The Allahabad Pillar Inscription Of Samudragupta-

Written in excellent Sanskrit in the form of panegyric, the Allahabad Pillar Inscription
of Samudragupta is one of the most important epigraphic source for the study of Ancient
political history of the Imperial Guptas . The inscription is also popularly known as
Allahabad Prasasti. Historians both ancient and modern, have considered it’s historical
importane as it gives us a valuable information in reconstruction of the Ancient history.
The inscription is a panegyric praising Samudragupta and lists the political and military
achievements of his reign including his expedition to the South.

Samudragupta’s court poet and minister Harisena composed the Allahabad Pillar
Inscription , the Allahabad prasasti was originally engraved on the Asokan Pillar instituted
at Kausambi near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. It was later removed to the Allahabad
Fort where it is located now. According to Cunningham, the pillar was shifted to Allahabad
by Firuz ShahTughlaq. However, J.F Fleet inclines to believe that it was Akbar who was
instrumental in removing to Allahabad. It was re- erected by Mughal emperor Jahangir in
the year 1605. In 1838 it was again set up by Captain Edward Smith with a new lion
capital. The credit goes to F. Fleet for making an accurate decipherment of the inscription
and presenting the standard text and translation of the inscription . Fleet’s transcript and
rendering have been accepted as most authentic by scholars like G.Buhler, DR.
Bhnadarkar and D.C Sarkar.

The composer of the inscription Harisena assumed the official titles sandihivigrahika
(minister of war and peace), kumaramatya( minister attatched to the king and the crown
prince) and mahadandanayaka ( officer in charge of military and judicial matters). He was
a son of mahadandanayaka Dhruvabhuti and a resident of Khadyatapakika. In spite of
assuming important positions in the administrative hierarchy of the Guptas, he called
himself as a servent or the dasa of the enlightened king. The inscription was executed by
another important officer named Tilabhattaka, who also assumed the important post of
mahadandanayaka, who meditated on the feet of the paramabhttaraka which
undoubtedly refers to a sovereign during the Gupta period.

The pillar as already noticed was originally erected by Asoka at Kausambi which was
subsequently shifted to Allhabad in the medieval times. The pillar as it stands today is
10.75 mts. tall monolith with a base diameter of 0.9 mts. and an apex diameter of 0.7
mts. As per the language and the script of the inscription , it is written in chaste
Sanskrit in the form of a poem or kavya. It is written both is verse and prose. There
are nine verses of different metres, eight in the introductory portion and one at the
end. The rest of the inscription is in prose. It is interesting to note that the verses of the
inscription are consequently numbered. Perhaps this is the earliest inscription where
verses are numbered serially. There are thirty three lines in total. The characters of the
record are later Brahmi script however some scholars suggests it as a Gupta script
and eastern variety northern script.

The Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta is a unique document. This long eulogy is
devoted to the conquests of the Gupta ruler. The Prayagprasati first mentions three
Aryavarta rulers. Then the inscription goes on to mention about a number of defeated
rulers , who were grouped mainly into five categories.

We shall now examine the Inscription in detail:

Ancestry of the King-

The inscription mentions the ancestors of the king and their titles. According to the
inscription Samudragupta was born to Chandragupta I and Mhadevi kumaradevi is called in
the inscription as a princess of the Licchhavis and therefore , Samudragupta is referred
to as Licchhavi- dauhitra or grandson of the Licchhavis. Chandragupta I was the first
ruler of the dynasty to assume the high sounding imperial title of maharajadhiraja
and he was also the first Gupta ruler to issue coins. The inscription also further tells
us that there were two more rulers who ruled over the Gupta Kingdom prior to
Chandragupta I, they were Sri Gupta and Ghototkatchagupta. Both the rulers wielded
having the humble title of maharaja. Thus, Srigupta was the progenitor of the Gupta
Dynasty followed by Chandragupta I. Chandragupta I and Samudragupta had started the
new era popularly known as the Gupta era (319-20 CE). The Gupta capital was located at
a place called Purusha or Purushapura which as beem equated with Kusumpura and
identified with Pataliputra.

Samudragupta as an ideal King-

The Allahabad Inscription projects Samudragupta as an ideal king having good qualities and
versatility and due to these qualities his father Chandragupta I chose Samudragupta to
climb to the throne of the Guptas. His consecration to the throne was looked up with sad
faces by others of equal birth while the courtiers rejoiced cheerfully. He assumed the
imperial titles like maharajadhiraja and paramarabhattaraka. He was also called Kaviraja
or king amongst poets. He is described as a relentless conqueror and an able compassionate
ruler with sharp intellect and an expert in music and art. He was the warrior of hundred
battles and he assumed the epithet of parakrama or valour. His body was most charming
and it was covered with plenteous beauty of the marks of hundreds of scars caused by
many weapons.

In the lines 24-26 , Harisena praised his patron in the following words- “ He was without
an antagonist on earth ; he by the overflowing of the multitude of bhis many good
qualities adorned by hundreds of good actions has wiped off the fame of other kings
with the sole of his feet…..”. He was a giver of hundred thousand cows and protector of
the good and destroyer of the evil. Since the poet had an open heart and applied his
poetic skills while composing in the Inscription , therefore the Allhabad Pillar Inscription
stands apart in epigraphic literature of India.

