GUPTA EMPIRE

• There are plenty of source materials to reconstruct the history of the Gupta period.
• Contemporary literary works like the Devi chandraguptam and the Mudhrakshasam written by Visakadatta provide information regarding the rise of the Guptas.
• The Chinese traveller Fahien, who visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II, has left a valuable account of the social, economic and religious conditions of the Gupta empire.
• Apart from these literary sources, there are inscriptions like the Mehrauli Iron Pillar Inscription and the Allahabad Pillar inscription.
• Mehrauli Iron Pillar Inscription: It refers to the achievements of Chandragupta I.
• Allahabad Pillar inscription: The most important source for the reign of Samudragupta
• It describes his personality and achievements. This inscription is engraved on an Asokan pillar.
• It is written in classical Sanskrit using the Nagari script.
• It consists of 33 lines composed by Harisena.
• It describes the circumstances of Samudragupta’s accession, his military campaigns in North India and the Deccan his relationship with other contemporary rulers and his accomplishments as a poet and scholar.
• The coins issued by Gupta kings contain legends and figures.

Chandragupta I (320 – 330 A.D.)

• The founder of the Gupta dynasty was Sri Gupta.
• He was succeeded by Ghatotkacha.
• These two were called Maharajas.
• The next ruler was Chandragupta I.
• He was the first to be called Maha rajadhiraja (the great king of kings).
• This title indicates his extensive conquests.
• He strengthened his position by a matrimonial alliance with the Licchavis.
• He married Kumara Devi a princess of that family.
• The Meherauli Iron Pillar inscription mentions his extensive conquests.
• Chandragupta I is considered to be the founder of the Gupta era which starts with his accession in A.D. 320

Samudragupta (330 – 380 A.D.)

• Samudragupta was the greatest of the rulers of the Gupta dynasty.
• The Allahabad Pillar inscription provides a detailed account of his reign.
• It refers to three stages in his military campaign
• Against some rulers of North India
• His famous Dakshinapatha expedition against South Indian rulers
• A second campaign against some other rulers of North India.
• In the first campaign, Samudragupta defeated Achyuta and Nagasena.
• Achyuta was probably a Naga ruler.
• Nagasena belonged to the Kota family which was ruling over the upper Gangetic valley.
• As a result of this short campaign, Samudragupta had gained complete mastery over the upper Gangetic valley.
• Samudragupta marched against the South Indian monarchs.
• The Allahabad Pillar inscription mentions that Samudragupta defeated twelve rulers in his South Indian Expedition. He fought against nine kings uprooted them and annexed their territories.
• They were Rudradeva, Mattila, Nagadatta, Chandravarman, Ganapathinaga, Nagasena, Achyuta, Nandin and Balavarman. Most of these rulers were members of the Naga family, then ruling over different parts of north India.
• It is because of his military achievements Samudragupta was hailed as ‘Indian Napoleon’.

Estimate of Samudragupta

• Samudragupta’s military achievements remain remarkable in the annals of history.
• He was equally great in his other personal accomplishments.
• The Allahabad Pillar inscription speaks of his magnanimity to his foes, his polished intellect, his poetic skill and his proficiency in music.
• It calls him Kaviraja because of his ability in composing verses.
• His image depicting him with Veena is found in the coins issued by him.
• It is proof of his proficiency and interest in music.
• He was also a patron of many poets and scholars one of whom was Harisena.
• He must be credited with a share in the promotion of Sanskrit literature and learning, characteristic of his dynasty.
• He was an ardent follower of Vaishnavism but was tolerant of other creeds.
• He evinced keen interest in Buddhism and was the patron of the great Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu.

Chandragupta II (380 – 415 A.D.)

• Samudragupta was succeeded by his son Chandragupta II Vikramaditya.
• According to some scholars, the immediate successor of Samudragupta was Ramagupta.
• He married Kuberanaga a Naga princess of central India.

