Chandragupta II (very often referred to as
VikramadityaVikramaditya was a legendary king of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity. During his reign, India ruled most of Asia from the Eastern Arabia to China and North Korea and from Mongolia to Indonesia. He also imparted Vedic rituals to the Middle East and to North Asia...
or
Chandragupta Vikramaditya) was one of the most powerful emperors of the
Gupta empireThe Gupta Empire was an Ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty began the Classical Age in the Middle kingdoms of India...
. His rule spanned 375-413/15 CE, during which the Gupta Empire achieved its zenith. The period of prominence of the Gupta dynasty is very often referred to as the
Golden Age of
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. Chandragupta was the son of the previous ruler,
SamudraguptaSamudragupta, ruler of the Gupta Empire , and successor to Chandragupta I, is considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history, and sometimes also called the 'Napoleon of India' . His name is taken to be a title acquired by his conquests...
. He attained success by pursuing both a favorable marital alliance and an aggressive expansionist policy. In this his father and grandfather set the precedent.
Biography
Not much is known about the personal details of the great king. His mother, Datta Devi, was the chief queen of Samudragupta. After Samudragupta's death, Ramgupta his brother took over the throne and also married Chandragupta's fiance 'Dhruvaswamini by force. The most widely accepted details have been built upon the plot of the play 'Devi-Chandraguptam' of Vishakadatta. The play is now lost but fragments have been preserved in other works (Abhinava-bharati, Sringara-prakasha, Natya-darpana, Nataka-lakshana Ratna-kosha). There even exists an Arabic work
Mujmalu-t-TawarikhMajmal al-Tawarikh wa al-Qasas was a book written in Persia in 1126CE by an unknown author. The title means "The Collection of histories and Tales"....
which tells a similar tale of a king whose name appears to be a corruption of 'Vikramaditya'.He holds a semi-mythical status in India. The most popular native calendar which happens to be a lunar calendar goes after his name. It is widely believed that the great poet in Sanskrit, Mahakavi Kalidasa was one of the jewels of his royal court.
The fragment from Natya-darpana mentions the king
RamaguptaRamagupta was a legendary king of India, a ruler of the Gupta empire and the elder son and successor of Samudragupta. The actual existence of this king is in some dispute....
, the elder brother of Chandragupta, surrendering his queen Dhruvaswamini to the
SakaThe Saka were a Scythian tribe, rendered in Greek as , in Chinese as , and in Sanskrit as , referring to those Scythians who founded the Indo-Scythian kingdom in the 2nd century BC.-Classical accounts:Modern historical accounts of the Indo-Scythian wars often assume that the Scythian...
king of the
Western KshatrapasThe Western Satraps, or Western Kshatrapas were Saka rulers of the western and central part of India...
Rudrasimha IIIRudrasimha III was the last ruler of the Western Satraps in India, in the 4th century CE.A fragment from the Natya-darpana mentions the Gupta king Ramagupta, the elder brother of Chandragupta II, decided to expand his kingdom by attacking the Western Satraps in Gujarat. The campaign soon took a...
, after a defeat at the Saka king's hands. To avoid the ignominy the Guptas decide to send Madhavasena, a courtesan and a beloved of Chandragupta, disguised as the queen. Chandragupta changes the plan and himself goes to the Saka King disguised as the queen. He then kills Rudrasimha and later his brother
RamaguptaRamagupta was a legendary king of India, a ruler of the Gupta empire and the elder son and successor of Samudragupta. The actual existence of this king is in some dispute....
. Dhruvaswamini is then married to Chandragupta.
