Dhruvadevi | |
---|---|
Empress Consort of the Gupta Empire | |
Reign | c. 380 – c. 415 |
Predecessor | Dattadevi |
Successor | Anantadevi |
Born | c. Before 350 |
Died | c. After 415 |
Spouse | Chandragupta II |
Issue | Govindagupta Kumaragupta I |
House | Gupta Empire |
Dynasty | Gupta |
Religion | Hinduism |
Dhruva-devi was the queen of the Gupta king Chandragupta II (r. c. 380 – c. 415 CE), who ruled in present-day northern India. She was the mother of his successor Kumaragupta I, and was most probably same as Dhruva-svamini, who has been mentioned as a queen of Chandragupta and the mother of prince Govindagupta in a clay seal inscription.
According to the Sanskrit play Devi-Chandraguptam, which is now partially lost, Dhruvadevi was originally a queen of Chandragupta's elder brother Ramagupta, who decided to surrender her to a Shaka enemy after being besieged. Chandragupta entered the enemy camp disguised as the queen, and killed the enemy. A reconstruction of the play, based on other literary and epigraphic evidence, suggests that Chandragupta later killed Ramagupta, and married Dhruva-devi. The historicity of this narrative is debated among modern historians, with some scholars dismissing it as a work of fiction.