Prayag Prashasti And Samudragupta
General Knowledge of Ancient History of Prayagraj Pillar Inscription (made by Harishena), Samudragupta's Reign, Mention Of Samudragupta In Ashoka Pillar.
HARISHEN
The Prayagraj Pillar Inscription or Prayag Prashasti is one of the most important epigraphic evidences of the Guptas. The Prayagraj Pillar Inscription made by Harishena portrays the reign of the Guptas in ancient India. The achievements of various rulers of the Gupta dynasty are also described in the Prayag Prashasti inscription. Harisena, who composed the Prayag Prashasti, was the court poet and minister of Samudragupta. Some parts of the Prayag Prashasti were composed in verse and other parts in prose. The verse portion consists of eight verses, followed by the prose portion.
More General Knowledge of Ancient History
SAMUDRAGUPTA'S REIGN
The Prayag Prashasti composed during the reign of Samudragupta presented a detailed description of the reign and conquests of Samudragupta. There is no date for the Prayag Prashasti composed by Harishena and for this reason historians have believed that it was probably composed before the Ashwamedha Yagya performed by Samudragupta. He has opposed this on the ground that there is no mention of the completion of Ashwamedha Yagya by Samudragupta.
MENTION OF SAMUDRAGUPTA IN ASHOKA PILLAR
The Prayag Prashasti was originally carved on the pillar of Ashoka at Kaushambi near Prayagraj. Later it was brought to Prayagraj Fort. Since the first two stanzas of the verse part are damaged, they are considered illegible. The third stanza shows the character of Samudragupta, his versatility and good qualities. The fourth verse mentions Samudragupta's nomination by his father Chandragupta I and his consecration to the throne. Although the sixth and seventh verses of the inscription are partially damaged, yet, from the available portion it is inferred by the scholars that those verses refer to some wars. The seventh and eighth verses and the prose text describe the conquests of Samudragupta. Since many lines of the Prayag Prashasti were damaged, it is not possible to describe what was mentioned in those lines. Yet after a long study of the available portions historians provide many details about Samudragupta's reign.
SAMUDRAGUPTA'S VICTORY TOUR
Lines 13 to 15 of the inscription refer to the victory over the three kings of the north. They were Achyuta, Nagasena and Ganapati Naga, all belonging to the Naga clan. Lines 19-20 describe Samudragupta's Deccan campaign. The names of 12 Deccan kings are mentioned in the Prayag Prashasti. Lines 21 to 23 mention the names of the nine kings of Aryavarta defeated by Samudragupta. Among these nine kings, three Aryavarta kings are mentioned which are included in lines 13 to 14. Apart from those three Naga kings, the rest who were defeated by Samudragupta were Rudradeva, Matila, Nagadatta, Chandravarna, Nandin and Balavarmana. Apart from this, the victory of Samudragupta's Atavika kings is also mentioned in Prayag Prashasti. Line 22 specifically describes the five frontier kingdoms that were held by the Gupta king Samudragupta. Apart from this, it is mentioned in the Prayag Prashasti that those border states were forced to pay tribute to Samudragupta.
SUBORDINATION OF SAMUDRAGUPTA
Line 22 also mentions the names of nine tribes:- Malavas, Arjunas, Yaudheyas, Madrakas, Abhiras the Prarjunas, Sanakaniks, Kakas, Kharparas etc., who accepted the suzerainty of Samudragupta. Line 24 mentions the names of foreign kings who accepted the suzerainty of Samudragupta. Not only this, they even offered the hands of their daughters to show him respect. Historians both ancient and modern have considered the historical value of Prayag Prasti. The famous Prayag Prashasti or Prayagraj Pillar Inscription provides a very impressive list of kings and tribal republics that were conquered by Samudragupta. As a whole, the list of conquests by Samudragupta is clearly mentioned in the Prayag Prashasti.
According to some scholars, since the Prayag Prashasti was composed by Samudragupta's court poet under his patronage, there may be some exaggeration in it. Prayag Prashasti is a very good inscription written in Sanskrit which gives information about the history of Samudragupta, the great king of ancient India.
Tags
Ancient History