Target Exam

CUET

Subject

History

Chapter

Ancient India: Kings, Farmers and Towns

Question:

Name the court-poet who composed the Prayaga-Prashasti (Allahabad Pillar Inscription):

Options:

Samudragupta

Purusha

Harishena

Rudradaman

Correct Answer:

Harishena

Explanation:

The correct answer is Option (3) → Harishena

" Histories of the Gupta rulers have been reconstructed from literature, coins and inscriptions, including prashastis, composed in praise of kings in particular, and patrons in general, by poets. While historians often attempt to draw factual information from such compositions, those who composed and read them often treasured them as works of poetry  rather than as accounts that were literally true. The Prayaga Prashasti (also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription) composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta, arguably the most powerful of the Gupta rulers (c. fourth century CE), is a case in point."