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Siddhasena Divākara and Vikramāditya
151
‘Vikramāditya', a number of which might now have to be apportioned to the brilliant and accomplished Samudragupta, thus detracting from the glory of his son !
To decide whether either of these two rulers could have been addressed by Siddhasena Divākara, the following will have to be considered :
(1) According to recent researches153, Samudragupta's empire was shaken by insurrections on the latter's death. On that occasion certain tribes, hitherto allied ( Khaśas or Śakas : it is still disputed ), started to menace the northern borders. Samudragupta's immediate successor, Rāmagupta, cowardly tried to purchase peace from them by surrendering his queen Dhruvadevī. Rāmagupta's brother Candragupta, however, saved both queen and empire by a bold coup and took the reins of affairs in his own hand, becoming himself emperor and Dhruvadevī's husband. Even if the historical truth of these events, which have been inferred from later literature, might be questioned, in any case it is certain from epigraphic evidence that Candragupta II did subdue a number of enemies and strengthened and enlarged the empire taken over by him.
And there's the rub': for the very fact that he actually did take over an empire, no matter how and in what condition, would not allow the following passage of the Guņavacanadvātrimśikā to be applied to him : एकेयं वसुधा बहूनि दिवसान्यासीद् बहूनां प्रिया
वस्यान्योन्यसुखाः कथं नरपते ते भद्रशीला नृपाः । ईर्ष्यामत्सरितेन साद्य भवतैवात्माङ्कमारोपिता
hotrocifrenifancutituitarra 1187.11 This stanza clearly suggests that at the beginning of the reign of the patron there was no consolidated empire, nor had there been one before, that numerous small rival principalities, constantly at war with one another, occupied its place, and that it was he who created the empire by their unification.
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