Community: Gupta epigraphy

Nālandā, Bihār. Satellite view of archaeological site and adjacent areas (Wikimapia).

Nālandā, Bihār. Central stūpa.

Nālandā, Bihār. Copper-plate of Samudragupta.

Eran, Madhya Pradesh. Satellite view (Wikimapia).

Eran, Madhya Pradesh. Ruins of the site in the late 19th century. (© British Library)

No image of the inscribed slab has been traced (11/2019) but sculptures datable to the 4th century have been found on the site.

Eran Inscription of Samudragupta

Allāhābād الله آباد (Uttar Pradesh). Central area of city, showing location of pillar (© Survey of India).

Allāhābād (इलाहाबाद, Uttar Pradesh). General view of the fort.

Allāhābād Fort (इलाहाबाद किला). Monolithic pillar with  Samudragupta’s praśasti, two inscriptions by Aśoka as well as subsequent inscriptions, some of which are written between and over the lines of Samudragupta’s inscription. Courtesy Zenodo.

Gwalior (ग्वालियर). Stone of Mihirakula.

A stone slab with the left edge damaged. Part of its bottom side has also been cut away and lost after it was found but before it was delivered to the Indian Museum, Kolkata, possibly to adjust its size for fixing in some other building.

Seven lines of text are extant. The first 2-3 characters of each line is lost. Much of the seventh line is also broken away along with lines 8 and 9, but these were extant and had been copied when the inscription was first noticed by scholars.