Samudra Gupta 335-375 CE


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Samudra Gupta 335-375 CE

Samudra Gupta (335-375 CE): Samudragupta, the second emperor of the imperial Gupta Dynasty, was one of the greatest monarchs in the Indian history. Besides being a great warrior, a determined conqueror and a generous ruler, he was also a devoted fan of arts and culture, particularly poetry and music. Samudra Gupta conquered and occupied vast territories including present-day Delhi, western Uttar Pradesh, Nepal, Assam and Bengal. Even parts of Punjab and Afghanistan came under his rule. Samudra Gupta was not only a great conqueror, he was also an accomplished veena player and a poet.

Samudragupta’s Prashasti: The poet praised the king in glowing terms- as a warrior, as a king who won victories in battle, who was learned and the best of poets. He is also described as equal to the gods. The prashasti was composed in very long sentences. Harishena describes four different kinds of rulers, and tells us about Samudragupta’s policies towards them.

1. The rulers of Aryavarta, the area shaded in green on the map. Here there were nine rulers who were uprooted, and their kingdoms were made a part of Samudragupta’s empire.

2. The rulers of Dakshinapatha. Here there were twelve rulers, some of whose capitals are marked with red dots on the map. They surrendered to Samudragupta after being defeated and the then allowed them to rule again.

3. The inner circle of neighboring states, including Assam, coastal Bengal, Nepal and a number of Gana Sanghas ( remember chapter 6 ) in the north- west, marked in purple on the map. They brought tribute, followed his orders, and attended his court.

The rulers of the outlying areas, marked in blue of the map, perhaps the descendants of the Kushanas and Shakas, and the ruler of Sri Lanka, who submitted to him and offered daughters in marriage. Ujjain and Pataliputra (Patna) were important centres of the Gupta rulers.

Sample Questions
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Question : 1

Harisena Prashasti refers to the might of  ___________________

Right Option : B
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Question : 2

'Prashasti' is a word from which language?

Right Option : A
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Question : 3

Who was Samudra gupta?

Right Option : B
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