Samudragupta was a powerful ruler of the Gupta Empire who ruled from 335-375 CE. He expanded his empire through military conquests, defeating many neighboring kings. He assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja after performing the Ashvamedha yagna ritual to celebrate his military victories. Upon his death, he was succeeded by his son Chandragupta II, who further expanded the empire.

7. • First important ruler of the Gupta dynasty.
• His capital was at Pataliputra.
• He conquered a number of territories and
expanded his kingdom to include Ayodhya and
Allahabad.
• He ruled for 15 years and assumed the title of
Maharajadhiraja.

8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwgBBe0kqAI

9. • Chandragupta I was succeeded by his son Samudragupta in 335 BCE. He was one
of the greatest rulers of ancient India.
• Most of the information about Samudragupta comes from pillar inscription at
Allahabad which was com[posed by his court poet Harisena in his honor. This
kind of writing is called prashasthi which means in praise of.
• Samudragupta defeated nine kings in the north and twelve kings in the South and
Eastern Deccan.
• The rulers of some Himalayan states , and states like Nepal, Bengal and Assam
accepted his power and paid him tribute.
• He brought the forest kingdoms under his control. He did not annex the southern
territories as he realized it would not be easy to control such a vast empire from
Magadha.

10. • The rulers of South India like the Pallavas of Kanchi accepted
his over lordship and paid him tribute.
• Many rulers like the rulers of Srilanka, kushans and Sakas
accepted his supremacy.
• In addition to paying tributes in the form of gold or silver
coins, they also gave their daughters in marriage to him.
• Samudragupta celebrated his victory by performing the
Ashvamedha yagna and took the title of Maharajadhiraja.

12. • Samudragupta was succeeded by his son Chandragupta II. He
was a very powerful ruler who took the title of Vikramaditya.
• He expanded his kingdom through matrimonial alliances and
conquests.
• He married his daughter to Vakataka ruler in the Deccan.
• He defeated the Saka rulers of Gujarath, Malwa and
Saurashtra.
• His first capital was at Pataliputra and the second one at
Ujjain.

13. • Chandragupta Vikramaditya was a great patron of
art and literature.
• The nine gems or the Navaratnas including the
poet Kalidasa and the astronomer and scientist
Varahamihira lived in his times.
• The prosperity of his reigns is reflected in the gold
coins issued by him.

14. • The Gupta empire declined in the middle of the 6 century,
because the later Guptas were weak.
• They could not protect the empire from the invasions of the
Huns of Central Asia.
• With the decline of the Gupta empire, a number of small
kingdoms were established. These kingdoms were
constantly at war with one another.
• In the 7 century, Harshavardhana, the king of Thaneshwar
brought all these states under his control and established a
new unified empire.

16. • Harshavardhana ascended the throne in
606 CE and ruled till647 CE.
• The two main sources that tell us about
Harsha are
1. Harshacharitha (a biography of Harsha,
written by his court historian
Bhanabhatta.)
2. From the accounts of Hieun Tsang, the
Chinese pilgrim who visited India during
Harsha’s times.

17. • Harsha united the kingdoms
of Thaneshwar and Kanauj
and shifted his capital to
Kanauj.
• Harsha had a huge army.
• He built a large kingdom that
covered modern day Punjab,
eastern Rajasthan, the
Gangetic Valley and Assam.

18. • Although he fought a number of wars, Harsha’s main aim was
to establish peace and order in the kingdom.
• He was a great patron of art, literature and religion.
• He patronized Buddhism and built many stupas.
• Under him Nalanda university developed.
• In 643 CE, he held a grand convention at Kanauj which was
attended by 20 kings and thousands of pilgrims.
• Harsha was a good scholar and wrote three plays in Sanskrit,
namely Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananada.

20. Empire (King )
Districts / Vishayas( Vishayapatis)
city villages

23. Life of people
• People were happy, peaceful, prosperous and secure.
• People were honest and obeyed laws, crimes were rare.
• Punishments were severe. There was no spy system.
• People worked on the land and paid one fourth to one sixth
of the produce as tax.
• Society was divided into castes.
• Internal and external trade flourished.
• Pearls, pepper, ivory, perfumes and precious stones were
major items of export.
• Horses were also a major item of export.

24. • The Guptas were staunch followers of Hinduism and
worshipped lord Vishnu.
• They built temples, worshipped idols and performed
sacrifices like Ashvamedha Yagna.
• Huien Tsang describes Harsha as a hard working and
benevolent ruler.
• Harsha was efficient and devoted his time for the welfare of
the people.
• Regular inspections were done through officers.
• He did many activities like construction and maintenance of
roads, hospitals etc.
• There were also severe punishments for crimes.

25. DECCAN AND SOUTH INDIA
The two predominant
kingdoms of the Deccan and
the South India were
1. Chalukyas of Vatapi.
2. Pallavas of Kanchipuram.

26. • The Chalukyan dynasty
was established by
Pulakesin I. he took
Vatapi in Karnataka
under his control and
made it his capital.
• Pulakesin II was the
greatest Chalukyan
ruler.

28. • The Pallavas ruled over northern Tamil nadu
and parts of southern Andhra Pradesh.
• Their capital was at Kanchipuram
• Mahendravarman I and Narasimhavarman
were two well known Pallava rulers.
• The Pallavas are known for their lasting
contribution in the fields of Art, architecture
and literature.

29. Conflict between Chalukyas and Pallavas
• The Chalukyas wanted control over the Deccan region. So, they were
always in conflicts with the Pallavas. Pulakeshin II defeated
Mahendravarman I but was defeated in the next battle by
Narasimhavarman.
• This struggle for power went on till the mid of 8 century, when
Chalukyas were defeated by the Rashtrakutas and the Pallavas were
defeated by Cholas.

31. • The Pallavas collected taxes from the peasants.
• Under the Pallavas, there were three types of villages.
1. Ur was the common village were people of all castes lived.
2. Sabha was the Brahmana village that was given as a grant.
3. Nagaram was were the traders lived.
• The village assembly controlled irrigation, managed the affairs of the
temple and maintained tanks and roads.
• Decisions could be taken by majority votes.
• In the Chalukya villages, the administration was looked after by village
elders clled Mahajanas.

32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Anq-
bD_CWN