7.2 Samudragupta

. Samudragupta Chandragupta I appointed his son Samudragupta to succeed him in CE. A lengthy eulogy on him, inscribed on an Ashokan pillar, suggests that he was claiming the legacy of the Mauryan kingdom. This inscription gives an impressive list of kings and regions that succumbed to Samudragupta’s march across the country. Four northern kings were conquered mainly in the area around Delhi and western Uttar Pradesh. The kings of the south and the east were forced to pay homage, and from the places mentioned, it appears that Samudragupta campaigned down the eastern coast as far as Kanchipuram. Nine kings of the western half of the Ganges Plain were violently uprooted. The forest kings (tribal chiefs of Central India and the Deccan) were forced to pay tribute. The kings of Assam and Bengal in eastern India and those of small kingdoms in Nepal and the Punjab also paid tribute by submission. Nine Republics in Rajasthan, including the Malavas and Yaudheyas, were forced to accept Gupta’s suzerainty. In addition, foreign kings, such as the Daivaputra Shahanushahi (a Kushana title), the Sakas and the king of Lanka also paid tribute, as mentioned in the eulogy. Allahabad Pillar Historians call Samudragupta the Napoleon of India. This statement is undeniable. The southern kings paid tribute, while the northern kingdoms were annexed to the Gupta Empire under Samudragupta. His direct control was confined to the Ganges valley, XI History - Lesson - - The Guptas BAY OF BENGAL ARABIAN SEA I N D I A N O C E A N Map not to scale N S W E L a k s h a d w e e p i s l a n d s ( I N D I A ) A n d a m a n a n d n i c o b a r i s l a n d s ( I N D I A )