Conquest of Western India

• Chandragupta II territories in western Malwa and the Kathiawar Peninsula were annexed into the Gupta Empire.  After this victory he performed the horse-sacrifice and assumed the title Sakari, meaning ‘destroyer of Sakas’.
• Ujjain became an important commercial city and soon became the alternative capital of the Guptas.
• The great wealth of the Gupta Empire was manifest in the variety of gold coins issued by Chandragupta II.

Fahien’s Visit

• The famous Chinese pilgrim, Fahien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II.
• Out of his nine years stay in India, he spent six years in the Gupta empire.
• He came to India by the land route through Khotan, Kashgar, Gandhara and Punjab.
• He visited Peshawar, Mathura, Kanauj, Sravasti, Kapilavastu, Kusinagara, Pataliputra, Kasi and Bodh Gaya among other places.
• He returned by the sea route visiting on the way Ceylon and Java.
• The main purpose of his visit was to see the land of the Buddha and to collect Buddhist manuscripts from India.
• He stayed in Pataliputra for three years studying Sanskrit and copying Buddhist texts.
• Fahien provides valuable information on the religious, social and economic condition of the Gupta empire.
• According to him, Buddhism was in a flourishing condition in northwestern India but in the Gangetic valley, it was in a state of neglect.
• He refers to the Gangetic valley as the ‘land of Brahmanism’.
• Fahien mentions the unsatisfactory state of some of the Buddhist holy places like Kapilavastu and Kusi nagara. According to him the economic condition of the empire was prosperous.
• Although his account is valuable in many respects, he did not mention the name of Chandragupta II.
• The power and glory of the Gupta empire reached its peak under the rule Chandragupta II Vikramaditya.
• He also contributed to the general cultural progress of the age and patronized great literary figures like Kalidasa.
• He promoted artistic activity. Because of the high level of cultural progress that was achieved during this period, the Gupta period is generally referred to as a golden age.

Gupta Administration

• Provinces in the Gupta Empire were known as Bhuktis and provincial governors as Uparikas.
• They were mostly chosen from among the princes.
• Bhuktis were subdivided into Vishyas or districts.
• They were governed by Vishyapatis. Nagara Sreshtis were the officers looking after the city administration.
• The villages in the district were under the control of Gramikas.
• Fahien’s account on the Gupta administration provides useful information.
• He characterises the Gupta administration as mild and benevolent.
• Imposing a fine was a common punishment.
• There was no spy system.

Social Life

• The pre – Gupta period in India witnessed a series of foreign invasions.
• Indian society had given way to those foreigners who had become permanent residents here.
• During the Gupta period, the caste system became rigid.
• The Brahmins occupied the top ladder of society.
• They were given enormous gifts by the rulers as well as other wealthy people.
• The practise of untouchability had slowly begun during this period.
• Fahien mentions that Chandalas were segregated from society.
• The position of women had also become miserable during the Gupta period.
• The subjection of women to men was thoroughly regularized.
• The practice of Swyamvara was given up and the Manusmriti suggested the early marriage for girls.
• In the sphere of religion, Brahmanism reigned supreme during the Gupta period.
• Most of the Gupta kings were Vaishnavaites.
• They performed Aswamedha sacrifices.
• The worship of images and the celebration of religious festivals with elaborate rituals made these two religions popular.
• Religious literature like the Puranas was composed during this period.
• The progress of Brahmanism led to the neglect of Buddhism and Jainism.
• Fahien refers to the decline of Buddhism in the Gangetic valley.
• A few Buddhist scholars like Vasubandhu were patronized by Gupta kings.
• In western and southern India Jainism flourished.
• The great Jain Council was held at Valabhi during this period and the Jain Canon of the Swetambras was written.
• The Gupta period witnessed tremendous progress in the field of art, science and literature and on account of this it has been called “a golden age”.
• A few scholars even call this period a period of renaissance.
• But it should be remembered that there was no dark period before the Gupta rule.
• Therefore the cultural progress witnessed during the Gupta period may be called the culmination of Indian intellectual activities.

