THE GREAT ANCIENT EMPIREScontrast with medieval European vassals they were obviously not obliged
to join Samudragupta’s army in a war. Thus they were not real vassals but,
at the most, tributary princes. In subsequent centuries these tributary
neighbours were called Samantas and rose to high positions at the imperial
court thus coming closer to the ideal type of a feudal vassal.
Between the realms of the border kings and the core region of the
empire there were some areas inhabited by tribes which had hardly been
subdued. Of course, Samudragupta claimed that he had made all forest
rulers his servants, but he probably could not expect any tribute from
them. At the most, he could prevent them from disturbing the peace of the
people in the core region. Beyond the forest rulers and the tributary kings
were the realms of the independent kings who, at the most, entered into
diplomatic relations with the Guptas. In the course of further development
several regions of the Gupta empire, e.g. Pundravardhana in Bengal and
Avanti with its ancient capital Ujjain, emerged as powerful centres. Some
historians therefore prefer to speak of a multicentred rather than a unitary
structure of the Gupta state. The subsequent balance of power of medieval
regional kingdoms was foreshadowed in this way.
In his southern campaign, Samudragupta passed the circle of forest
rulers and border kings and ventured into regions which had been
completely outside the Gupta Rajamandala. Although this ‘conquest of the
four quarters of the world’ (digvijaya) did not immediately lead to an
expansion of the Gupta empire south of the Vindhyas, it did provide a new
imperial dimension to Gupta rule. It also contributed to the ideological
unification of India in terms of the idea of Hindu kingship. With his great
horse sacrifices after his campaigns of conquest, Samudragupta announced
his claim to be a universal ruler (cakravartin). Therefore the Allahabad
inscription praised him in a way which would have been inconceivable in
later times when similar inscriptions were much more restrained. The
inscription states: ‘He was a mortal only in celebrating the rites of the
observances of mankind [but otherwise] a god (deva), dwelling on the
earth.’ Samudragupta’s royal propaganda influenced his successors, as well
as many later rulers of Southern and Central India who tried to emulate his
grandiose style however small their realms might have been.
Subjection and alliance: Shakas and VakatakasUnder Samudragupta’s son, Chandragupta II (c. AD 375–413/15), the
Gupta empire attained its greatest glory both in terms of territorial
expansion and cultural excellence. Chandragupta combined the aggressive
expansionist policy of his father with the strategy of marital alliance of his
grandfather. His foremost success was his victory over the mighty Shaka-
Kshatrapa dynasty and the annexation of their prosperous realm in
Gujarat. The date of this event is not recorded but it must have been