#Samudragupta

“The emperor who came nearer than anyone in six centuries to ruling all India had his wars written up — on Aśoka's own pillar — by a general-poet who signed the poem; and on his money he wanted to be remembered not on a horse but with a lute in his hands.”

“Conquest is the easy part; holding is expensive. So he ran an empire on three settings — annex the near, defeat-and-release the far for tribute, flatter the distant — and then chose, for his gold coins, an image no conqueror had chosen before: himself, cross-legged, playing the vīṇā.”