Samudra Gupta

(r. 335–376) The second monarch in the
Gupta dynasty, son of Chandra Gupta I.
During his reign Samudra Gupta made
significant territorial gains from the
Gupta dynasty’s home base in eastern
Uttar Pradesh and Bihar westward to
the Ganges basin and eastward into
Bengal and Assam. Orissa and much of
the Coromandel Coast gave tribute as
independent but vassal states. Samudra
Gupta left a personal account of his
prowess inscribed on a stone column at
Allahabad. This column had originally
been carved to display one of the Pillar
Edicts of the Maurya emperor Ashoka
(r. 269–232 B.C.E.), and in claiming it as
his own Samudra Gupta was attempting
to appropriate some of the Maurya
dynasty’s luster.