The Seal of Vainya-gupta

Summary

The brief communication entitled “The Seal of Vainya‑Gupta” reports the discovery of a clay seal at Nālandā that has important implications for the genealogy of the Gupta emperors. The seal bears a clear legend identifying its owner as “the illustrious mahārājādhirāja Vainya‑gupta” and further states that he was “born of Mahādevī,” which implies that the king’s mother held the title Mahādevī. The epigraphist argues that this Vainya‑gupta cannot be identical with Viṣṇugupta, as sometimes assumed, because the seal specifies his mother and because another inscription lists both names separately. Based on palaeographic analysis and the wording of the legend, the author suggests that Vainya‑gupta was a son of the Gupta ruler Puru‑gupta and therefore a younger brother of Budha‑gupta and an elder brother of Narasiṃha‑gupta (Bālāditya). If this interpretation is correct, Vainya‑gupta would have reigned as a mahārājādhirāja in the mid‑fifth century and his existence would fill a gap in the Gupta succession between Budha‑gupta and Narasiṃha‑gupta. The note emphasises that the seal’s formula “born of Mahādevī” is unusual and invites further study, as such expressions usually occur on royal charters rather than on private seals. The discovery therefore not only adds a new name to the genealogy of the late Gupta dynasty but also suggests that the hierarchy of queens (Mahādevī, etc.) may have played a greater role in dynastic legitimacy than previously recognised. The author cautions that the seal raises textual and historical questions that will require additional inscriptional evidence and urges scholars to re‑examine the chronological framework of the later Guptas in light of this find.