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Siddhasena Divākara and Vikramāditya
153
earned praise for this deed154, also met with disapproval re the moral aspect of his actions and acquired an odious reputation, which survived, side by side with his fame, for many centuries. Thus in the Cambay and Sāngli Plates 155, his name finds itself quoted, to show off, by the contrast of his evil example, the merits of some later ruler. He is, in undisguised terms, accused of 'cruelty towards his elder brother, adultery committed with his brother's wife and other evil deeds'. The Sanjan Copper-Plates Grant carries the accusations against him even further, by directly inculpating him with having murdered his brother, usurped throne and queen and acquired a false reputation for liberality by fraudulent transactions of enormous extent (literally : by causing 'crores' to be written instead of 'lacs').
A reflection of this stain on Candragupta's character may perhaps be seen in the fact that contemporaneous records, so far as available today, never praise this ruler for moral qualities, except that his Foreign Minister Vīrasena, who accompanied him on a campaign and, en route, dedicated a cave to Siva, calls him, in the pertinent inscription, Rājādhirājarși157. In fact, the way how, e.g., in the Sāñci Stone Inscription 158 a whole bunch of epithets denoting excellent moral qualities is attached to the Sangha, while the king's name stands unadorned, is illustrative.
Samudragupta's records, in sharp contrast, are full of glowing testimonies to his admirable character, his great moral qualities, and his interest in serious questions of a religious or philosophical nature. Thus, Harişeņa praises his self-control ( praśama ) 159 as well as the "overflow of the multitudes of his good qualities, adorned by hundreds of noble deeds, which sweeps the fame of other princes down to the soles of their feet ( sucaritasatălankstānekagunaganotsiktibhiścaraṇatalapramţstānayanarapatikīrti ), says that his metal serenity made him fit company for the wise (prajñānuşangocitasukhamanas161 ), that his heart was so soft that he could be won over by mere devotion and submission, and that he was full of mercy ( 'bhaktyavanatimātragrāhyamrduhrdaya' and 'anukampā
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