Vikramaditya, the legendary emperor.
Vikramaditya was a legendary emperor of ancient India. Often characterized as an ideal king, he is known for his generosity, courage, and patronage of scholars. Chandragupta II, also called Vikramaditya, powerful emperor (reigned c. 380–c. 415 ce) of northern India. He was the son of Samudra Gupta and grandson of Chandragupta I.Vikramaditya ruled over parts of India in the 1st century BCE, and popular culture credits him with starting the Vikrama Samvat era in 57 BCE. He is featured in hundreds of traditional Indian legends, including the popular Vikram and Betaal, which is based on Baital Pachisi. Vikramaditya was the king of Ujjain. He is called the greatest judge in history because he always gave perfect justice to his people. It is our prayer at the feet of God that Hindus should ready themselves for any type of assault against them by taking a cue from the ancient history of india. One such King was, Vikramaditya, who ruled over Ujjain. In his kingdom, all law and order arrangements were based on the Dharmashastras and were excellent. In order to ensure ideal rule, in his cabinet of ministers, he had nine important ministers who were truly gems. His kingdom extended up to Arabastan and he was a generous king, who always looked after the welfare of his people. Vikramaditya’s father was Mahendradutt, mother was Soumyadarshana and brother was Barthuhari. Vikramaditya had defeated the rulers of Arabastan and had added that region into his kingdom. This victory is beautifully described in a poem by “Barham Bin Soi”. Of the sixty years that Vikramaditya ruled, he spent twenty five years in wars. He was an ideal ruler who always ensured that everyone benefitted from his decisions. He was a generous ruler who always thought of the welfare of his people and ruled accordingly. Even though he was a follower of the Shaiva religion, he always treated all religions with equal respect. In his cabinet, his nine gems were Dhanvantri, Shapanak, Amar Singh Shanku, Vetal Bhatt, Kharpar, Kalidas, Varahmihir and Varruchi.
