Question

Harisena composed a prashasti in praise of Gautamiputra Satakarni.
A. True
B. False

Answer 1

Hint: In the kingdom of Gupta king Samudragupta, Harisena was a poet in the court. The prashasti composed by him was the famous Allahabad prashasti.

Complete answer:
Haresena, was a government minister, panegyrist and a Sanskrit poet. He was the early writer of Kavya poetry. According to Arthur Berriedale Keith “Haresena’s poems consist both prose and verse, even though it bears explicitly the title kavya. The structure of the poem is similar to the delineation of the kings adopted in Subandha and Bana like prose and romance.
Harisena had great interest in playing the lute along with his friend Samudragupta. In the court of Samudragupta he was an important figure. His famous poem prashasti was inscribed in Allahabad pillar and one of his known inscriptions was written as panegyric.
Harisena was a successor of Devasena, his father. He was a patron of art, culture and Buddhist architecture. Ajanta is an example of his work.
Harisena composed the prashasti in praise of Samudragupta, he was the famous court poet of Gupta king Samudragupta and his prashasti was famous Allahabad prashasti which describes Samudragupta as a great warrior.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note:The other works of Hareshina includes the medical treatise Jagat Sundari Yoga Muladhara, Astahnikakatha, Apabramasa Dharmapurikar, Karpuraprakara ( Suktavall) and Brhatkathakosa. Hareshina was also a chief minister of Samudragupta’s empire. In the marriage of Samudragupta with Dattadevi, Hareshina played an important role.