The Conquets-

The major portion of the eulogy is devoted to the glory and military achievements of the
king. It’s great value lies in the abundance information that it gives about the divisions of
early India and about the kings and tribes of the 4th century CE. The contents of the
inscription is also deemed important for studying the historical geography of India and
the extent of the Gupta Empire. Lines 13-15 of the inscription make us believe that
Samudragupta in his first Aryavarta War defeated three important rulers namely ,
Achyuta, Nagasena and Ganapatinaga of the North India. All three rulers belonged to
the Naga family and they came together to fight Samudragupta. Also while the king was
assuming in his capital city, his forces had captured a scion of Kota family. Through the
inscription we can conclude that the Naga rulers probably ruled over the territories lying
between Ahichhatra and Padmavati or Western U.P and north western Madhya Pradesh.
Aryavarta corresponds to the territories between the Himalayas to the Vindhyas in the
North India.

The prasati mentions twelve rulers from South India ( Dakshinapatha) and their Kingdoms
who were defeated by Samudragupta. The twelve such rulers were- i.Mahendra of Kosala,
ii.Vyaghraraja of Mahakantara, iii. Mantaraja of Kurala, iv. Mahendragiri of
Pistapura, v. Svamidatta of kottura, vi. Daman of Erandapalli, vii. Vishnugopa of
Kanchi ,viii. Nilaraja of Avamukta, ix. Hativarman of Vengi , x. Ugrasena of Plaka,
xi. Kubera of Devarashtra, xii. Dhannjaya of Kussthalapura.

Historians consider these conquests as quite possible as they think that the expediency
and pragmatism compelled Samudragupta to adopt such a policy towards the
Dakshinapattha rulers. No doubt he defeated all the twelve rulers but he liberated and
reinstated them in their respective kingdoms. All the conquered territories were restored
to their respective rulers. This policy has been mentioned in Allahabad inscription as
grahana-moksha-anugraha. In the south he adopted the policy of Dharma – vijaya.

In his second Aryavarta war he had defeated nine rulers of North India as per the
inscription . The nine rulers were - Rudradeva, Matila, Ngadatta, Chandravarman ,
Ganapatinaga, Nagasena, Achyuta , Nandin and Balavarman . The inclusion of Nagasena
, Ganapatinaga and Achyuta in the list evidently makes it apparent that the three rulers
who were defeated by the king in his first Aryavarta war were again exterminated
.Besides, the king also had subjugated the Atavika or forest Kingdom.

Line 22 of the inscription then gives the list of five Border states – Samatata, Davaka,
Kumarupa, Katipura and Nepala and twelve Republics of Punjab region who were
vanquished by Samudragupta. Davaka has not yet been identified properly, Fleet thinks
that it was the anciemnt name of Dacca, while V. Smith locates it in North Bengal.
The inscription further claims that the defeated rulers were forced to pay all kinds of
tributes , to carry out his orders and pay him homage . Also nine tribal states were
suppressed by Samudragupta. They were obliged to pay tribute to the Emperor. The nine
tribes were – Malavas, Arjunayanas, the Yaudheyas, the Madrakas, the Abhiras, the
Prajunas, the Sanakanikas , the Kakas, the Kharaparikas. The unorthodox nature of
Harisena’s enumeration has given rise to endless speculations among the Historaians
regarding the exact significance of the list. K.P Jayaswal is of the opinion that in his
categotization Harisena was following the principle of a geographical plan with accuracy.
Eminent Historian S.R. Goyal argues that the one thing that is common to all the five
categories is the treatment received from Samudra Gupta. According to Goyal if there is
one governing principle behind Harisenas categorization it is the policy adopted by
Samudragupta towards the vanquished powers.

Relation with Foreign Rulers.

The inscription further claims that the defeated rulers were forced to pay all kinds of
tributes , to carry out his orders and pay him homage. This category included Daivaputra
Shahi Sahanushahi ( the later Kushans) the Saka Murandas that ruled over Western
India and the dwellers of Simhala ( Ceylon) and all the other islands. It is claimed
that these rulers pleased the Gupta emperor by offering their own person to him, bringing
presents of maidens and applying for charters bearing the Garuda Seal for the enjoyment
of their own territories. It is widely perceived that Harisena’s account of Smaudragupta
relationship with the Foreign powers is an exaggeration. The other available meager
evidences suggest that the contacts were merely in the nature of diplomatic relations in
which the Guptas enjoyed a superior position. According to a Chinese source,
Meghavarman the ruler of Srilanka sent a missionary to Samudragupta for permission
to build a Buddhist Temple at Gaya, which was granted. On the basis of this
inscriptional evidence it can be undoubtedly concluded that Samudragupta forcibly unified
greater part of Indiaunder him, and his power was felt in a much larger area.

Coclusion-

There are many pillars in India that carry historical importance but the Allahabad Pillar
Inscriptions is remarkable for the insights into millennial history of India. It is also an
important document for the study of the political history of the Imperial Guptas.
Moreover, it provides important clues for the reconstruction of the regional history of
many smaller kingdoms. However the poet has gone too far in extolling his master as a king
of poets comparing him with Gods like Indra , calling him as Brihaspati and as Purusa or
Supreme being and eqauating him with Tumburu and Narada in matters of musical
accomplishments . Characterization like this can hardly be taken into serious account.