The Early History of the Deccan (Parts I–XI) v1.c8.s4.5

v1.c8.s4.5

The period between *c.* A.D. 325 and 360, which included the closing years of the rule of Pravarasena I and practically the whole of the reign of Rudrasena I, is very important in the history both of the Deccan and of Northern India. It was during this period that the Vākāṭakas lost and the Guptas acquired imperial status among the kings of India. To the end of *c.* A.D. 335 Pravarasena I was ruling as a *samrāṭ* or emperor; but neither his successor Rudrasena I nor any one among his descendants is ever given the title of an emperor even in the official records of the Vākāṭaka dynasty. Dr. S. K. Aiyangar has therefore argued with great plausibility that the dropping of the imperial title by Rudrasena must have been due to his having received a severe defeat from a neighbour who claimed that title for himself. And this neighbour could have been no other than Chandragupta I or his son Samudragupta, both of whom assume the title Mahārājādhirāja, King of kings, which had not been employed by earlier Gupta rulers. The rise of Chandragupta to the imperial position must be vitally connected with the fall of Rudrasena from that high status. The Vākāṭakas were the only obvious obstacle in the schemes for the imperial expansion of the Guptas, and Chandragupta must have gained the upper hand either by actual victories in the field or by slow expansion.¹