Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/307

THE GUPTA CAPITAL 265 dynasty, all enjoyed long reigns, like the Moguls in later times. Chandragupta Vikramaditya occupied the throne for nearly forty years, and survived until 413 A. D. Little is known concerning his personal char- acter, but the ascertained facts of his career suffice to prove that he was a strong and vigorous ruler, well qualified to govern and augment an extensive empire. He loved sounding titles which proclaimed his martial prowess, and was fond of depicting himself, after the old Persian fashion, as engaged in successful personal combat with a lion, and he had literary and artistic talents like his father. There are indications that Pataliputra, although it may have been still regarded as the official capital, ceased to be the ordinary residence of the Gupta sov- ereigns after the completion of the extensive conquests effected "by Samudragupta. The Maurya emperors, it is true, had managed to control a dominion considerably larger than that of the Guptas from the ancient impe- rial city, but, even in their time, its remoteness in the extreme east must have caused inconvenience, and a more central position for the court had obvious advan- tages. Ajodhya, the legendary abode of the hero Rama, the ruins of which have supplied materials for the building of the modern city of Fyzabad in Southern Oudh, enjoyed a more favourable situation, and appears to have been at times the headquarters of the govern- ment of both Samudragupta and his son, the latter of whom probably had a mint for copper coins there. The Asoka pillar on which Samudragupta recorded