Historical PlacePillar inscription

Bhitari Pillar Inscription of Skandagupta

Fifth-century Sanskrit inscription of Skandagupta at Bhitari near Saidpur, key to dating the Gupta kings

Photo: John Faithfull Fleet (1847 –1917) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

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01 — The story

The Bhitari pillar inscription was discovered at Bhitari, a village close to Saidpur in Uttar Pradesh, and dates from the reign of the Gupta emperor Skandagupta (c. 455 – c. 467 CE). It is written in Sanskrit and is recorded as 15 feet high.

The text runs to 19 lines. It opens with the genealogy of Skandagupta's forebears, then introduces the king himself and ends with an account of what he achieved. Historians value it highly for working out the sequence of Gupta rulers, and it also records Skandagupta's struggles against the Pushyamitras and against the Hunas.

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02 — About

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We’re still writing about Bhitari Pillar Inscription of Skandagupta: its history, what’s there and why it’s worth the trip.