Question

Long Type Question:

Describe Samudragupta’s policies towards the

• rulers of Aryavarta
• rulers of Dakshinapatha
• inner circle of neighbouring states, and
• rulers of the outlying areas.

Answer 1

Samudragupta was a great warrior of the Gupta dynasty. He won several battles.

In a prashasti Harishena describes four different kinds of rulers and tells us about Samudragupta’s policies towards them.

• The rulers of Aryavarta. There were altogether nine rulers of Aryavarta. All of them were uprooted and their kingdoms were made a part of Samudragupta’s empire.
• The ruler of Dakshinapatha. There were twelve rulers of Dakshinapatha. All of them were defeated by Samudragupta. These defeated rulers surrendered to Samudragupta. But Samudragupta showed leniency. He allowed them to rule again.
• The inner circle of neighbouring states. The rulers of these states including Assam, Coastal Bengal, Nepal, and a number of gana Sanghain the north­west brought tribute to Samudragupta. They also followed his orders and attended his court.
• The rulers of outlying areas. They were perhaps the descendants of the Kushanas and Shakas and the ruler of Sri Lanka. They submitted to Samudragupta and offered daughters in marriage.