भारतीय इतिहास के ६ स्वर्णिम पृष्ठ (वीर सावरकर - विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं पर विजय गाथा)

reign of ten or eleven years, he extended his small kingdom of Pataliputra wide enough to include Magadha, Prayag and Ayodhya, so that the epithet of Maharaj should be applied to him deservedly. Entrusting his kingdom into the able hands of his son, Samudragupta, who was ambitious of uprooting the Mlenchcha power of the Saka- Kushans in the north-western part of India, and of establishing an extensive Indian empire, Chandragupta died in the year 330 A.D. This Gupta dynasty was a staunch adherent of the Vedic religion—Shree Vishnu being their chief God of Worship. Emperor Samudragupta 252. As soon as he came to the throne, Samudragupta planned to conquer the several independent Indian states in the north as well as in the south, and establish a strong Indian empire like the Mauryan Empire of Chandragupta and Chanakya, and then to sweep over the still lingering Mlenchcha power of the Saka-Kushans in the north-western part of India with all the might of his empire. Accordingly, he conquered Kamrup, Samatat, Nepal and all the region from north-eastern frontier provinces to the Vindhyas. Thereafter, crossing the Vindhyas, he entered South India with a powerful army. He conquered twelve prominent kingdoms in South India. Many of the defeated kings, after having been brought captives and after having accepted his overlordships, were granted their kingdoms and were allowed to go free. About these glorious campaigns of his in the north and south of India, many western historians have spoken with eloquent praise, giving him the best of their current phrases, ‘The Indian Napoleon’. After such an extensive military expedition, Samudragupta returned to Pataliputra. Then in order to proclaim to the world his acquisition of this new Indian empire, according to the Vedic religious rites, he celebrated the horse sacrifice, on a grand scale and was rightfully appointed a Samrat (an emperor). Thereafter, he began his extensive preparations for his dash against the Saka-Kushans. The Final Surrender by the Kushans 253. At the fearful reports of this impending attack of Emperor Samudragupta, whatever small kingdoms of the Kushans like Gandhar and others were, still leading a precarious existence in the north-western regions of India, voluntarily sued for peace and accepted the Gupta paramountcy. Our Indian ancestors at that time called these Kushans ‘Kush’ also. As a token of their surrender, those Kushans sent rich offerings along with their personal envoys to Samudragupta. Thus, after an incessant warfare for a