We do not know what liberties Vishakadatta took with the incidents, but Dhruvadevi was indeed the king's chief queen as seen in the Vaisali terracotta seal that calls her ‘Mahadevi’ Dhruvasvamini. The Bilsad pillar inscription of their son
Kumara Gupta IKumaragupta I ' was ruler of the Gupta Empire from 415-455 CE. Like his father and predecessor, Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta was an able ruler. He retained, intact, the vast empire, which extended from North Bengal to Kathiawar and from the Himalayas to the Narmada. He ruled efficiently for nearly...
also refers to her as Mahadevi Dhruvadevi. A Ramagupta too is mentioned in inscriptions on Jain figures in the District Archaeological Museum,
VidishaVidisha or Besnagar or old name Bhelsa is a city in the central Indian state Madhya Pradesh, near its capital Bhopal. It is the administrative headquarters of Vidisha District.-History:...
and some copper coins found at Vidisha.
The fact that the king and Dhruvadevi are the protagonists of Vishakadatta's play indicates that marrying his widowed sister-in-law was not given any significance by the playwright. Later Hindus did not view such a marriage with favour and some censure of the act is found in the Sanjan
copperplate inscriptionIndian copper plate inscriptions play an important role in the reconstruction of the history of India. Prior to their discovery, historians were forced to rely on ambiguous archaeological findings such as religious text of uncertain origin and interpretations of bits of surviving traditions,...
of
AmoghavarshaAmoghavarsha I , C.E. was a Rashtrakuta king, the greatest ruler of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and one of the great kings of India. Historians have compared him to the legendary Emperor Ashoka for his religious temperament and love of peace...
I and in the Sangali and Cambay plates of the
RashtrakutaThe Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal Indian dynasty ruling large parts of southern, central and northern India between the sixth and the tenth centuries. During this period they ruled as several closely related, but individual clans...
king Govinda IV.
The
AllahabadAllahabad Allahabad Allahabad , is a city in north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and administrative headquarters of Allahabad District. The ancient name of the city is Aggra (Sanskrit for "place of sacrifice") and is believed to be the spot where Brahma offered his first...
pillar inscription mentions the marriage of Chandragupta with a Naga princess Kuberanaga. A pillar from Mathura referring to Chandragupta (Candragupta) has recently been dated to 388 CE.
Chandragupta's daughter Prabhavati, by his other queen Kuberanaga, a
NagaThe Nagas are a group of tribal people inhabiting the Indian state of Nagaland, parts of Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and the northwestern hill tracks of Myanmar such as the Sagaing Division. The numerous Naga languages belong to the Tibeto-Burman languages group of the Sino-Tibetan...
princess, was married to the powerful
VakatakaThe Vakataka was an Indian dynasty which ruled parts of today's Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh from the third century to fifth century. They are the most important follow-up dynasty of the Satavahanas, contemporaneous with the Guptas...
king Rudrasena II.
The Empire
His greatest victory was his victory over the Shaka-Kshatrapa dynasty and annexation of their kingdom in
GujaratGujarat is the westernmost state in India. It is home to the Gujarati speaking people of India. The state encompasses major sites of the Indus Valley Civilization such as Lothal and Dholavira. Gujarat played an important role in the economic history of India throughout the history of India...
, by defeating their last ruler
Rudrasimha IIIRudrasimha III was the last ruler of the Western Satraps in India, in the 4th century CE.A fragment from the Natya-darpana mentions the Gupta king Ramagupta, the elder brother of Chandragupta II, decided to expand his kingdom by attacking the Western Satraps in Gujarat. The campaign soon took a...
.
His son-in-law Rudrasena II died fortuitously after a very short reign in 390 AD, following which Prabhavatigupta ruled as a regent on behalf of his two sons. During this twenty-year period the Vakataka realm was practically a part of the
Gupta empireThe Gupta Empire was an Ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. Founded by Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty began the Classical Age in the Middle kingdoms of India...
. The geographical location of the Vakataka kingdom allowed Chandragupta to take the opportunity to defeat the Western Kshatrapas once for all. Many historians refer to this period as the
VakatakaThe Vakataka was an Indian dynasty which ruled parts of today's Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh from the third century to fifth century. They are the most important follow-up dynasty of the Satavahanas, contemporaneous with the Guptas...
