page_title: Vikramaditya
section_title: Chandragupta II
hierarchical_section_title: Vikramaditya / Historicity / Gupta kings / Chandragupta II
caption_attribution_description: Coin of the Gupta king Chandragupta II
context_page_description: Vikramaditya was a legendary emperor of ancient India. Often characterized as an ideal king, he is known for his generosity, courage, and patronage of scholars. Vikramaditya is featured in hundreds of traditional Indian legends, including those in Baital Pachisi and Singhasan Battisi. Many describe him as a universal ruler, with his capital at Ujjain.
  According to popular tradition, Vikramaditya began the Vikrama Samvat era in 57 BCE after defeating the Shakas, and those who believe that he is based on a historical figure place him around the first century BCE. However, this era is identified as "Vikrama Samvat" after the ninth century CE. Other scholars believe that Vikramaditya is a mythical character, since several legends about him are fantastic in nature.
  "Vikramaditya" was a common title adopted by several Indian kings, and the Vikramaditya legends may be embellished accounts of different kings.
context_section_description: Some scholars, including D. R. Bhandarkar, V. V. Mirashi and D. C. Sircar, believe that Vikramaditya is probably based on the Gupta king Chandragupta II. Based on coins and the Supia pillar inscription, it is believed that Chandragupta II adopted the title Vikramaditya. The Khambat and Sangli plates of the Rashtrakuta king Govinda IV use the epithet "Sahasanka", which has also been applied to Vikramaditya, for Chandragupta II. According to Alf Hiltebeitel, Chandragupta's victory against the Shakas was transposed to a fictional character who is credited with establishing the Vikrama Samvat era.
  In most of the legends Vikramaditya had his capital at Ujjain, although some mention him as king of Pataliputra (the Gupta capital). According to D. C. Sircar, Chandragupta II may have defeated the Shaka invaders of Ujjain and made his son, Govindagupta, a viceroy there. Ujjain may have become a second Gupta capital, and legends about him (as Vikramaditya) may have developed. The Guttas of Guttavalal, a minor dynasty based in present-day Karnataka, claimed descent from the Gupta Empire. Their Chaudadanapura inscription alludes to Vikramaditya ruling from Ujjain, and several Gutta kings were named Vikramaditya. According to Vasundhara Filliozat, the Guttas confused Vikramaditya with Chandragupta II; however, D. C. Sircar sees this as further proof that Vikramaditya was based on Chandragupta II.
caption: Chandragupta II on a coin
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "", "Image Make": "SONY", "Image Model": "DSC-T10", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Paint Shop Pro Photo 11.20", "Image DateTime": "2007:06:10 17:29:46", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "272", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "860", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "12155", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/13", "EXIF FNumber": "7/2", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "320", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:06:10 18:53:15", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:06:10 18:53:15", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "29/8", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "633/100", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "952", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "948", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "718", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}