Military Campaigns of Samudragupta|Conquest of Samudragupta or Achievement of Samudragupta
After Chandragupta, his son Samudragupta (AD 325–375) became king of the Gupta dynasty. He established a vast kingdom by conquering different battles and strengthened the Gupta dynasty for centuries. On account of his immense talent, Chandragupta chose his successor in his own life. Samudragupta was an able emperor, skilled commander and a man of great personality. He was a great conqueror; hence, He is known as the Napoleon of India. It is popularly said that Ashoka is famous for his peace and non-violence while Samudragupta is famous because of his victories.
Conquests of Samudragupta
Samudragupta, having established political unity, united entire India under one umbrella. He not only conquered North India but also hoisted his flag of victory over South India including some principalities of abroad. His victories are described as follows:
First expedition of Aryavarta:
The land between the Himalayas and Vindhyas was called Aryavarta. It is known that Samudragupta launched victorious expeditions twice over Aryavarta. In his first expedition, he vanquished the following kings:
• Acyuta: The first king Samudragupta defeated in Aryavarta was Acyuta. He was the king of Ahichchhatra. His kingdom was around modern Ram Nagar in Barelli.
• Nagasena: It is known from the coins of Naga dynasty of Narwar, situated in Gwalior that he was the king of Naga dynasty and his capital was Padmavati. In Prayaga Prashasti, the letters before ‘ga’ has been destroyed but the letter ‘ga’ is readable. Perhaps he might have been the ruler Ganapatinaga.
• Kotakulaja: Samudragupta defeated this Kota king as well.
But, several scholars have expressed their views regarding the first Aryavarta expedition. Some scholars consider that the first Aryavarta battle was not his expedition of victory but a defensive battle.
Second expedition of Aryavarta:
In his second expedition, he defeated many
kings. Some of them are described as follows:
(a) Rudradeva: King Rudradeva was king Rudrasena I of Kaushambi.
(b) Matila: A coin has been found in Bulandashahara, which contains the symbol
of Matil and Naga. Probably he was a king of the Naga dynasty.
(c) Nagadatta: He was a king of Mathura and belonged to the Naga dynasty.
(d) Chandraverma: There is a dispute regarding this entry. Some consider him
the king of Pusakarana while others consider him the king of Eastern Punjab.
(e) Ganapatinaga: He was a ruler of Vidisha and belonged to the Naga dynasty.
(f) Balaverma: He was a predecessor of king Bhaskarverma of Kamrupa.
(g) Nandi: It is mentioned in the Puranas that Shishunanda Shivanandi was the
King of Central India and belonged to the Naga dynasty.
It is mentioned that Samudragupta defeated all the dynasties of North India.
He annexed all these kingdoms to his empire.
He made all the kings of vana (forest) his slaves. When he proceeded to conquer South India after his conquest of North India, he subjugated all Atavika
kings lying on his way to southern conquest. It is assumed that Atavika state was spread from Gazipur to Jabalpur.
South expedition-
Samudragupta conquered south after his first expedition of Aryavarta. He defeated
twelve kings of the south and thereafter he returned their kingdoms and made them
his loyalists. Thus, on one hand, these kings were independent while on the other,they accepted the suzerainty of Samudragupta. Samudragupta’s conquest had three
features: to imprison enemies, to free them and to return the kingdoms of the defeated
king after the acceptance of conqueror’s suzerainty. These kings were as follows:
• Mahendra of Kaushal:
Mahendra was the king of Kaushal. Modern districts of Raipur, Sambhalpur and Vilaspur were included in it.
• Vyaghraraja of Mahakantara:
Vyaghraraja was the king of Mahakantara,
which was the forest area of Orissa.
• Mantaraja of Koral:
It was the central part of Orissa and Tamil Nadu and
the king of this area was Mantaraja.
• Mahendragiri of Pishtapur:
Pishtapur in Godavari district is modern
Pithapurama.
• Swamidatta of Kottura:
Kottura is equated with Coimbatore.
• Daman of Erandapalla:
Erandapalla is considered as Erandola of Khanadesh.Its relationship is also established with Erandapalla near Chinkokole on the
coast of Orissa.
• Vishnugopa of Kanchi:
It was the capital of Pallava. Modern Kanjeevaram
near Madras is Kanchi.
• Nilaraja of Avamukta:
It was a small kingdom in the neighbourhood of
Kanchi and Vengi states. Its king Nilaraja was a member of the Pallava confederacy.
• Hastivarman of Vengi:
It was in existence near Peduvengi in Ellore. Its
king belonged to Shalankayana dynasty.
• Ugrasena of Palakka:
It was near Palakollu on the coast of Godavari.
• Dhananjaya of Kusthalapur:
Kuhalur, situated in Arakar district, was
Kusthalapur.
• Kubera of Devarashtra:
It was Yellamanchili in AndhraPradesh. Some
historians believe that southern rulers formed a confederation against Samudragupta and halted Samudragupta near a famous lake, known as
Kolekha. Samudragupta conquered this confederation.
Subjugation of frontier states:
It is clear that the frontier states, having seen the conquest-expedition of Samudragupta, accepted his suzerainty. These states were:Samatata, Davaka, Kamrupa, Nepal and Karttripur.There were nine republics on the western frontier which accepted the suzerainty of Samudragupta. These were Malava, Arjunayana, Yodheya, Madraka, Abhira, Prarjuna, Sanakanika, Kaka and Kharaparika.
Policy towards the frontier states:
Samudragupta adopted three kinds of policy
against these states, such as Sarvakara, i.e., these states accepted to pay all types of tributes, Ajnakarana, i.e., these states carried out the order of Samudragupta,
and Pranamakarana, i.e., they appeared individually and greeted the king.
Conquest of foreign states
Some of the foreign states, such as Daivaputra, Shahi, Shanushahi, Shaka, Murunda,Saimhal, etc., were also conquered by Samudragupta. They accepted defeat and offered their daughters to him.
Extent of Samudragupta’s kingdom
Samudragupta’s empire extended from the Himalayas in the north to Vindhyas in the south and from Bay of Bengal in the east to Eastern Malawa in the west. He Had indirect influence over Gujarat, Sindh, Western Rajaputana, West Punjab and the frontier states of Kashmir, and he had friendly relations with Saimhala and the other islands. Samudragupta adopted the policy of expansion of his empire. The
main aim of his conquest was to hoist his flag of victory.