Career and achievements of Chandragupta II .
Career and achievements of Chandragupta II .
Do you consider Chandragupta II and Vikramaditya of ancient folk tales as one and the same ?
Political life and achievements of Chandragupta II :-
There is a difference of opinion in historical circles about who was the next successor of Samudragupta. It is known from the play '' Natya Darshan '' written by Ramachandra - Gunachandra that after the death of Samudragupta, his son ascended the throne. Based on '' Devichandraguptam '' written by Visakhadatta, '' Harshacharita '' written by Banabhatta and some copper coins inscribed with the name of Ramgupta, Dr A S Altekar has commented - Ramgupta sat on the throne after Samudragupta, not Chandragupta II. Ramgupta was a weak and incompetent ruler. On this occasion, a Saka king defeated Ramgupta and captured his queen and married her, and she was the mother of Kumaragupta I and Govinda Gupta.
However, historians such as Dr. Majumder has ignored the historicity of the above incident and has said that the foundation of the empire established by Samudragupta was not so weak that his successor would be defeated by a Saka king. Secondly, the inscription of Samudragupta mentions the nomination of Chandragupta II; Thirdly, the ''Debi Chandraguptam'' is not a very reliable book on the history of the Gupta dynasty. Fourthly, there is no mention of Ramgupta anywhere in the inscriptions of the Gupta kings.
Demonstrating the above argument, historians such as Dr. Majumder have called Chandragupta II the next Gupta king after Samudragupta. Chandragupta II was called by various names; Namely - Vikramaditya, Narendrachandra, Singhachandra, Devaraja, Devasri - etc. His mother's name was Dattadevi and the names of two queens were - Dhruvadevi and Kubernag. His two sons and one daughter were named respectively - Kumaragupta, Govind Gupta and Prabhavatigupta.
Marital relations of Chandragupta II:-
Marital relations occupied a prominent place in the foreign policy of the Gupta kings. Chandragupta I increased his status and prestige by establishing marital relations with the Licchavi dynasty. Samudragupta accepted the princesses of the Shakas, Kushanas and other royal families as gifts. Chandragupta II married Kubernag, the princess of the powerful Naga dynasty of Central India, in order to strengthen his empire. He married his daughter Prabhavati to Rudrasena II, the king of the Vakatakas of Vidarbha. The marital relationship with Rudrasena helped Chandragupta II against the Sakas of Gujarat and Saurashtra.
In addition, it is known from the inscription of the Kadamba king Kakutasthavarman of Kuntala that his two daughters were married into the Gupta dynasty. It is known from the writings of Bhoja and Kshemendra that Chandragupta II sent envoys to the king of Kuntala.
Expansion of Gupta Empire under Chandragupta II:-
Chandragupta II was a powerful ruler and a mighty warrior like his father. However, during his reign, there is more evidence of unity than expansion of the empire.
During the reign of Chandragupta II, the eastern border of the empire was almost intact. The kings of Kamarupa, Samudravarman and Balavarman, accepted his submission. In the west, this empire extended up to the Yamuna. Two inscriptions found in Mathura prove that Mathura was part of his empire. However, Dr. Goyal says that Chandragupta II inherited Mathura.
Chandragupta II's most notable military achievement was his conquest of Saurashtra in the west and expansion of his empire to the Arabian Sea. He waged war against the Shaka king Rudrasena III of Saurashtra. At that time, the Shaka kingdom was in internal turmoil. It is known from the Sanchi and Udayagiri inscriptions that Chandragupta II assembled his large army, ministers, generals and allied states in eastern Malabar and advanced against the last Shaka king of western India, Rudrasena III. When Rudrasena III was defeated and killed, his empire became part of the Gupta empire. After eliminating the Shakas, Chandragupta II took the title of "Shakari". As a result of Chandragupta II's conquest of Saurashtra -
(1) The last Shaka dynasty of India came to an end and the Gupta empire expanded to the Arabian Sea in the west.
(2) Gupta India facilitated trade with Western countries.
