Introduction
Samudragupta was a Gupta emperor whose extensive military campaigns are recorded in unusual detail through the Allahabad Pillar (Prayaga Prashasti) inscription, composed by his court poet Harishena.
Family
- Father: Chandragupta I
- Mother: Kumaradevi
- Spouse: Dattadevi (married)
- Children: Ramagupta, Chandragupta II
A Reign Recorded in Verse
The Prayaga Prashasti lists numerous kings and territories Samudragupta is said to have defeated or brought under Gupta influence across northern and, more loosely, southern India, leading some 19th and 20th-century historians to compare his conquests to Napoleon's campaigns — a comparison modern scholarship treats with more caution given the inscription's own panegyric, laudatory purpose. Regardless of the precise territorial extent, Samudragupta's reign is generally credited with transforming the Guptas from a regional into a major imperial power.
This article records the Gupta Empire (c. 3rd-6th century CE) as historical genealogy reconstructed mainly from inscriptions, coinage and later literary references; several later successions and family relationships remain genuinely disputed among historians, and this account follows the most widely accepted reconstruction while flagging specific points of uncertainty.