Chandragupta II and his court

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Detail

Chandragupta II, ruled c. 375–415 CE. He was the son of Samudragupta and grandson of Chandragupta I [2].
He took the title "Vikramaditya", which means "Sun of Valour". Some of his silver coins carry this title [2].
Later Hindu stories about a great king named Vikramaditya probably grew out of him [2].
He was a devotee of Vishnu. Vishnu's mount, the bird Garuda, appears on many of his inscriptions and coins.
He pushed the empire west. Between 388 and 409 CE he took Gujarat, Saurashtra and Malwa, whose capital was Ujjain [2].
This gave the Guptas the western ports. Sea trade money now came straight to the empire.

Note: the scaffold dates his reign c. 375–415 CE; Britannica gives c. 380–415 CE [2]. Keep the NCERT dates for the exam.

He kept learned men, poets and artists around him. Art, literature and science grew fastest in his reign.
Two famous names linked to his court [2]:
Kalidasa — Sanskrit poet and playwright.
Varahamihira — astronomer (a man who studied the sky and the stars).
Ayodhya was his main place of residence, and he made it his capital. Pataliputra (today Patna, Bihar) also stayed rich and grand [2].
Faxian, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, travelled in India for six years, 405–411 CE, during this reign [2].
He praised the government, and the free rest houses and hospitals the king kept for the poor and the sick [2].
A foreigner's diary is useful to us because it describes daily life, which royal praise-poems (prashastis) do not.

A pillar of iron weighing about 6 tonnes, over 1,600 years old, and still not rusted.
Why no rust (chapter's explanation): the special iron and the oxygen in the air together made a thin protective layer on the surface. That layer keeps the rust out.
The iron also holds small amounts of phosphorus, carbon and manganese. Scientists think the phosphorus helped form a protective coating. The full reason is still not settled [4].
Size: about 7.2 m (23.5 feet) tall in total, of which about 5.2 m (17 feet) stands above the ground [4].
Where it stands now: in the middle courtyard of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque, inside the Qutb Minar complex, Mehrauli, Delhi [3][4]. The Qutb Minar complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site [5].
Where it stood first: probably in front of the Udayagiri caves (Madhya Pradesh), and it was moved to Delhi centuries later [4].
The inscription:
Six lines of Sanskrit in Brahmi script, dated to the fourth century CE [3].
It says the pillar was set up as a Vishnudhvaja — the standard (flag-staff) of the god Vishnu — on a hill called Vishnupada, in memory of a mighty king named Chandra [3].
That "Chandra" is identified with Chandragupta II.
Do not confuse him with Chandragupta Maurya. Different dynasty, about 700 years earlier.
The pillar is dedicated to Vishnu, which matches the king's own faith.

Prabhavati Gupta was his daughter. She married a Vakataka prince. The Vakatakas were the Guptas' neighbours and allies in the Deccan.
She became a widow early. She then ruled as regent — that is, she ruled on behalf of her sons, who were too young.
In her own records she calls herself "mother of two kings". This is rare: a woman naming her own power in a royal document.
Like her father, she was a Vishnu devotee. She is linked with seven temples to Vishnu and his avatars (the forms Vishnu takes on earth).
Some of these are at Ramagiri — Ramtek hill, Maharashtra.
Some historians say the Kevala Narasimha temple at Ramtek was built by her daughter in her memory.

The Gupta–Vakataka tie is matrimonial alliance as statecraft — marriage used as a political tool.
A friendly Vakataka Deccan meant the Gupta southern border was safe.
With that border quiet, Chandragupta II could fight westwards into Gujarat and Malwa.
A Gupta princess ruling in the Deccan also carried Gupta religion, language and art south.

Chandragupta II ruled c. 375–415 CE; his title Vikramaditya means "Sun of Valour" and appears on his silver coins [2].
Kalidasa (poet-dramatist) and Varahamihira (astronomer) are linked to his court [2].
Faxian, the Chinese pilgrim, was in India 405–411 CE, in his reign [2].
His capital of residence was Ayodhya; Ujjain was the capital of conquered Malwa [2].
The Mehrauli Iron Pillar weighs about 6 tonnes, is about 7.2 m tall with 5.2 m above ground [4].
Its inscription is in Sanskrit, Brahmi script, and calls the pillar a Vishnudhvaja set up on Vishnupada hill for king Chandra [3].
The pillar now stands in the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque courtyard, Qutb Minar complex, Delhi — a UNESCO World Heritage Site [3][5].
It probably stood first at the Udayagiri caves, Madhya Pradesh.
Prabhavati Gupta married into the Vakataka dynasty and ruled as regent, calling herself "mother of two kings".
The Kevala Narasimha temple at Ramtek (Ramagiri), Maharashtra is, per some historians, built by her daughter in her memory.

Patronage as state policy, not private hobby. Keeping Kalidasa and Varahamihira at court [2] turned the palace into a centre of Sanskrit learning and science. Culture became a tool of prestige, the same way the Vishnudhvaja pillar [3] made royal faith visible in stone and iron.
Marriage as diplomacy. The Gupta–Vakataka link secured the Deccan flank while Chandragupta II expanded west into Gujarat, Saurashtra and Malwa, 388–409 CE [2]. Use this to argue that Gupta growth rested on alliance as much as on war.
Women and political power. Prabhavati Gupta's regency and her own phrase "mother of two kings" show a royal woman issuing land grants and building temples. Good counter-evidence in any answer that claims ancient Indian queens were only ornamental.
Sources and their limits. Prashastis praise the king; Faxian's account describes hospitals and rest houses on the ground [2]; the iron pillar gives a dated technical object. A strong answer reads all three together instead of trusting court poetry alone.