Early life
Chandragupta I, a Magadha king, and was the third ruler of Gupta Dynasty married a Lichhavi princess, Kumardevi which enabled him to gain a hold over the Ganges river-basin, the main source of North Indian commerce. He ruled for about ten years in north-central India with his son as an apprentice in the capital of Pataliputra, near the modern day Patna in Bihar state of India.
After his death, his son Samudragupta started to rule the kingdom and did not rest until he conquered almost the whole of India. His reigning period may be described as a vast military campaign. To begin with he attacked the neighbouring kingdoms of Ahichchhatra (Rohilkhand) and Padmavati (in Central India). He conquered the whole of Bengal, some Kingdoms in Nepal and he made Assam pay him tribute. He absorbed some tribal states like the Malvas, the Yaudheyas, the Arjunayanas, the Abhiras and the Maduras. The rulers of what is now Afghanistan and Kashmir were also added to the empire.
Samudragupta's Conquests
The beginning of Samudragupta's reign was marked by the defeat of his immediate neighbours, Achyuta, ruler of Ahichchhatra, and Nagasena. Following this Samudragupta began a campaign against the kingdoms to the south. This southern campaign took him south along the bay of Bengal. He passed through the forest tracts of Madhya Pradesh, crossed the Odisha coast, marched through Ganjam, Visakhapatnam, Godavari, Krishna and Nellore districts and may have reached as far as Kancheepuram. Here, however, he did not attempt to maintain direct control. After capturing his enemies he reinstated them as tributary kings. This act prevented the Gupta Empire from attaining the almost immediate demise of the Maurya Empire and is a testament to his abilities as a statesman. His ambition was inspired by becoming "Raja Chakravarti" or greatest emperor and "Ekrat", undisputed ruler. In the North, he adopted the policy of "Digvijaya" which meant the conquest and annexation of all territories. In the South, his policy was "Dharma Vijaya" which meant conquest but not annexation.
Samudragupta was chosen as emperor by his father over other contenders and apparently had to repress revolts in the early years of his rule. On pacifying the kingdom, which probably then reached from what is now Allahabad (in present-day Uttar Pradesh state) to the borders of Bengal, he began a series of wars of expansion from his northern base near what is now Delhi. In the southern Pallava kingdom of Kanchipuram, he defeated King Vishnugopa, then restored him and other defeated southern kings to their thrones on payment of tribute. Several northern kings were uprooted, however, and their territories added to the Gupta empire. At the height of Samudragupta’s power, he controlled nearly all of the valley of the Ganges (Ganga) River and received homage from rulers of parts of east Bengal, Assam, Nepal, the eastern part of the Punjab, and various tribes of Rajasthan. He exterminated 9 monarchs and subjugated 12 others in his campaigns. That Samudragupta was a brilliant commander and a great conqueror is proved by Harisena's description of his conquests. He mentions that Samudragaupta exterminated nine north Indian states, subdued eithteen Atavika kingdoms near Bajalpur and Chhota Nagpur, and in his blitz-like campaign humbled the pride of twelve South Indian Kings, Nine border tribes, and five frontier states of Smatata, Devaka, Karupa, Nepal and Krtripur 'paid taxes, obeyed orders and performed obeisance in person to the great Samudragupta'. The conquests made him the lord-paramount of India. Samudragupta is reputed to have never been defeated in any battle. His Eran inscription also emphasizes on his being 'invincible' in battle.
The details of Samudragupta's campaigns are too numerous to recount (these can be found in the first reference below). However it is clear that he possessed a powerful navy in addition to his army. In addition to tributary kingdoms, many other rulers of foreign states like the Saka and Kushan kings accepted the suzerainty of Samudragupta and offered him their services. At first he subjugated the rulers of Western UP and Delhi and brought them under his direct rule. Next, frontier states of Kamrupa(Assam),Bengal in the East and Punjab in the West, were made to accept his suzerainty. He also brought the forest tribes of the Vindhya region under his rule.
Vedic Religion and Philanthropy
Samudragupta was the upholder of Brahmanical religion. Because of his services to the cause of religion the Allahabad inscription mentions the qualifying title of 'Dharma-prachir bandhu' for him. But he was not intolerant towards other religions. His patronage to Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu and the acceptance of the request of Mahendra, the king of Ceylon to build a Buddhist monastery at Bodh Gaya amply prove that he respected other religions. His Ashvamedha types of coins together with other coins bearing the figures of Lakshmi and Ganga together with her 'vahana'(transport) makara (crocodile) testify his faith in Brahmanical religions. His tolerance for people of religions other than his own won him the title 'Anukampavan' (full of compassion) in the Allahabad inscription. He has been described 'as the giver of many hundreds of thousands of cows'.
Succession
Samudragupta ruled for 40 years and was succeeded by one of his sons who was selected as the most worthy of the crown. First he crowned his elder son but then he was killed by his brother Chandragupta and a new ruler came into power. This ruler is known as Chandragupta II who had the title of Vikramaditya.
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