Saśigupta

Who is Saśigupta?

Saśigupta was an historical personage of considerable eminence hailing from the Paropamisadaen region i.e. region lying between Hindukush and Indus. His name appears twice in Arrian's Anabasis and once in Historiae Alexendri Magni by Curtius. The name Saśigupta literally means "moon-protected"---the "Saśi" part of the name being equivalent to Chandra or the moon. Though many scholars write that Saśigupta was a ruler of some frontier hill state south of Hindukush, it is however, more appropriate to call him a military adventurer or a corporation leader coming from the warlike background of the fierce Kshatriya clan of the Asvakas from Massaga or Aornos or some other adjacent territory of the Asvakas. No ancient evidence is available which attests Sasigupta's royal background prior to his appointment by Alexander as ruler of the Asvakas of the Aornos country. Scholars are also at variance on the identity of Saśigupta. While some identify him with Chandragupta Maurya, the others say that Saśigupta and Chandragupta are two distinct historical personages —-- one from the north-west and the other from eastern India.