Question

Review the imperial policy of samudragupta.

Answer 1

Answer:

Chandragupta I was succeeded by his son Samudragupta (A.D. 335–375).Samudragupta was among the greatest rules of Gupta empire and it was under his rule that Gupta period came to be called the Golden Age. Samudragupta followed a policy of conquest and enormously enlarged his kingdom. His achievements are recorded in a long inscription engraved on a pillar at Allahabad ,written in pure Sanskrit by his court poet Harisena. It enumerates the people and the regions conquered by Samudragupta.

The inscriptions state that Samudragupta adopted a different policy for different areas conquered by him as situations and circumstances required such a different approach.

In the North, in Ganga-Yamuna doab, he followed a policy of conquest and annexation of territories, i.e Digvijaya. He defeated nine naga rulers and incorporated their kingdoms in the Gupta empire.

He then proceeded to conquer the forest kingdoms of central India, mentioned as atavikarajyas. The rulers of these tribal areas were defeated and forced into servitude.

Then Samudragupta proceeded to South along the eastern coast conquering twelve kings on the way and reached as far as Kanchi near Chennai. In the South he followed Dharmavijaya, i.e. Conquest but no annexation. Therefore instead of annexing their kingdoms, he liberated and reinstated these kings on their thrones. This policy for south India was adopted because he knew that it was difficult to keep them under control once he returned to his capital in north. So it was enough for him that these states recognised his rule and power and paid him tributes and presents..

Explanation: