Chandragupta II (?-415?) was one of the great rulers of north India’s Gupta dynasty. He governed from his capital in Ujjain from about A.D. 375 to about 415. He also took the title Vikramaditya, a Sanskrit word meaning Sun of Power and Majesty.
Chandragupta II extended the Gupta empire from its base in the Ganges Valley as far west as Gujarat and as far south as Maharashtra. He gained additional influence in the Deccan, the central plateau of southwestern India, by arranging a marriage between his daughter Prabhavati and Rudrasena II, the Vakataka king. Prabhavati ruled over the Vakataka lands as regent for her sons after Rudrasena II died, so the region was effectively almost a part of the Gupta Empire.
Chandragupta II was a kind and benevolent ruler. The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fa Hsien, who spent several years in India during the reign of Chandragupta II, described a peaceful kingdom and found much to praise in the way it was governed. Chandragupta II was a patron of the arts and sciences, and the poet and dramatist Kalidasa was one of the scholars who flourished at his court.
See also Gupta dynasty; Kalidasa; Vakataka.
