Chandragupta II (380-415 A.D.)

Chandragupta II (380-415 A.D.)

Samudragupta was succeeded by his son Chandragupta II
Vikramaditya. But according to some scholars, the immediate
successor of Samudragupta was Ramagupta, the elder brother of
Chandragupta II. But there is little historical proof for this.
Chandragupta II inherited the military genius of his father and
extended the Gupta Empire by his own conquests.
He achieved this by a judicious combination of the policy of
diplomacy and warfare. Through matrimonial alliances he
strengthened his political power. He married Kuberanaga, a Naga
princess of central India. He gave his daughter Prabhavati in marriage
to the Vakataka prince Rudrasena II. The political importance of
this marriage lies in the fact that the Vakatakas occupied a
geographically strategic position in the Deccan. This alliance served
a useful purpose when Chandragupta-II undertook his campaign in
western India against the Sakas.

Conquest of Western India

The greatest of the military achievements of Chandragupta II

was his war against the Saka satraps of western India. Rudrasimha

III, the last ruler of the Saka satrap was defeated, dethroned and

killed. His territories in western Malwa and the Kathiawar Peninsula

were annexed into the Gupta Empire. After this victory he performed

the horse sacrifice and assumed the title Sakari, meaning, ‘destroyer

of Sakas’. He also called himself Vikramaditya

As a result of the conquest of western India, the western

boundary of the Empire reached to the Arabian Sea gaining access

to Broach, Sopara, Cambay and other sea ports. This enabled the

Gupta empire to control trade with the western countries. Ujjain

became an important commercial city and soon became the

alternative capital of the Guptas. The fine cotton clothes of Bengal,Indigo from Bihar, silk from Banares, the scents of the Himalayas

and the sandal and species from the south were brought to these

ports without any interference. The western traders poured Roman

gold into India in return for Indian products. The great wealth of the

Gupta Empire was manifest in the variety of gold coins issued by

Chandragupta II.

Other Conquests

Chandragupta II defeated a confederacy of enemy chiefs in

Vanga. He also crossed the river Sindh and conquered Bactria. The

Kushanas ruling in this region were subdued by him. With these

conquests, the Gupta empire extended in the west as far as western

Malwa, Gujarat and Kathiawar. In the northwest it extended beyond

the Hindukush up to Bactria. In the east, it included even eastern

Bengal and in the south the Narmada river formed the boundary.

Fahien’s Visit

The famous Chinese pilgrim, Fahien visited India during the

reign of Chandragupta II. Out of his nine years stay in India, he

spent six years in the Gupta empire. He came to India by the land

route through Khotan, Kashgar, Gandhara and Punjab. He visited

Peshawar, Mathura, Kanauj, Sravasti, Kapilavastu, Kusinagara,

Pataliputra, Kasi and Bodh Gaya among other places. He returned

by the sea route, visiting on the way Ceylon and Java. The main

purpose of his visit was to see the land of the Buddha and to collect

Buddhist manuscripts from India. He stayed in Pataliputra for three

years studying Sanskrit and copying Buddhist texts.

Fahien provides valuable information on the religious, social

and economic condition of the Gupta empire. According to him,

Buddhism was in a flourishing condition in the northwestern India

but in the Gangetic valley it was in a state of neglect. He refers to

the Gangetic valley as the ‘land of Brahmanism’. Fahien mentionsthe unsatisfactory state of some of the Buddhist holy places like

Kapilavastu and Kusinagara. According to him the economic

condition of the empire was prosperous.

Although his account is valuable in many respects, he did not

mention the name of Chandragupta II. He was not interested in

political affairs. His interest was primarily religion. He assessed

everything from the Buddhist angle. His observations on social

conditions are found to be exaggerated. Yet, his accounts are useful

to know the general condition of the country.