Samudragupta issued the Allahabad Pillar inscription detailing his conquests. Known as the Prayag Prashasti, this 4th-century CE Sanskrit inscription is one of the most important historical records of the Gupta Empire.
The inscription was composed by Harishena, Samudragupta's court poet, minister, and military officer. Written in Gupta script on an earlier Ashokan pillar, it praises the emperor and records his campaigns across northern India, the forest regions, and the south. It distinguishes between territories annexed directly and southern rulers who were defeated but allowed to continue governing as tributaries.
The record also names frontier kingdoms and tribal polities that acknowledged Samudragupta's authority. Its account is highly valuable, but it is a royal panegyric rather than a neutral campaign diary, so its celebratory language should be read critically.
The pillar itself is especially noteworthy because it carries inscriptions from three major imperial periods: Ashoka's 3rd-century BCE edicts, Samudragupta's Gupta-era eulogy, and a later inscription of Mughal emperor Jahangir. The conquest account belongs specifically to Samudragupta.