Gupta Age (320 AD-550 AD)

Ancient History

The Gupta Empire (c. 320–550 CE) was founded by Chandragupta I and reached its peak under Samudragupta and Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya). It is often called the "Golden Age" of India due to advancements in science, mathematics, astronomy, and arts. Kalidasa, Aryabhata, and Varahamihira were famous scholars of this era.

The Gupta administration was decentralized with local rulers and feudatories maintaining internal autonomy. Sanskrit literature, classical art, sculpture, and architecture flourished during this time. The Gupta period saw the development of Nalanda University as a renowned learning center. Hinduism became more dominant, but Buddhism and Jainism were also respected. Coinage, trade, and urban life prospered, with links extending to Southeast Asia. The empire began declining due to weak successors and invasions by the Huns.

The Gupta legacy deeply influenced later Indian culture, polity, and education systems. The Gupta empire was founded by Sri Gupta. The Gupta empire rose to prominence in Magadha around 320 AD and covered large parts of northern India and smaller parts of southern India.

Rulers of Gupta Empire

Sri Gupta [275-300AD]

Founder of Gupta dynasty
Title: ‘Maharaja’
Tsing called him Sri Gupta

Chandragupta [320- 335 AD]

He increased power and prestige also matrimonial alliances
He married Kumaradevi, princess of Lichhavi
Title: ‘Maharajadhiraj’
He, by conquest, expanded his empire. By 321 AD, his territories had extended from the Ganges River to Prayag.
In the joint names of his queen and himself, he issued coins.
The inscription of the Mehrauli Iron Pillar describes his conquests.
He is known to be the founder of the Gupta era, starting with his accession in 320 A.D.

Samudragupta [335- 375AD]

Title: Kaviraj.
He succeeded Chandragupta and expanded the empire far and wide. He followed a policy of conquest and has been called the Napoleon of India for this reason.
Information about him is given in the Ashokan pillar of Allahabad. His achievements are mentioned by his court poet Harisena in the inscription.
He conquered the forest kingdoms of central India called Adavirajyas. (These areas had strategic value as they were on the path of South India)
These routes enabled him to proceed to the South along the eastern coast and conquered 12 kings on the way.
He reached as far as Kanchi but instead of annexing their kingdoms, liberated and reinstated these kings on tier Thrones.
The Allahabad inscription notes that neighbouring 5 frontier kingdoms and the states of Punjab western India over of it by the conquest of the Samudragupta agreed to pay tribute and taxes to the Samudragupta and obey his orders without any fight.
He performed an Ashwamedha Yajnas and also issued Ashvamedha type of coins portraying the scenes of the Sacrifice.
In one of his coins he represented as playing on a Veena. He was a Vaishnava and a patron of the great Buddhist scholar Vashubandhu.
He allowed the Buddhist King Meghavarman (King of Cylon) to create Bodh Gaya's monasteries.

Chandragupta II (375 – 414 AD)

He was also known as Chandragupta Vikramaditya. He extended the empire further but also consolidated his position through the matrimonial alliances.
He conquered the Shaka kings who were ruling in the western India for the last 300 years which allowed Gupta access to the western coast. His empire also included areas of north-western India and Bengal.
And iron pillar inscription at Mehrauli in Delhi details all these exploits.
He is also remembered for his patronage of art and literature as he had 9 luminaries Navratna in his court - Kalidas, Amarsinh, Dhanvantiri, Varahminhira, Vararuchi, Ghatakarna, Kshapranak, Velabhatt and Shanku.
Even the great Sanskrit poet and playwright are Kalidasa was in his court.
The Chinese Buddhist pilgrimage Fa Hien visited India during his rule.
He was the first Gupta ruler who had started silver coin.
Title: ‘Vikramaditya’

Kumargupta I Maheraditya [415-455 AD]

He also laid foundation of Nalanda University
During his reign, Hunas invaded India.
Introduced the concept of worshipping god Kartikeya.
Mandsaur Edict is related to him

Skandagupta Vikramaditya [455-467 AD]

Bhitari stone inscription tells about him
Hunas invaded in his region, he defeated Hunas
Assumption of Title: Vikramaditya
Issued lion type coin.
Persecuted the Buddhists.

