The _________ were tributary chiefs of the Gupta dynasty. They established an independent kingdom in western India. Dhruvasena II was the most important ruler of this kingdom.

Correct — A. The Maitrakas fit all three clues in the stem.

They began as senapatis, generals under the Guptas, holding Saurashtra for the imperial house, and made themselves independent as Gupta power fell away — an independent kingdom in western India, ruled from Valabhi in present-day Gujarat.

Dhruvasena II is the ruler the line is remembered for. He was a contemporary of Harshavardhana, married Harsha's daughter, and his kingdom was visited by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Maukharis — The Maukharis ruled from Kannauj in western Uttar Pradesh — the Ganga valley, not western India — and their best-known ruler is Ishanavarman, not Dhruvasena II.
• (c)
  Pushyabhutis — The Pushyabhutis ruled from Thanesar in Haryana and are remembered for Harshavardhana. They rose after Gupta power had broken up rather than serving as Gupta tributary chiefs.
• (d)
  Gurjara Pratiharas — The Gurjara-Pratiharas belong to a later age altogether, the tripartite struggle for Kannauj against the Palas and the Rashtrakutas, centuries after the Gupta dynasty.

When Gupta authority broke up in the sixth century, the empire's own officers and feudatories turned themselves into kings.

The Maitrakas of Valabhi are the clearest case — Gupta generals in Saurashtra who kept the territory and dropped the overlord. Their capital, Valabhi, became a noted seat of Buddhist learning.

SSC tests this transition through one distinguishing detail per dynasty: the region, the capital, or the best-known ruler. Carry all three for each successor line and the stems become easy.

Key facts

• The Maitrakas ruled western India from Valabhi in Saurashtra, in present-day Gujarat.
• Valabhi was a centre of Buddhist learning visited by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.
• Dhruvasena II was a contemporary of Harshavardhana of Kannauj.
• The Maukharis, by contrast, ruled from Kannauj in the Ganga valley.

Common traps

• Choosing the Pushyabhutis because Harshavardhana is the more famous name of the period
• Placing the Gurjara-Pratiharas in the Gupta age when they belong to the eighth century and after

No directly related past PYQ was found.