
Junagadh — Girnar rock inscription · Gujarat — Ashoka + Rudradaman + Skandagupta. About 150 AD; records the repair of the Sudarshana lake
Allahabad (Prayagraj) — Samudragupta’s prashasti · Uttar Pradesh — Gupta inscription. On Ashoka’s pillar; lists Samudragupta’s conquests
Hathigumpha — Udayagiri, Bhubaneswar · Odisha — Kharavela’s inscription. Prakrit in Brahmi; describes his campaigns in year-by-year order
Mehrauli — Delhi (iron pillar of Chandra) · Delhi — Gupta-age pillar. Sanskrit inscription in Gupta Brahmi; originally a Vishnu-dhvaja
Eran — Sagar (Budhagupta pillar, Varaha) · Madhya Pradesh — Gupta inscription · earliest sati. Budhagupta’s pillar and the huge Varaha image; the Huna Toramana’s inscription is here too
Mandsaur — Yashodharman’s victory pillars · Madhya Pradesh — Inscription. Mandsaur inscription of Kumaragupta and the silk-weavers’ guild is also here
Aihole — Bagalkot · Karnataka — Ravikirti’s inscription. The Aihole inscription is dated in the Saka era and mentions Kalidasa and Bharavi
Deogarh — Lalitpur (Dashavatara temple) · Uttar Pradesh — Gupta temple · Vishnu. Sculptural panels of Shesha-shayi Vishnu and Nara-Narayana
Udayagiri caves — Vidisha · Madhya Pradesh — Gupta cave · Chandragupta II. Varaha rescuing the earth-goddess Bhudevi; Vishnu cave shrines
Bhitargaon — Kanpur · Uttar Pradesh — Brick temple · Gupta. Terracotta panels; Gupta-age temple with an arched shikhara

Asked in exams

UPSC 2003Pushyamitra Sunga assassinated the last Mauryan Brihadratha; the last Sunga Devabhuti was killed by his Brahmana minister
UPSC 2001Harsha’s Prayag Assembly: Assertion–Reason — both true, but R not the explanation
UPSC 2003Harsha’s southward march was stopped on the Narmada by Pulakeshin II
UPSC 2006The Allahabad Pillar inscription is associated with Samudragupta
UPSC 2003Pulakeshin II stopped Harsha on the Narmada (his victory is recorded in the Aihole inscription)

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