Ranniti: Chandragupta II’s Campaign Against the Sakas

Conquests make a king, and there’s been none more enthusiastic about territorial annexation than the Gupta King Vikramaditya. His lifelong entanglement with the Sakas has been well known throughout history, and rightly so. His fear, animosity, and strategic dealing with the Sakas are a peek into the kind of king he was.

An illustration of Chandragupta Vikramaditya. (Source: indiaonline.in)

Chandragupta II, also known as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, ‘the sun of victory’, has gone down as one of the most shrewd rulers in history. Chasing his dream of conquering the world and prioritising the protection of his territory and people above all, his reign was synonymous with conquests and matrimonial alliances.

Most historical records have been unclear about how Chandragupta II, the younger son of Samudragupta, assumed the throne in hiselderbrother Ramagupta’s place. However, the only brief idea behind his ascension to the throne is found in a play titled ‘Devichandraguptam’ by Vishakhadatta. It tells the tale of how Ramagupta lost the battle of Shringararupakam against a Saka chief and thus had to forfeit his queen, Druvadevi, as spoils. Chandragupta, on the other hand, was strongly against this idea of submission and sneaked into the enemy camp to wreak havoc and defeat the Saka chief and his military in the area, thus saving the kingdom and the queen as well. Many believe the disposing of Ramagupta after this incident to be justified due to his cowardice and immorality. This incident also served as the launching pad for Chandragupta’s career.

However, this was only the tip of the iceberg of the enmity between the Guptas and Sakas. Chandragupta’s whole reign, when looked at from a wider perspective, was designed around the prevention of the Saka rebellion. His massacre of the Saka chief alighted a fear in him that the Sakas might rebel and cause disruption to the peaceful Gupta kingdom.

The Sakas, or Sakhas, are known to be Iranian pastoral tribes that settled in the Gujrat and Malwa areas; in other words, they were a residential minority in India. However, due to their growing strength and influence, they certainly posed a threat to the Gupta kingdom. The strength of the Sakas wasn’t just reliant on their own forces but rather on the strong alliances they had formed with the Nagas of central India and the Vakatakas of Maharashtra. It was naturally a foreseeable move for Chandragupta to divide and conquer these powers for the security of his territory.

However, unlike his previous campaigns, Chandragupta Vikramaditya chose the more peaceful way out of this dispute, i.e., through matrimonial alliances. He dealt with the Nagas by marrying the Naga princess Kuvera-Naga; this enabled him to secure the central regions of India and consolidated his power significantly. Chandragupta also married his daughter through Kuvera-Naga, Prabhabati Gupta, to Rudrasena II, the Vakataka ruler of Maharashtra. Not only did this secure the western and central parts of India in his name, but it also worked as an effective strategy for isolating the Sakas from their powerful allies.

Chandragupta’s strategy in dealing with the Saka forces not only limited the scale of war that was inevitable, but it also opened up the waterways in the west to the Roman empire, further allowing trade and commerce to flourish. One will notice that the Sakas served as the real barrier that prevented the kingdom from prospering the way the king would’ve liked or intended. Their removal was significant in both securing the kingdom and increasing its prospects. Due to this, he also came to be known as 'Sakari' or the destroyer of Sakas.

The final preventive actions did not stop here; in fact, it was only after the annexation of Gujrat, Malwa, and Kathiawar from the control of the western Saka Satraps that Chandragupta diverted his attention away from them.

Chandragupta Vikramaditya's biggest challenge was perhaps this lifelong entanglement with the Sakas, which he eventually overcame. The Gupta empire is known in history today as one of the most prosperous, one where art and culture had enough to flourish. He may have been a ruler who warred for peace, but the results of his strife to preserve the peace of his kingdom were apparent.