The Arya‑Manjusri Mula‑Kalpa on Candragupta I

Summary

This article analyses a passage from the Buddhist chronicle ‘Arya‑Manjushri Mula‑Kalpa’ that describes a Gauda king named Samudra and his predecessor. The author argues that the predecessor is Chandragupta I, father of Samudragupta. According to the passage, Chandragupta was installed as king of Magadha by a southern ruler, extended his kingdom to Saketa and was later defeated and killed by enemiesfile:///home/oai/share/iq_articles/aryamanjusri_chandragupta.pdf#:~:text=It%20will%20suffice%20to%20state,encmies%20%E2%80%98who%20occupied%20his%20kingdom. The article notes that Chandragupta initially bore the title ‘maharaja’ but later issued coins as ‘Maharajadhiraja’, indicating independence from his southern overlordfile:///home/oai/share/iq_articles/aryamanjusri_chandragupta.pdf#:~:text=of%20the%20Deccan,49%20and%2052. It compares this account with the Allahabad pillar inscription, which suggests that Samudragupta was appointed crown prince while his father was still alive and perhaps wounded during an invasionfile:///home/oai/share/iq_articles/aryamanjusri_chandragupta.pdf#:~:text=Lastly%2C%20it%2015%20said%20that,of%20the%20invasion%20of%20his. The author proposes that the AMMK passage inspired later forged Purana verses and that it offers valuable clues about early Gupta historyfile:///home/oai/share/iq_articles/aryamanjusri_chandragupta.pdf#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C%20it%20may%20be,based%20this%20part%20also%20%E0%AB%A61.