Later Gupta dynasty
tenth ruling dynasty of Magadha
The Later Gupta dynasty, also known as the Later Guptas of Magadha, were the rulers of Magadha and Malwa from the 6th to 8th centuries CE. The Later Guptas emerged after the disintegration of the Imperial Guptas. However, there is no evidence to connect the two dynasties and the Later Guptas may have adopted the -gupta suffix to link themselves with the Imperial Guptas.
There are several important sources of information regarding the Later Guptas including two epigraphs, the Aphsad inscription of Ādityasena, which sets out the genealogy of the ruling family from Kṛṣṇagupta to Ādityasena, and the Deo Baranark inscription of Jīvitagupta II. The Harshacharita of Bāṇabhaṭṭa is also an important source of information as are the records of the Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and Yijing which also mentions them. The Gaudavaho of Vākpatirāja refers to the victory of King Yaśovarman of the Varman dynasty against the king of Magadha, with the scholarly consensus being that this is a reference to Jīvitagupta II.
Origins
The general consensus among researchers of the period including John Faithfull Fleet, Bindeshwari Prasad Sinha and Ram Shankar Tripathi, is that the Later Guptas emerged from the Magadha region of what is now Bihar in India. The reasoning behind this is that all inscriptions relating to the dynasty have been found in this region. A Nepalese inscription also refers to King Ādityasena as the "Lord of Magadha". They were likely originally feudatories under the Imperial Guptas and came into possession of large territories in Magadha following the fall of the Empire.
Hans T. Bakker also agrees that the bulk of the evidence points to Magadha as the homeland of the Later Guptas as does D. Devahuti who points out that their frequent clashes with Kamarupa and Gauda show that they were always based out of Magadha which neighbours both of those regions.
History
After the decline of the Gupta Empire, the Later Guptas succeeded them as the rulers of Magadha after originally being their vassals. Kṛiṣṇagupta was the first known member of the dynasty and probably assisted the Guptas in their battles against the Alchon Huns led by Toramāṇa with his floruit being placed around 490 to 510 CE. Kṛiṣṇagupta's daughter is said to have married Prince Ādityavarman of the Maukhari dynasty.
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