(3) The Gupta Empire gained control over several ports on the western coast, as well as Gujarat and Saurashtra, which paved the way for the economic prosperity of the empire.
Dr. R.C. Mazumder says that evidence of Chandragupta II's victory over the Sakas is also found in coins. For example, by 397 AD, the circulation of the Sakas' coins ceased and from that time the Gupta coins came into circulation there.
An inscription on an iron pillar found in the village of Mehrauli, near the Qutub Minar in Delhi, states that a king named Chandra defeated the combined forces of the Bengali princes and crossed the Sapta Sindhu. According to historians, the king Chandra and Chandragupta II mentioned in the pillar were the same person and no other prince except him had conquered so many kingdoms in eastern and western India by waging war. Chandragupta probably invaded Bangladesh with the aim of suppressing the rebellion of the small feudal lords of Bangladesh. As a result, the direct rule of the Gupta emperor was established over the entire Bangladesh.
He also waged a war against the Kushans of Afghanistan. However, although he achieved military success, the results or details of his war are not known.
Achievements of Chandragupta II:-
It was during the reign of Chandragupta II that the Gupta Empire reached its peak of glory. Samudragupta had established political unity in India by force of arms, but he could not establish absolute dominance over the whole of India. By destroying the Shaka kingdoms of Punjab and Western India and by establishing marital relations with the contemporary Bakataka, Kadamba and Naga dynasties, Chandragupta II was able to establish a sovereign power in Eastern, Western and North-Western India. The Chinese traveler Fa-Hien has praised his system of government enthusiastically.
Many believe that the legendary Vikramaditya and Chandragupta II were the same person. The legendary Vikramaditya was a "Shakari" and his court was decorated with Navaratnas such as Kalidasa. The historical fact is that Chandragupta II defeated the Shaka-Kshatrapas of Western India. It is also possible that the great poet Kalidasa received patronage in his court; However, there is no evidence that all the Navaratnas were in his court.
It is mentioned in Sanskrit literature that Vikramaditya ruled from his two capitals, Pataliputra and Ujjain. Again, Chandragupta II had Pataliputra as his capital and established a temporary capital at Ujjain to wage war against the Sakas and Kshatrapas. It is said that Chandragupta II introduced a term called ''Vikram Sambat''. But there is no evidence that Chandragupta II introduced it. However, the similarity between the two is so great that it is not difficult to say with certainty - that Chandragupta II himself was the legendary Vikramaditya or that he adopted the title ''Vikramaditya'' in imitation of the legendary story. According to Dr. R.C. Mazumder, the true relationship and identity of Vikrama Sambat and King Vikramaditya is still an unresolved question in Indian history.
Vikrama Sambat:-
The origin of the stories that are prevalent about ''Vikrama Sambat'' and ''Saka Sambat'' is still shrouded in mystery. According to one calculation, the beginning of Vikrama Sambat was in 58 BC. For a long time, the Shakas and Chandragupta II were rivals in Central and Western India. It is historically true that Chandragupta II adopted the title ''Vikramaditya'' and destroyed the Shaka power in Western India. But Chandragupta II had no connection with the Vikramaditya that was prevalent four hundred years ago. However, it is also true that when the folk tale about the Shakari Vikramaditya was circulated in the 8th century AD, Vikrama Sambat became associated with Vikramaditya. Who exactly Vikramaditya was is still not clear. The origin of Vikrama Sambat is still an unresolved problem; although several opinions can be mentioned about it.
According to legend or folklore, there was a king of Ujjain named Vikramaditya who was the originator of Vikrama Sambat. A Jain writer named Martunga says that Vikramaditya retook Ujjain after expelling the Sakas and introduced the Sakas to commemorate the victory. If this folklore is true, it can be said that Vikramaditya lived in 58 BCE. Most historians call this Jain legend a myth. The historical evidence for the claim that there was a king of Ujjain named Vikramaditya and that he introduced a Sambat in 58 BCE is still unknown.
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