Salient Features of Guptas

Administrative system of Guptas

Efficient administration system. Monarchy was the prevailing system, but special attention was paid to the welfare of the people.
Gupta administration was decentralized in nature with feudatories, local kings and smaller chief’s ruling a large part of their empire
Traditional laws: Dharmashastras were conceived supreme.
The king was assisted by a Mantriparishad/ Mantrimandalam.
The Kingdom was divided into provinces known as Desha, Rastra or Bhukti headed by Uparika.
The provinces were further divided into smaller districts called Pradesh or Vishya headed by Vishyapati.
Vishya are further divided into villages called Gramas headed by Gramadhyksha.
There were high level central officers under Gupta called Kumar Matya who would serve as a cadre for recruitment to the post of important functionaries such as mantri senapati etc

Tax Structure

Land tax increased in number. Bhagakara and Udranga—principal sources of revenue— varied from one-fourth to one-sixth of the produce.
Land was classified into cultivable (Kshetra), wasteland (Khila), forest (Apaharta), habitable land (Vasti) and pasture (Gapatha sarah).
The villagers were also subjected to Vishti i.e. forced labour
Paharpur inscription tells us that the state was the exclusive owner of land.
I-Tsing (AD 672–675)—the Chinese traveller— refers to be the donation of some villages to Chinese Buddhists at Nalanda monastery by the first Gupta Srigupta.

Gupta Society

High material prosperity. Remarkable impact of ahimsa and vegetarianism on society.
Existence of a number of charitable institutions, free hospitals etc. The supremacy of brahmanas increased during this age.
Land grants to religious priests in lieu of their services. This strengthened the positions of the Brahmins, and the term ‘dvija’ came to be restricted normally to them. Increase in the worship of Mother Goddess and family cults.
The position of the Sudras improved, and they became traders, artisans and agriculturists. However, untouchability existed in society.
Fa-Hien gives account of a class called Chandalas, leading a segregated life.
Slavery system existed during the Gupta Empire. Inter-caste and inter-racial marriage was common among the people.
Rise of a new caste—Kayastha (mentioned in Yajnavalkya Smriti). They use to keep records of lands.
Women were subordinate to men. Polygamy was widely prevalent. Their education was discouraged. However, women of higher class participated in administration.
Sati system was in existence and widow marriage was becoming unpopular.

Gupta’s Economy

Both internal and external trade reached its peak. During this period, North India traded with South-East Asia from the ports of Ghantashala, Kadara and Tamralipti.
The agriculture expanded during this. And one of the reason was the practice of granting lands to the brahmanas it helped in bringing virgin lands under the plough
Main articles of import—gold, silver, copper, tin, silk, camphor etc. Main articles of export—pearls, precious stones, clothes, perfumes, spices.
Important trade centres:
- Mathura—cotton.
- Varanasi—silk.
- Salt—from salt range in Punjab.
The goddess Lakshmi is represented invariably on the Gupta coins.
The Guptas issued the largest number of gold coins that were called Dinars. But the gold contents of these coins are not as those of the Kushanas.
Guild system continued to play a very important role in trade and commerce.

