Sources for New Notions of Kingship

Sources

Characteristics

Prashastis

• Factual information about the King
• Composed in the praise of kings.
• For example: the Allahabad Pillar Inscription.

Coins

• They include elements like scripts, images, and the context in which they were found.
• Coins facilitated long-distance transactions.
• For example: the gold coins of the Gupta rulers.

Literature

• Those who composed literary works often treated them as works of poetry rather than an account, that were true.
• Historians must constantly access the statements made in inscriptions to judge whether they are true, plausible, or exaggerated.

Accounts of Foreign Travellers

• Fa-Hien was a famous Chinese Buddhist devotee who traveled to India during the term of Chandragupta II.
• He gives us detailed information about the administrations under the Gupta rulers.