Question

How did Samudra Gupta change policy within India?

Answer 1

Samudra Gupta was elected as emperor by his dad over other contenders and seemingly had to restrain uprisings in his first years of command. On soothing the kingdom, which apparently then stretched from what is presently Allahabad to the boundaries of Bengal, he started a chain of wars of extension from his northern headquarters near what is presently Delhi. In the southern Pallava territory of Kanchipuram, he conquered King Vishnugopa, then returned him and other conquered southern kings to their royalties on a sum of ransom. Several northern kings were removed, though, and their areas combined to the Gupta empire.

The legends state that Samudragupta chose a distinct policy for several regions captured by him as conditions and factors needed such a distinct approach.

In the North, in Ganga-Yamuna doab, he pursued a policy of subjugation and occupation of regions, i.e Digvijaya. He won nine naga kings and consolidated their rules in the Gupta empire.

He then continued to capture the jungle kingdoms of middle India, considered as Atavikarajyas.  The leaders of these tribal states were conquered and seized into slavery.

Answer 2

died 380 CE), regional emperor of India from about 330 to 380 CE. He generally is considered the epitome of an “ideal king” of the “golden age of Hindu history,” as the period of the imperial Guptas (320–510 CE) has often been called. The son of King Chandra Gupta I and the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, he is pictured as a muscular warrior, a poet, and a musician who displayed “marks of hundreds of wounds received in battle.” In many ways he personified the Indian conception of the hero.

Samudra Gupta was chosen as emperor by his father over other contenders and apparently had to repress revolts in his first years of rule. On pacifying the kingdom, which probably then reached from what is now Allahabad (in present-day Uttar Pradesh state) to the borders of Bengal, he began a series of wars of expansion from his northern base near what is now Delhi. In the southern Pallava kingdom of Kanchipuram, he defeated King Vishnugopa, then restored him and other defeated southern kings to their thrones on payment of tribute. Several northern kings were uprooted, however, and their territories added to the Gupta empire. At the height of Samudra Gupta’s power, he controlled nearly all of the valley of the Ganges (Ganga) River and received homage from rulers of parts of east Bengal, Assam, Nepal, the eastern part of the Punjab, and various tribes of Rajasthan. He exterminated 9 monarchs and subjugated 12 others in his campaigns.

From inscriptions on gold coins and on the Ashoka pillar in the fort at Allahabad, Samudra Gupta is shown to have been especially devoted to the Hindu god Vishnu. He revived the ancient Vedic horse sacrifice, probably at the conclusion of his fighting days, and distributed large sums for charitable purposes during these ceremonies. A special gold coin that he issued commemorated this ceremony, while another showed him playing the harp; all were of high gold content and excellent workmanship.

The caste status of Samudra Gupta and his successors remains uncertain. It is reasonable to assume, however, that the Guptas supported caste distinctions, and they may have been responsible for the emergence of Brahmanism as a theological system as well as a code of social behaviour, which was carried into present Hindu society.