Decline of Trade

The Gupta and post Gupta saw a comparative decline in the trade and commerce
Trade and commerce continued till 550 AD but in around 6th centuries the Romans learned the art of rearing silkworms
Another factor was the disruption of the north-western root by the Huna invasion.
They were efforts to make up the loss by carrying the trade with the southeast Asians but it did not help to revive the economy substantially
The loss of Roman trade can be evidenced by the decrease in the inflow of gold and silver into the country hence scarcity of gold coins issued.
Thus, an absence of coins means that a self-sufficient economic system with limited trade prevailed after downfall of Guptas

Religion

Vaishnavism/Bhagwatism became important, and the most important aspect of it was Bhakti (which was open for all). Important god—Vasudeva Krishna.
Shaivism too was important. Many of shoots of Shaivism like:
- Lingayat/Maheswar was founded by Ramaiya.
- Basava developed another sect in Karnataka.
- In Kashmir, Shaivism was influenced by Tantrikism.
Surya worship became important. Surya temples found at Multan (in Pakistan),
Modhera (Gujarat), Osian (Rajasthan), Martand temple (Kashmir, built by Lalitaditya), Konark temple (Orissa, built by Narsimha Varman).
Durga, Ganesha and Kartikeya were also worshipped.

Science

Aryabhatta wasa great mathematician and astronomer. He wrote the book
Aryabhatiya in 499 A.D. It deals with mathematics and astronomy. He was the first to declare that the earth was spherical in shape and that it rotates on its own axis.
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 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).

Gupta Art and Architecture

The Gupta Age witnessed an unprecedented artistic activity all over India. Gupta Age is sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of ancient India. The Greek influence resulting into Gandhara art and later influencing Mathura and Samath schools of Art was fully Indianized.
Dravida style—a second storey (vimana)—characteristic feature. In South India.
Nagara style—shikhara—main feature in North India.
Besara style—mixed north and south Indian style
The immortal Ajanta murals were the most important achievement of this period. A large number of viharas, chaityas and stupas were constructed during this period.
The frescoes of Ellora caves, the Bagh caves, the Sittanvasal temple in Tamil Nadu and rock cut chambers at Sigiriva in Sri Lanka are examples of Gupta paintings.
The period also produced magnificent Brahminical temples. Some of the temples surviving Muslim invasions are Dasavatara temple of Devgarh (Jhansi), Vishnu temple of Tigawa (Jabalpur), Shiva temples at Bhumarah and Khoh and 2 Buddhist shrines at Sanchi and Bodh Gaya.
The Bhitargaon temple is made entirely of brick. The Shikhars made their appearance from here.

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 and prose. The best of the Sanskrit literature belonged to the Gupta age.
The court of Chandragupta II was adorned by the celebrated Navratnas. Kalidasa remain the foremost among them. His master-piece 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 Raghuvamsa and Kumarasambhava. 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 Devichandraguptam. 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.

Decline of Gupta's

Political reasons:

The Gupta decline started during the reign of Skandagupta, the grandson of Chandragupta II. He was successful in retaliating against the Huns and the Pushyamitras, but his empire was drained of finances and resources because of this.
Inter fight: Internal fighting and dissensions among the royal family led to its weakening.
Loss of reign: During the reign of a Gupta king, Budhagupta, the Vakataka ruler Narendrasena of western Deccan attacked Malwa, Mekala and Kosala.
Emergence of independent rulers: Independent rulers emerged all over the north like Yasodharman of Malwa, the Maukharis of U.P., the Maitrakas in Saurashtra, and others in Bengal. The Gupta Empire was restricted to Magadha only.

Foreign invasion:

During Skandagupta’s reign, the Huns invaded northwest India but were restricted.
But in the sixth century, they occupied Malwa, Gujarat, Punjab and Gandhara. The Hun invasion weakened the Gupta hold in the country.
Chalukyas and Pallavas emerged as a strong regional power in the southern parts. Economic reasons:
The migration of guild of Silk weavers from Gujarata to Malwa in AD 473 and their adoption of non-productive professions show that there was not much demand for cloth produced by them.

Religious reasons:

The later Guptas’ following of Buddhism rather than Hinduism unlike their ancestors also weakened the empire.
They did not focus on empire-building and military conquests.
So weak rulers along with incessant invasions from foreign as well as native rulers caused the decline of the Gupta Empire. By the beginning of the sixth century, the empire had disintegrated and was ruled by many regional chieftains.

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