Editing Chandragupta II (section)

==== Punjab region ====

If Chandra is identified with Chandragupta, it appears that Chandragupta marched through the [[Punjab region]], and advanced up to the country of the Vahlikas, that is, [[Balkh]] in present-day Afghanistan.{{sfn|R. C. Majumdar|1981|p=56}} Some short Sanskrit inscriptions at the [[Sacred Rock of Hunza]] (in present-day Pakistan), written in [[Gupta script]], mention the name Chandra. A few of these inscriptions also mention the name Harishena, and one particular inscription mentions Chandra with the epithet "Vikramaditya". Based on the identification of "Chandra" with Chandragupta, and Harishena with the Gupta courtier [[Harishena]], these inscriptions can be considered as further evidence of a Gupta military campaign in the area. 

According to [[Sten Konow]], the term "seven faces", mentioned in the iron pillar inscription, refers to the seven [[river mouth|mouths]] of Indus. Historians R. C. Majumdar and K. P. Jayaswal, on the other hand, believe that the term refers to the tributaries of Indus: the five rivers of [[Punjab region|Punjab]] ([[Jhelum River|Jhelum]], [[Ravi River|Ravi]], [[Sutlej River|Sutlej]], [[Beas River|Beas]], and [[Chenab River|Chenab]]), plus possibly the [[Kabul River|Kabul]] and the [[Kunar River|Kunar]] rivers.{{sfn|R. C. Majumdar|1981|p=55}}

It is quite possible that Chandragupta passed through the Punjab region during this campaign: his political influence in this region is attested to by the use of the [[Gupta era]] in an inscription found at [[Shorkot]], and by some coins bearing the name "Chandragupta". However, there is no evidence that Chandragupta annexed Punjab to the Gupta Empire, which suggests that Chandragupta's victory in this region was not a decisive one. There is little evidence of Gupta influence in Punjab after his reign: numismatic evidence suggests that Punjab was ruled by petty chieftains after his death. These chieftains bore Indian names, but issued coins that imitate the [[Kidarites|Kidarite]] coinage: they may have been Hinduized foreigners or Indians continuing the usage of foreign-style coinage.{{sfn|R. C. Majumdar|1981|p=57}}