Evidence of the Nālanda Seals

Summary

This detailed article uses a set of clay seals discovered at Nālanda to reassess the genealogy and chronology of the imperial Gupta dynasty. The author tabulates the number of letters on each line of two seals—those of Narasiṃha Gupta and Budha Gupta—and demonstrates that the word putra (“son”) at the end of Budha Gupta’s seal proves that Budha Gupta was a son of Puru Gupta, contrary to earlier theories that placed Puru Gupta after Budha Gupta. Because Budha Gupta was the elder step‑brother of Narasiṃha Gupta, the article argues that Narasiṃha and his son Kumāra Gupta were successors rather than predecessors of Budha Gupta. The paper then discusses the small seal of Vainya Gupta discovered at Nālanda. The legend on this seal calls Vainya Gupta a parama‑bhāgavata and indicates that his ancestors’ names also ended in ‘Gupta’, establishing that he belonged to the imperial Gupta line. By comparing the seals with inscriptions from Sarnath and Gunaighar, the author explores alternative possibilities: perhaps Budha Gupta, Narasiṃha Gupta, Kumāra Gupta and Viṣṇu Gupta ruled simultaneously over different regions; or perhaps a succession of short reigns occurred between 467 and 476 A.D. The article notes that chronological puzzles remain, especially regarding the identities of Balāditya and Yaśovarman mentioned in literary traditions. It concludes that while the seals do not resolve every problem, they invalidate the view that Puru Gupta reigned after Budha Gupta and they provide firm evidence that Vainya Gupta was an imperial Gupta. The author calls for further discoveries to refine the late Gupta chronology.