5 GREATEST INDIAN KINGS IN HISTORY!!
Most are born to serve, but only a few are born to rule. And when talking about India's history, there is no doubt that this country's soil has shaped some of the greatest rulers known to mankind. Talking about kings, we have seen a ton of them in our history but only a few stand out among the rest and have a renowned status. They are the ones who adhere the qualities of humanity, they are humble, righteous, courageous, fierce, knowledgeable, respectful and are protectors of their people.
So today, let's take a look on some of the greatest of the great, the most impactful kings of all time. these are not just kings but the "Maharaja" or king of kings, they are "Chakravarti" the ideal universe ruler, they are "Advaita" and "Ajinkya" that is the one who is irreplaceable and unconquerable. These are the 5 greatest Indian kings in history.
Behold, the mighty king of kings!!
5. RajaRaja Chola 1 :( reign:985-1014 AD )
- He was a ruler of the Chola dynasty which during his reign covered the entirety of the highly contested region of southern India, and also northern part of Sri Lanka.
- Initially the Chola's were greatly ristricted by other dynasties of the south in terms of power and land extent, but after RajaRaja became the emperor the days of sorrow for the Chola's vanished.
- He led the empire to great hieghts by conquering the regions of other dynasties like the Pandya's and Chera's who had major prominance in the south.
- He led the empire to great hieghts by conquering the regions of other dynasties like the Pandya's and Chera's who had major prominance in the south.
- He also acquired the Lakshadweep and Maldive islands in the Indian ocean showing great naval experties.
- He built the iconic Brihadisvara temple at the Chola capital of Thanjavur, considered as one of the greatest architectural feats showcasing the medieval south Indian architectural style.
- Born as Arulmoli Varman, he later got the title of RajaRaja. He is also described as RajaRaja the Great.
4. Samudragupta:( reign:330-380 AD )
- The Gupta dynasty which ruled during India's "Golden Age" was no short of great kings, but if one has to be considered as the powerhouse of the Guptas then it has to be king Samudragupta.
- He was the son of Chandragupta 1 who was also an incredible ruler. But Samudragupta was no short of his father, his military achievements were so fantastic that he was given the name of Indian Napoleon.
- Firstly, he captured the Gangatic-valley and then moved south of conquer the territories of 12 kings, only to return it back to them just to leave an impact of his power.
- He even extended the the Gupta empire in further north by defeating kings mostly of the Naga empire. And performed "Ashwamedha Yagya" to expand his power even more.
- To show his prosperity, he issued gold and silver coins. His empire was expanded like an ocean hence he was given the name Samudragupta.
3. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj:( reign:1674-1680 AD )
- His father Shahaji Bhonsale was a minister in the Adilshahi sultanate, but Shivaji was not interested in serving others. At the age of 16 he promised himself to establish "Swaraj" i.e. self rule as India was mostly controlled by foreign invaders.
- His mother Jijamata thought him stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata and played a major role in making Shivaji a virtuous King.
- With the support of maratha clans and his tactics of gorilla warfare, he conquered areas of the Adhilshahi rule and formed the Maratha empire.
- During his reign Shivaji captured and made forts to stabilize his empire. Raigad, Pratapgarh, Sindhudurg, Vijaydurg were some of the prominant forts made by him. Shivaji also gave great importance to naval developement.
- In 1674, Shivaji Maharaj was crowned as "Chhatrapati" at his capital of Raigad.
2. Chandragupta Maurya:( reign:321-297 BC )
- Founder of the largest Indian empire the Mauryan empire, Chandragupta Maurya was a pivitol figure in Indian history. He united various kingdoms of India into one single empire and became the first king to rule majority area of the subcontinent.
- Chanakya, the mastermind of statecraft and army building was his mentor and guided Chandragupta in conquering the Nanda empire.
- Initially he gained control of the greater Punjab region and eventually, acquired the central region of the Nanda's which was Patliputra. He even conquered the Greek Satraps that were formed from Alexander's empire in south in south Asia.
- Besides war and expeditions, he also created marraige allainces to expand his territory further. His empire expanded from the Hindu Kush Ranges in Afganistan to present day Bengal.
- Description of him is found in Hindu, Buddhist, Ancient Greek and Jain texts. Chandragupta Maurya was not of a royal bloodline, he was a lower class civilian who with right mentorship became one of the greatest kings of all time.
( Mauryan empire during Chandragupta Maurya's reign.)
1. Ashoka the Great:( reign:268-232 BC )
- Considered as the greatest Indian king by many, Ashoka was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya and the son of Bindusara. He contested his own brothers to become the succsessor of the Mauryan's.
- Ashoka extended the boundaries of the empire even further in the Indian subcontinent. During his reign the Mauryan empire saw it's maximum reach in extent of area and stretched from Afganistan in east to Bangladesh in the west covering all of central India. Only some parts of south India were not under his control.
- His name literally ment "Painless" and throughout his reign he was rewarded with many titles like "Chakravarti Samrat", "Maharajadhiraj", "Devanampriya" and "Piyadasi".
- After the great Kalinga war in which over 100,000 people are said to have died, Ashoka had a change of heart and converted into Buddhism, fighting no other war ever again.
- He built the famous Sanchi Stupa and even at the end stage of his life he used state funds for donation to Buddhist sanghas.
Two emperors from the Maurya empire covering the first and the second spot. This shows the that the Mauryan's were great administrators and ethical rulers hence, were able to form such an incredible and large empire.
these are just some of the greatest emperors, Indian history has many more such gems who contributed greatly in the moral developement of this country. And we will definitely look at all of them in future. But one thing is for sure that we are honoured to have such a rich culture and history!
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