Art and Architecture

• In the history of Indian art and architecture, the Gupta period occupies an important place.
• Both the Nagara and Dravidian styles of art evolved during this period.
• The temple at Deogarh near Jhansi and the sculptures in the temple at Garhwal near Allahabad remain important specimen of the Gupta art.
• There was no influence of Gandhara style.
• The beautiful statue of standing Buddha at Mathura reveals a little Greek style.
• The Buddha statue unearthed at Saranath was a unique piece of Gupta art.
• The Bhitari monolithic pillar of Skandagupta is also remarkable.
• Metallurgy had also made wonderful progress during the Gupta period.
• The craftsmen were efficient in the art of casting metal statues and pillars.
• The gigantic copper statue of Buddha, originally found at Sultanganj now kept at Birmingham museum was about seven and a half feet height and nearly a ton weight.
• The Delhi Iron pillar of the Gupta period is still free from rust though completely exposed to sun and rain for so many centuries.
• The paintings of the Gupta period are seen at Bagh caves near Gwalior.
• The mural paintings of Ajantha mostly illustrate the life of the Buddha as depicted in the Jataka stories.
• The paintings at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka were highly influenced by the Ajantha style.
• The Gupta coinage was also remarkable.
• Samudragupta issued eight types of gold coins.
• The legends on them throw much light on the achievements of that marvellous king.
• The figures inscribed on them are illustrative of the skill and greatness of Gupta numismatic art.
• Chandragupta II and his successors had also issued gold, silver and copper coins of different varieties.

Literature

• The Sanskrit language became prominent during the Gupta period.
• Nagari script had evolved from the Brahmi script.
• Numerous works in classical Sanskrit came to be written in the forms of
• epic
• lyrics
• drama
• prose
• The best of the Sanskrit literature belonged to the Gupta age.
• Himself a great poet Samudragupta patronized a number of scholars including Harisena.
• The court of Chandragupta II was adorned by the celebrated Navratnas.
• Kalidasa remains foremost among them.
• His masterpiece was the Sanskrit drama Shakuntala.
• It is considered one among the ‘hundred best books of the world’.
• He wrote two other plays – the Malavikagnimitra and Vikramorvasiya.
• His two well-known epics are Raghu vamsa and Kumara sambhava. Ritusamhara and Meghaduta are his two lyrics.
• Visakadatta was another celebrated author of this period.
• He was the author of two Sanskrit dramas Mudrarakshasa and Devi chandraguptam. Sudraka was a renowned poet of this age and his book Mrichchakatika is rich in humour and pathos.
• Bharavi’s Kritarjuniya is the story of the conflict between Arjuna and Siva.
• Dandin was the author of Kavyadarsa and Dasakumaracharita. Another important work of this period was Vasavadatta written by Subhandhu.
• The Panchatantra stories were composed by Vishnusarma during the Gupta period. The Buddhist author Amarasimha compiled a lexicon called Amarakosa.
• The Puranas in their present form were composed during this period.
• There are eighteen Puranas. The most important among them are the Bhagavatha, Vishnu, Vayu and Matsya Puranas.
• The Mahabharatha and the Ramayana were given final touches and written in the present form during this period.

Science

• The Gupta period witnessed a brilliant activity in the sphere of mathematics, astronomy, astrology and medicine.
• Aryabhatta was a great mathematician and astronomer.
• He wrote the book Aryabhatiya in 499 A.D.
• It deals with mathematics and astronomy.
• It explains scientifically the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses.
• Aryabhatta was the first to declare that the earth was spherical in shape and that it rotates on its own axis.
• These views were rejected by later astronomers like Varahamihira and Brahmagupta.
• Varahamihira composed Pancha Siddhantika, the five astronomical systems.
• He was also a great authority on astrology.
• His work Brihadsamhita is a great work in Sanskrit literature.
• It deals with a variety of subjects like astronomy, astrology, geography, architecture, weather, animals, marriage and omens.
• His Brihadjataka is considered to be a standard work on astrology.
• In the field of medicine, Vagbhata lived during this period. He was the last of the great medical trio of ancient India. The other two scholars Charaka and Susruta lived before the Gupta age.
• Vagbhata was the author Ashtangasamgraha (Summary of the eight branches of medicine).