Gupta (Gupta script: Gu-pta, fl. late 3rd century CE) was the founder of the Gupta dynasty of northern India. He is identified with king Che-li-ki-to (believed to be the Chinese transcription of "Shri-Gupta"), who, according to the 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, built a temple near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mṛgaśikhāvana) for Chinese pilgrims. Name Gupta is not attested by his own inscriptions or coins, although some seals and coins have been wrongly attributed to him. The earliest description of him occurs in his great-grandson Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription, and is repeated verbatim in several later records of the dynasty: The Allahabad Pillar inscription names Samudragupta's ancestors as Shrī Gupta ( shri gu-pta), Shrī Ghatotkacha, and Shrī Chandragupta. Some earlier scholars believed that the name of the dynasty's founder was "Shri-gupta" (IAST: Śrigupta), as Gupta does not appear to be a given name. However, it is now generally agreed that Shri is an honorific title and not an integral part of the king's name; "Gupta" was the actual name of the king. The Vishnu Sahasranama mentions Gupta among the 1008 names of Vishnu, which suggests that it can be used as a given name. The name derives from the word gup ("to protect"). Date Gupta most probably ruled in the second half of the 3rd century, although his reign cannot be dated with certainty based on existing evidence. Various estimates of his reign include: R. K. Mukherjee: c. 240–280 CE A. S. Altekar: c. 270–290 CE V. A. Smith: c. 275–300 CE Tej Ram Sharma: c. 275–295 CE S. R. Goel: c. 295–300 CE Political status The Allahabad Pillar inscription uses the title Maharaja ( "Great King") for Gupta and his son Ghatotkacha, as opposed to the title Maharajadhiraja ("king of great kings") for later ruler Chandragupta I. In the later period, the title Maharaja was used by feudatory rulers, which has led to suggestions that Gupta and Ghatotkacha were feudatory kings. For example, scholars R. D. Banerji and K. P. Jayaswal theorize that they were Kushana vassals. There is no doubt that Gupta and Ghatotkacha held a lower status and were less powerful than Chandragupta I. However, there are several instances of paramount sovereigns using the title Maharaja, in both pre-Gupta and post-Gupta periods, so the use of the title Maharaja cannot be considered as conclusive evidence of Gupta's vassal status. The sovereign kings of several contemporary or near-contemporary dynasties, including