Samudragupta (reigned 350-375) was the second emperor of the Gupta dynasty of India. His reign ushered in the Golden Age in India and he is remembered both as a benevolent imperial conqueror and a patron of arts and letters. During his ascension to the Indian throne, the Guptas existed as the local powers in the Gangetic valley. Samudragupta, through his conquests expanded the territory of the Gupta Empire to a vast extent, both in northern and southern India. The total extermination of the nine kings of the north, testifies his uncommon military skills. His brilliant power of leadership is proved by his southern conquests. The dazzling campaigns and the organisational skills of Samudragupta has led Dr. Smith to describe him as "Indian Napoleon".

Samudragupta was an imperialist by every inch of his body. Smith has remarked about him that though usurping a kingdom is the business of a king, yet Samudragupta did not act as a naked imperialist. Political unification of India, establishment of peace and order were the fruits of his imperialism. His Empire led to a revival of art and culture to unprecedented heights. Economic motives of trade and tribute and political motives of fortifying India`s frontier against foreign invasion lay far behind his policy of expansionism.

Harishena in Allahabad Prasasti adores Samudragupta as a man of versatile genius. Samudragupta himself was gifted with the skills of poetry and music. The mighty conqueror Samudragupta earned a thriving prosperity as a poet. Due to his composition of beautiful verses, Samudragupta was given the epithet, the "king of poets". Samudragupta`s virtue as a poet and musician stands on solid ground. Moreover in the Prasasti he is eulogised as the `shining example of philanthropy`. He patronised poets and worked for the promotion of education and learning in his Empire. Himself a great musician, Samudragupta`s passion for music is testified by his figure in his coins, carrying a lyre on his knees. He was an accomplished scholar, well versed in Shastras, and a great patron of art and letters. The Buddhist records also refer to his patronage of learning. As an administrator, he was very just and kind. Removing all discrepancies from his kingdom, Samudragupta had worked for the promotion of equality and equal opportunity of people in his Empire. He made liberal help to the poor and the downtrodden. The mighty conqueror Samudragupta was no less an administrator, with sound intellect, unusual benevolence and taste for culture.

Samudragupta ushered in a new age in the history of ancient India. He revived the Brahmanical Hinduism from relative obscurity, by the performance of horse sacrifice, which he restored again. It was also the beginning of the neo-Brahmanical doctrine, which upheld the principle of considering the king as the divine incarnation in earth. This doctrine of neo-Brahmanism is evident from the coins of Samudragupta. Moreover in two copper plates Samudragupta is referred to as "Parama Bhagavata", showing that he was a devotee of Vishnu. However Dr. Majumdar thinks that these copper plates are spurious. His reign marked the beginning of the new era, with unprecedented intellectual and material progress. Samudragupta was a pioneer among the Guptas, who initiated the "Golden Age" in the ancient history of India. As a whole, the spirit of Renaissance, which was the key feature of the age, was started during the reign of Samudragupta.

Samudragupta, the successor of Chandragupta I, was the ruler under whom the Guptas emerged the vast Imperial power, ruling the entire northern and southern India with thriving prosperity. It was Samudragupta who brought the Gupta Empire under the limelight of ancient Indian history. While describing the achievements of Samudragupta, the pioneer of Gupta Renaissance, Dr. H.C Roychowdhury has drawn an interesting comparison between Ashoka and Samudragupta. According to Dr. Roychowdhury, Samudragupta was more versatile than Ashoka. Ashoka was proficient in scriptures only, but the versatility of Samudragupta lies in the fact that Samudragupta was adept in all branches of art and culture. While Ashoka had worked for the spiritual upliftment of his subjects, Samudragupta had worked for the material welfare of the subjects, because according to Samudragupta unless the people are materially established, spiritual upliftment would do no good to them. Moreover Samudragupta, no less than Ashoka had fortified the rampart of "True Law". Samudragupta is famous in the history of ancient India, not only as a mighty conqueror, but also as a just and benevolent administrator.