Sri Gupta is generally regarded as the first king of the Gupta dynasty. He appears in later Gupta genealogical traditions as the dynasty’s earliest known ruler, probably reigning in northern India during the late 3rd century CE.
Evidence about Sri Gupta is limited. The Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, writing centuries later, described a king named Che-li-ki-to, widely identified with Sri Gupta, who built a temple for Chinese pilgrims near a place called Mrigaśikhāvana. Later Gupta records place Sri Gupta before his son Ghatotkacha and grandson Chandragupta I.
Sri Gupta’s title was Maharaja, suggesting a regional monarch rather than the ruler of a large empire. Chandragupta I was the first Gupta ruler to use Maharajadhiraja and is often called the real founder of Gupta imperial power. That distinction can cause confusion, but it does not displace Sri Gupta as the dynasty’s generally accepted first king.