Dhruvadevi

Dhruvadevi
Spouse Chandragupta II
Issue Kumaragupta I
Dynasty Gupta

Dhravadevi (also known as Dhruvaswamini) was the wife of Chandragupta II, one of the most powerful emperors of Gupta Empire. She had a son with him named Kumaragupta I. According to several traditional Indian accounts, Dhruva Devi was originally married to Chandragupta II's elder brother Ramagupta.[1]

Dhruvadevi In Tradition and Devichandraguptam

The Indian playwright Vishakhadatta recorded her story in his plays, Devichandraguptam, Shringarprakash and Natyadarpan. Historians do not know what liberties the author Vishakhadatta took with the incidents, but it is confirmed that she was Chandragupta II's Chief Queen as seen in the Vaisali Terracotta Seal that calls her "Mahadevi" (Chief Queen) Dhruvasvamini.. According to D. C. Sircar, the only facts in this story are that Dhruvadevi was Chandragupta's queen and the Saka ruler Rudrasimha III held power in western India. Everything else, according to Sircar, is "Vishakhadatta's own imagination or some current popular legends embellished by his imagination".[2]

The play Devichandraguptam by Vishakadatta suggests that ChandraGupta's elder brother Ramagupta succeeded the throne after the death of their father, the king Samudragupta. According to Devichandraguptam, he was a weak and impotent king, afraid and incapable of warfare. There are several accounts on how Ramagupta dealt with Sakas in Gujarat. One account is that Sakas attacked Ramagupta and defeated him. Another account is that it was Ramagupta who attacked Sakas and was defeated when his army was trapped. The Saka king, Rudrasimha III, demanded that Ramagupta hand over his wife Dhruvswamini in exchange for peace.[3] The weak king accepted the demand. Disgusted by this, Chandragupta, along with his companions went to the Saka camp impersonating Dhruvaswamini and her attendants,[4] killed the Saka king and won the victory and also the esteem of the people and the queen. Dhruva Devi then reject Rama Gupta in public. As she was a Sanskrit scholar, she used scripture to demonstrate that when Ramagupta surrendered her to another king he gave up his right to her. A short while later, Chandragupta II killed Ramagupta,[5] married Dhruvaswamini and went on to become Vikramaditya. They had a son named Kumara Gupta. Dhruvswamini was the most beautiful lady in India at that time.

References

  1. ↑ Jain, Kailash Chand. "Malwa Through the Ages, from the Earliest Times to 1305 A.D (Google eBook)". Motilal Banarsidass. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  2. ↑ D. C. Sircar (1969). "King Vikramaditya in Legend and History I". Ancient Malwa And the Vikramaditya Tradition. Munshiram Manoharlal. pp. 94–112. ISBN 978-8121503488.
  3. ↑ Agarwal, Ashvini (1989). Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas, Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 81-208-0592-5, pp.153-9.
  4. ↑ Vasubandhu, Stefan Anacker. "Seven Works of Vasubandhu, the Buddhist Psychological Doctor (Google eBook)". Motilal Banarsidass. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Sharma, Tej Ram. "A Political History of the Imperial Guptas: From Gupta to Skandagupta". Concept Publishing Company. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
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