The Prayaga Prashasti composed by Harishena, was the court poet of which ruler?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Samudragupta
The Prayaga Prashasti, also known as the Allahabad Pillar Inscription, was composed in Sanskrit by Harishena, the court poet of Samudragupta. Samudragupta (c. fourth century CE) was arguably the most powerful of the Gupta rulers. A prashasti is a poem of praise, so the inscription describes the king as a hero without an equal on earth.
NCERT (2025-26): “4.2 Divine kings … 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.… …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.…” |