PRAYAG PRASHASTI OR PRAYAG INSCRIPTION

• It was composed by Harishena, the Court poet of Samduragupta. It gives details about the reign of Samudragupta. This was inscribed on the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad.

• It is in excellent Sanskrit written in the more refined Gupta script (a later version of Brahmi).

• The inscription is a panegyric praising Samudragupta and lists the political and military achievements of his reign including his expeditions to the south.

• It mentions Samudragupta’s great grandfather, grandfather, father and mother. His mother, Kumara devi, belonged to the Lichchhavi gana, while his father, Chandragupta, was the first ruler of the Gupta dynasty to adopt the grand title of maharaj-adhiraja, a title that Samudragupta also used.

• His great grandfather and grandfather are mentioned simply as maharajas.