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VIKRAMADITYA. Vikramaditya was a title great Hindu kings of ancient India, including Chandragupta (r. 380-415) and his grandson Skandagupta (r. 455-67) of the Gupta dynasty, well as for the rulers of the Chalukya Dynasty. The first named, that is Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was third in his line, defeated the Sakas of the northwest, consolidated the Gupta Empire and established his capital city at Ujjaini (Ujjain in the present-day Madhya Pradesh). He presided over a brilliant court and a period of peace and great cultural florescence. It is likeiv that Kalidasa, the Sanskrit playwright, received his patronage.
In the opinion of some scholars, the accomplishments of this monarch, notably his wisdom and magnanimity, are unparalled in the entire history of India. He is so famous in Indian history that legends about the "good king Vikramaditya of Ujjaini" who performed heroic and mystical deeds, and whose court was embellished by the navaratna, or "nine jewels" of leaming are quite famous. Some of these legends were collected and translated by the nineteenth-century English explorer Richard Burton under the title The King and the Corpse.
The Vikrama era, or Hindu calendar, is also associated with the legendary ruler whose title means "Sun of Prowess." But this era commences with the year 58 B.C. and therefore cannot be linked with any of the historical figures mentioned above.
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