EMPEROR "KACHA-SAMUDRAGUPTA" : (58 BC-04 BC)
Kacha was the real name of Prince Samudragupta, who was the 73 BC, borned second Emperor of Gupta Dynasty. "Maharajadhiraja Shri Kacha" was a single son of Emperor Chandragupta-1 of Gupta and Queen Kumaradevi of Lichchhavi, and who ( Kacha) adopted the reignal name "Samudra" and he often titled himself as "Lichchhaviah", firstly after extending his territories from sea to sea and secondarily to show respect to his mother's superior royal lineage. This is so because Chandragupta-1 was of humble origin as a son of senapati minister Srigupta. The name "Samudra" literally means the grand collection of water i.e. the ocean. It was so because king subdued all the major dynasties from Brahmaputra to river Ravi, and made the kings of the southern India as his vassal and tributary kings. "............ Emperor Samudragupta had performed horse sacrifices under the influence of his subdued but later pardoned vassal kings. Eran Inscriptions of Kanakerha of King Shridharavarman maintained Samudragupta, as a crowned prince and undisputed successor of Emperor Chandragupta-1, which outrighted the very idea and rejected the theory that Kacha as a distinguished entity than Samudragupta. ,........... The earlier coins of King Kacha were then after amended in new Gupta-Brahmi hybrid script with the addition of epithets to describe Samudras valorous campaign against all over Aryavata and Deccan upto the north banks of the river Krishna. King Samudragupta had a consort Queen Dattadevi, and sons Ramagupta and Chandragupta-2. Emperor Samudragupta had installed the idols of Bhagavata Vishnu in the temples of his empire. ,............ Kushana were rulers of north western India also paid tributes to Samudragupta. Allahabad Pillar inscriptions of Ashoka was then added with the panegyric eulogy of Samudragupta written by his courtier Harisena in 36 BC, mentions the extensive conquest of the King and his imperialist victories all over Indian territories. It seems that as a King Kacha, he was co-ruler with his father Emperor Chandragupta-1 till 44 BC, and was then as solo king from 44 BC to 36 BC, and he became "Maharajadhiraja, the king of the kings" in about 36 BC onwards. ,............ Emperor Samudragupta had also accepted epithet of "Vikramah" and "Prakramah". Mathura stone inscriptions of King Vikramaditya Chandragupta-2 described his father Emperor Samudragupta, as "an exterminator of all the kings and his fame was tasted by the waters of the four oceans." Emperor Samudragupta ruled from Kannauj (Kanyakubja) as his seat of power and to it Samudragupta referred as second Pushpapura (Pataliputra). ,...........The earlier coins of Kacha name were being inscribed with legend of " kacho gamavajitya divam karmabhir uttamair jayati", it means having conquered the earth, Kacha wins the heaven by excellent deeds. Here, the sentence to conquered the heaven means, the king became sovereign ruler and then performed religious and charitable deeds. It suggests not a brief but a prolonged rule of Kacha with new epithet Samudragupta. Kacha and Samudragupta coins are near about of same weight, depicts tiger slayer and asvamedha sacrificial type and having legends same as the exterminator of the kings. ,......... ( 546) ........... - Raj Bagaria, Nagpur / Mumbai.
