History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer
The significance of the policy of matrimonial alliances for the expansion and consolidation of the Gupta empire
- UPSC 1986
- Guptas, Vakatakas and Vardhanas
Gupta expansion is usually read through Samudragupta's conquests, yet marriage diplomacy did work the sword could not — converting force into legitimacy and buying reach into the Deccan no campaign achieved. Across three generations, matrimonial alliance was used as a deliberate instrument of statecraft to acquire status, absorb rivals, and project power far beyond the…
You are reading the opening of the model answer. The full answer is part of the History Optional PYQ Master Pack.
What the full answer covers
- Founding legitimacy: the Lichchhavi connection
- Samudragupta: marriage as a category of subordination
- Chandragupta II: securing the Deccan through marriage rather than the sword
- What marriage achieved that conquest could not
Unlock this answer and 1,350+ more
- 1,350+ solved UPSC History Optional PYQs from 1985 to 2025, Paper-1 and Paper-2
- Topic-wise across Ancient, Medieval, Modern, Post-Independence and World History
- Model answers with a clear structure and historian citations
- Map section solutions included, at no extra cost
- Read online on lotusarise.com, plus PDF download
₹1,499₹2,50040% off
Get History Optional PYQ Master Pack @ ₹1,499 →
One-time payment · No subscription · Instant access · UPI, cards, RuPay
See every Guptas, Vakatakas and Vardhanas question (61 solved) →Already enrolled? Log in