-Gupta age.
Chandragupta II controlled a vast empire, from the mouth of the Ganges to the mouth of the
Indus RiverThe Indus River is the longest river in...
and from what is now North
PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
down to the mouth of the
NarmadaThe Narmada the Periplus Maris Erythraei calls it the Nammadus.. The British Raj called it the Nerbudda or Narbada[] is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. Narmada is a Sanskrit word meaning 'the Giver of Pleasure'...
. Pataliputra continued to be the capital of his huge empire but
UjjainUjjain , is an ancient city of Malwa region in central India, on the eastern bank of the Kshipra River It is the administrative centre of Ujjain District and Ujjain Division.In ancient times the city was called Ujjayini...
too became a sort of second capital. The large number of beautiful gold coins issued by the Gupta dynasty are a testament to the imperial grandeur of that age. Chandragupta II also started producing silver coins in the Shaka tradition.
His Reign
FaxianFa Xian was a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled to Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka to acquire Buddhist scriptures between 399 and 412...
(Wade-Giles Fa-hsien) was the first of three great Chinese pilgrims who visited India from the fifth to the seventh centuries AD, in search of knowledge, manuscripts and relics. He arrived during the reign of Chandragupta II and gave a general description of North India at that time. Among the other things, he reported about the absence of capital punishment, the lack of a poll-tax and land tax, and the presence of a strongly embedded caste system. Most citizens did not consume onions, garlic, meat, and wine. The exception to this were the Chandalas, who were shunned in society and segregated from other people.
Culturally, the reign of Chandragupta II marked a
Golden Age. This is evidenced by later reports of the presence of a circle of poets known as the
Nine Gems in his court. The greatest among them was
KalidasaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. His floruit cannot be dated with precision, but most likely falls within the Gupta period, probably in the 4th or 5th century or 6th century.His place in Sanskrit...
, who authored numerous immortal pieces of literature including
The Recognition of Shakuntala. One other was
VarahamihiraDaivajna Varāhamihira , also called Varaha, or Mihira was an Indian astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer who lived in Ujjain. He is considered to be one of the nine jewels of the court of legendary king Vikramaditya...
who was a famous astronomer and mathematician.
The next day after the Hindu festival
DiwaliDiwali or ' is a significant festival in Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and an official holiday in India and Nepal. Adherents of these religions celebrate Diwali as the Festival of Lights...
is called Padwa or Varshapratipada, which marks the coronation of King Vikramaditya. The Hindu Vikram-Samvat calendar was apparently started on this day and this day is celebrated as new year's day in some places.
Shak-Samvat is synchronised with the Shak-Samvat calendar, which starts around April. This calender was initiated by Gautamiputra Satakarni who defeated the Saka king Vikramaditya, thus starting the Shalivahana era or Shaka Calendar
The famous iron pillar
Close to the
Qutub MinarThe Qutab Minar , a tower in Delhi, India, is at 72.5 meters the world's tallest brick minaret. It is situated in the Qutb complex, amidst the ruins of ancient Hindu temples which were destroyed and their stones used to build the Qutb complex and minar...
is one of
DelhiDelhi, known locally as Dilli , and also by the official name National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest metropolis by population in India...
's most curious structures, an iron pillar, dating back to 4th century CE. The pillar bears an inscription which states that it was erected as a flagstaff in honour of the Hindu god
VishnuVishnu , , is the Supreme God in Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God...
, and in the memory of Chandragupta II. The pillar also highlights ancient
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
's achievements in metallurgy. The pillar is made of 98% wrought iron and has stood more than 1,600 years without rusting or decomposing. This iron pillar is similar to the
Pillars of AshokaThe pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern Indian subcontinent, and erected by the Mauryan king Ashoka during his reign in the 3rd century BCE. Originally, there must have been many pillars of Ashoka although only ten with inscriptions still survive...
found mostly in northern
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
. From Chandragupta II kings were known as Parama Bhagavatas, or
BhagavataBhagavata, with the literal meaning of that which comes from Bhagavan or the Lord, signifies in the context of Hinduism. In this context bhakti has the primary meaning of 'adoration', while Bhagavat means 'the Adorable One', and Bhagavata is a worshiper of the Adorable One...
