History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Naga–Vakataka Imperial Period c16.s1.29

c16.s1.29

115. Chandra Gupta I having his caste against him and being somewhat of a usurper, was disliked by the Magadhans of his day, particularly as he failed to adapt himself to the traditional Hindu way of government. He showed a hostile, repressive attitude to the people of Magadha. The Kaumudīmahotsava records that Chaṇḍa-sena¹ had put leading citizens into prison. The people of Magadha looked down upon him as something like a parricide. Chandra Gupta I had thus several elements arrayed against him. A cry was raised that he was not a Kshatriya, he had practically killed his aged adoptive father on the battlefield, he had called in the aid of the hereditary enemies of Magadha—the Lichchhavis, he had married a lady who was neither a Magadhan nor a Brahmanical Hindu. To this we should add that he had defied the imperial authority of the Brahmin Emperor Pravarasena I.