The historian V. A. Smith has called Samudragupta the ‘Napoleon’ of India because of his policy of war and conquest. He started with the conquest of his immediate neighbours and then by campaigns to the east and the south.
The Kadambas had their capital at Vaijayanti or Banavasi in north Kanara district in the state of Karnataka. The Kadambas were contemporaries of the Pallavas. They claimed to be Brahmanas. The Kadamba dynasty was founded by Mayurasharman.