The famous Iron Pillar, now in the Qutub Minar complex at Mehrauli (Delhi), was set up in the reign of:

The Iron Pillar of Delhi, now standing in the Qutub Minar complex at Mehrauli, was set up during the reign of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya), in the late 4th or early 5th century CE.

About the Iron Pillar:

• It is about 7.2 metres (23 feet 8 inches) high, with about 1 metre below the ground.
• It weighs more than 6 tonnes.
• It is made of almost pure wrought iron (about 98 per cent iron).
• It has remained rust-free for about 1,600 years, which has amazed scientists.
• Scientists explain this by the high phosphorus content of the iron and the formation of a thin protective layer (of a compound called "misawite") on its surface.
• It was made by forge-welding many pieces of hot iron together, a remarkable achievement in metallurgy.

Its inscription:

• It has a Sanskrit inscription in the Gupta Brahmi script.
• It praises a king named "Chandra", who conquered the Vangas (Bengal) in the east and the Vahlikas (beyond the Indus) in the west.
• Most historians identify "Chandra" with Chandragupta II.
• The inscription says that the pillar was set up as a "Vishnudhvaja" (standard of Vishnu) on a hill called "Vishnupada".

Its original location:

• It was probably originally set up at Udayagiri, near Vidisha (Madhya Pradesh), or at another site.
• It was brought to Delhi later, possibly by the Tomara king Anangpal in the 11th century, or by Iltutmish in the 13th century.
• It now stands in the courtyard of the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque.
• Its top originally had an image of Garuda.
• A popular belief says that a person who can encircle it with their arms while standing with their back to it will have their wish fulfilled; a fence now prevents this.

About the Qutub complex:

It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1993).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Ashoka's pillars were made of polished sandstone.
• ✗Skandagupta set up the Bhitari pillar.
• ✗Prithviraj Chauhan was a later Rajput ruler of Delhi.