History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Naga–Vakataka Imperial Period c18.s1.1

c18.s1.1

§ 205. The military achievements of Samudra Gupta are well known and need not be commented upon here. It should be noted that he did not over-do militarism. He was fully conscious of the value of a policy of peace. After his second campaign he never undertook any expedition, but gained his object through diplomacy and peace by bringing the Shāhānushāhi, the Hill States, the Republics, and the Colonies within the fold of his empire and the sphere of his imperial influence. His possession of an enormous quantity of gold which Northern India had not known before was the result of the inclusion of Southern India and the Colonies in his empire. The contact with the South was kept up through the Vākāṭaka House, which was soon restored, though in the Allahabad inscription the Vākāṭaka country is treated as being part of his Central Provinces and the survey of the Republics is made as if sitting at Gwalior or Eran. In line 23 of the Allahabad inscription he says that he was restoring old royal families and in line 26 he says that his officers were busy in restoring the wealth of various kings who had been conquered by the strength of his arms. Pṛithivīsheṇa I undoubtedly was one of those. Gold from the South and Further India kept on pouring in even in the next reign. If Samudra Gupta excelled Rāma and Pṛithu in giving gold coins as he says in his Eran inscription, his son certainly excelled all figures in past history in distributing gold amongst his subjects. There is no exaggeration in this. We have the testimony of Chandra Gupta II's daughter that her father gave away several thousands of crores of [Gupta] sovereigns¹, which is again confirmed by Yuan Chwang. Amoghavarsha in his inscription admits that the Gupta king was the greatest donor of the Kali Age. This became possible on account of the beneficial foresight of Samudra Gupta. His policy of peace and reconciliation turned Prithivishena I into a faithful ally who conquered back the Kuntala or Kadamba king. The latter had seriously threatened Samudra Gupta's supremacy in the South, which probably led to his putting off the Aśvamedha or to its repetition mentioned by Prabhāvati Guptā.¹ His colonial policy and the control of the port of Tāmralipti must have been a great source of revenue. The eastern trade with China and Indonesia was brisk at the time and was probably of greater importance than the Western trade. Both Samudra Gupta and his son Chandra Gupta emphasised their sea-frontiers, which alone they recognised on their three sides as they recognised the Himavat [Tibet] to be their northern frontier. The people were as lightly taxed as possible in both reigns, which Fa-Hien for the latter reign has particularly noticed. Samudra Gupta truly became Dhanada to his subjects. People could well afford to found big hospitals, and the peace of Samudra Gupta could very well enable Chandra Gupta to abolish capital punishment.