Vaishnavas. The
Bhagavata PuranaThe Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna. The Sanskrit text comprises twelve skandas and 13,216 verses by one count...
entails the fully developed tenets and philosophy of the Bhagavata cult whereis Krishna gets fused with
VasudevaIn Hindu mythology, Vasudeva is the father of Krishna, the son of , of the Yadav and Vrishni dynasties. His sister Kunti was married to Pandu...
and transcendds Vedic Vishnu and cosmic Hari to be turned into the ultimate object of
bhaktiBhakti in practice signifies an active involvement by the devotee in divine worship. The term is often translated as "devotion", though increasingly "participation" is being used as a more accurate rendering, since it conveys a fully engaged relationship with God...
.
Campaigns against foreign tribes
- Fourth century AD Sanskrit
Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
poet KalidasaKālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language. His floruit cannot be dated with precision, but most likely falls within the Gupta period, probably in the 4th or 5th century or 6th century.His place in Sanskrit...
, credits Chandragupta Vikramaditya (aka RaghuEmperor Raghu was a valorous king of the Ikshvaku dynasty. The name in Sanskrit translates to the fast one, deriving from Raghu's chariot driving abilities. So celebrated were the exploits of Raghu, that his dynasty itself came to be known as the Raghuvamsha or the Raghukula after him. The history...
) with having conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both in and outside India. After finishing his campaign in the East, South and West India, Raghu aka Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) proceeded northwards, subjugated the Parasikas (Persians), then the HunasThe Huna , as they were known in South Asia, seem to have been part of the Hephthalite group, who established themselves in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the first half of the fifth century, with their capital at Bamiyan...
and the KambojasThe Kambojas were a Kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. The earliest mention of the name Kamboja is in the Vamsa Brahmana...
tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys respectively. Thereafter, the glorious king proceeds across the Himalaya and reduced the KinnarasKinnara Kingdom refers to the territory of a tribe called Kinnaras who one among the exotic tribes, mentioned along with others like Devas , Asuras , Pisachas, Gandharvas, Kimpurushas, Vanaras, Suparnas, Rakshasas, Bhutas and Yakshas...
, Kiratas etc and lands into India proper .
- According to the Brihat-Katha-Manjari of the Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent...
i Pandit Kshmendra, king Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) had "unburdened the sacred earth of the BarbarianBarbarian is a term for an uncivilized person, often used pejoratively, either in a general reference to a member of a nation or ethnos, typically a tribal society as seen by an urban civilization either viewed as inferior, or admired as a noble savage...
s like the ShakaShaka was the most influential leader of the Zulu Kingdom....
s, MlecchaMleccha is a term for people who did not conform with the moral and religious norms of the Vedic society....
s, KambojaThe Kambojas were a Kshatriya tribe of Iron Age India, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. The earliest mention of the name Kamboja is in the Vamsa Brahmana...
s, Yavanas, Tusharas, Parasikas, HunaHuna is a Hawaiian word adopted by Max Freedom Long in 1936 to describe his theory of metaphysics which he linked to ancient Hawaiian kahuna...
s, etc. by annihilating these sinful MlecchaMleccha is a term for people who did not conform with the moral and religious norms of the Vedic society....
s completely" .
See also
- Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya was a legendary king of Ujjain, India, famed for his wisdom, valour and magnanimity. During his reign, India ruled most of Asia from the Eastern Arabia to China and North Korea and from Mongolia to Indonesia. He also imparted Vedic rituals to the Middle East and to North Asia...
- List of people known as The Great