When Kumāraguptaʼs reign came to its end, around AD 450, a decade of internal struggle followed before Skandagupta could ascend the throne unimpeded. Who was his adversary? Earlier research was inclined to think of Pūrugupta while a more recent theory builds on a severely truncated inscription from the Kevala Narasiṃha Temple at Ramtek. This theory maintains that the opponent was Ghaṭotkacagupta, a paternal uncle of both Skandagupta and Pūrugupta. The pictorial decoration of a silver plate is interpreted as referring to the situation. Two male figures are taken for Ghaṭotkaca and Skandagupta, a son and a grandson of Candragupta II, the first shown in the act of crowning the younger one. The paper attempts at rehabilitating Ghaṭotkaca, who instead of trying to usurp the throne, rather acted as a helper for Skandagupta in his fight against Pūrugupta. This attempt requires to show that the currently preferred deductions drawn from the Temple inscription need revision. Further literary evidence is adduced, supported by new numismatic insights.
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The head-gear of Skanda 161 The size of the two men, their age, and the shrub 162 Three new arguments 163 a) A silver drachm of Pūrugupta, GE 137 164 b) A silver dināra of Ghaṭotkaca, GE 152 165 c) Rāmagupta at the Kevala Narasiṃha Temple 166 The circle of symbols 170 The symbols on candra gold coins 171 Who then is candra? 173 Candra and the Mehrauli Pillar 174 Conclusion 176 Acknowledgement 176 References 177
