ANCIENT HISTORY
10. GUPTAS , VAKATAKAS AND VARDHANAS
Polity and administration, Economic conditions, Coinage of the Guptas, Land grants, Decline
of urban centres, Indian feudalism, Caste system, Position of women, Education and
educational institutions; Nalanda, Vikramshila and Vallabhi, Literature, scientific literature,
art and architecture.
Guptas
,And Saket
Samudragupta
The most important epigraph of Samudragupta’s reign is the prashasti on the unique Allahabad pillar which was
composed by his court poet, Harisena. The inscription contains 33 lines. The Allahabad inscription, in prose and
verse, eulogizes the achievements, conquests and personality of the Samudragupta. Samudragupta emerges from
the Allahabad prashasti as a restless conqueror.
,Conquests of Samudragupta and the consequent expansion of the Gupta empire
Samudragupta must have inherited an empire that included the Magadha area of Bihar and adjoining areas of Uttar
Pradesh and Bengal, stretching to the Himalayan foothills in the north. His initial military campaigns were directed
towards extending his control over territories lying immediately beyond this area.
(1) Campaigns in Aryavarta and forest regions
(a) Line 14 of the inscription refers to his capturing a king of the Kota family who may be a ruler of upper Ganga
valley.
(b) Line 21 refers to Samudragupta violently exterminating a number of kings of Aryavarta namely Rudradeva,
Matila, Nagadatta, Chandravarman, Ganapatinaga, Nagasena, Achyuta, Nandin, and Balavarman and making all
the kings of the forest his subordinates.
This annexation of the territories of the kings led to an extension of the Gupta empire over the Ganga- Yamuna
valley up to Mathura and Padmavati in the west.
(2) Campaigns in Frontier areas and subordination of sanghas
Line 22 of the prashasti refers to rulers offering tribute, obeying the orders of the Gupta kings, and coming to
perform obeisance before him.
a) They include the frontier kings of Samata, Davaka, Kamarupa, Nepala, and Kartripura.
b) The ganas subordinated in this manner include Malavas, Arjunayanas, Yaudheyas, Madrakas, Abhiras,
Prarjunas, Sanakanithan, kakas and Kharaparikas.
The relationship between the Gupta emperor and all these groups had certain elements of a feudatory relationship.
(3) Campaign in South
Lines 19 and 20 of the inscription refer to Samudragupta having captured and then released several rulers from
Dakshinapath. These include rulers of Kosala, Mahakantara, Kairala, Pishtapura, Kusthalapura, Erandapalla,
Kanchi, Avamukta, Vengi, Palakka, Devarashtra, and all other kings of Dakshinapath.
(4) Others
, Line 23 of the inscription mentions some rulers rendering all kinds of service to Samudragupta, seeking the use of
the Gupta garuda seal and entering into matrimonial alliances with the Guptas of their own accord.
At the end of his reign, Samudragupta’s empire seems to have comprised much northern India, with the exception
of Kashmir, Western Punjab, Rajasthan, Sindh, and Gujarat. In north-west, Samudragupta claims to have impress
his might over the Shakas and The Kushanas. In the south, the kings of the Dakshinapath were humbled but
suffered neither annexation nor a reduction to feudatory status.
It can be concluded that the Guptas did not create an all-India empire under their direct control but through their
successful military campaigns, they did establish a network of political relationships of paramountcy and
subordination that extended over a large part of the subcontinent.
10. GUPTAS , VAKATAKAS AND VARDHANAS
Polity and administration, Economic conditions, Coinage of the Guptas, Land grants, Decline
of urban centres, Indian feudalism, Caste system, Position of women, Education and
educational institutions; Nalanda, Vikramshila and Vallabhi, Literature, scientific literature,
art and architecture.
Guptas
,And Saket
Samudragupta
The most important epigraph of Samudragupta’s reign is the prashasti on the unique Allahabad pillar which was
composed by his court poet, Harisena. The inscription contains 33 lines. The Allahabad inscription, in prose and
verse, eulogizes the achievements, conquests and personality of the Samudragupta. Samudragupta emerges from
the Allahabad prashasti as a restless conqueror.
,Conquests of Samudragupta and the consequent expansion of the Gupta empire
Samudragupta must have inherited an empire that included the Magadha area of Bihar and adjoining areas of Uttar
Pradesh and Bengal, stretching to the Himalayan foothills in the north. His initial military campaigns were directed
towards extending his control over territories lying immediately beyond this area.
(1) Campaigns in Aryavarta and forest regions
(a) Line 14 of the inscription refers to his capturing a king of the Kota family who may be a ruler of upper Ganga
valley.
(b) Line 21 refers to Samudragupta violently exterminating a number of kings of Aryavarta namely Rudradeva,
Matila, Nagadatta, Chandravarman, Ganapatinaga, Nagasena, Achyuta, Nandin, and Balavarman and making all
the kings of the forest his subordinates.
This annexation of the territories of the kings led to an extension of the Gupta empire over the Ganga- Yamuna
valley up to Mathura and Padmavati in the west.
(2) Campaigns in Frontier areas and subordination of sanghas
Line 22 of the prashasti refers to rulers offering tribute, obeying the orders of the Gupta kings, and coming to
perform obeisance before him.
a) They include the frontier kings of Samata, Davaka, Kamarupa, Nepala, and Kartripura.
b) The ganas subordinated in this manner include Malavas, Arjunayanas, Yaudheyas, Madrakas, Abhiras,
Prarjunas, Sanakanithan, kakas and Kharaparikas.
The relationship between the Gupta emperor and all these groups had certain elements of a feudatory relationship.
(3) Campaign in South
Lines 19 and 20 of the inscription refer to Samudragupta having captured and then released several rulers from
Dakshinapath. These include rulers of Kosala, Mahakantara, Kairala, Pishtapura, Kusthalapura, Erandapalla,
Kanchi, Avamukta, Vengi, Palakka, Devarashtra, and all other kings of Dakshinapath.
(4) Others
, Line 23 of the inscription mentions some rulers rendering all kinds of service to Samudragupta, seeking the use of
the Gupta garuda seal and entering into matrimonial alliances with the Guptas of their own accord.
At the end of his reign, Samudragupta’s empire seems to have comprised much northern India, with the exception
of Kashmir, Western Punjab, Rajasthan, Sindh, and Gujarat. In north-west, Samudragupta claims to have impress
his might over the Shakas and The Kushanas. In the south, the kings of the Dakshinapath were humbled but
suffered neither annexation nor a reduction to feudatory status.
It can be concluded that the Guptas did not create an all-India empire under their direct control but through their
successful military campaigns, they did establish a network of political relationships of paramountcy and
subordination that extended over a large part of the subcontinent.
