Gupta Period (319 AD - 540 AD)

Gupta Period (319 AD - 540 AD)

• In 4th Century AD the Guptas, a new dynasty, arose in Magadha and established a large kingdom over the greater part of Northern India (though their empire was not as large as that of the Maury as). Their rule lasted for more than 200 years.
• This period is referred to as the 'Classical Age' or . 'Golden Age' of ancient India and was perhaps the most prosperous era in the Indian history.
• According to epigraphic evidence, the founder of the dynasty was a person named Gupta. He used the simple title of Maharaja.
• Gupta was succeeded by his son Ghatotkach, who also inherited the title of Maharaja.

Chandragupta I : 319-334 AD

• He was the first Gupta ruler to assume the title Maharajadhiraja
• He strengthened his kingdom by matrimonial alliance with the powerful family of Lichchhavis who were the rulers of Mithila. His marriage to Lichehhvi princess Kumnradevi brought him enormous power, resources and prestige. He took advantage of the situation and occupied the whole of fertile Gangetic Valley.
• He started the Gupta Era in 319-20 AD.
• Chandragupta I was able to establish his authority over Magadha, Prayaga and Saketa.
• Original type of Gold Coins (Dinaras) Chandragupta I -Kumaradevi type.

Samudragupta : 335-380 AD

• Samudragupta was the greatest king of Gupta dynasty.
• The most detailed and authentic record of his reign ispreserved in the Prayaga Prasasti/Allahabad pillar inscription, composed by his court poet Harisena.
• According to Prayaga Prasasti, he was a great conqueror.
• In the Gangetic Valley and Central India, Samudragupta annexed the territories of the defeated monarchs, but in South India he remained content with victories alone and did not annex the territories of the vanquished rulers.
• Samudragupta's military compaigns justify description of him as the 'Indian Napoleon' by V.A. Smith.
• The reference to his dominion over Java, Sumatra and Malaya islands in the sea shows that he had a navy.
• When he died his mighty empire bordered that of the Kushan of Western province (modem Afghanistan and Pakistan) and Vakatakas in Deccan (modem Southern Maharashtra).
• His greatest achievement was the political unification of most of India or Aryavarta into a formidable power.

Titles:

• Kaviraja i.e. king of poets (Prayaga Prasasti), Param Bhagavat(Nalandacopperplate), Ashvamedha- parakrama i.e. whose might was demonstrated by the horse-sacrifice (coin), Vikrami.e. prowess (coin), Sarva- raj-ochchettai.e. uprooter of all kings (coin) etc. Note : Only Gupta ruler to be the title of Sarva-raj-ochehhetta.

Original types of Gold Coins (Dinars):

Garud type, Dhanurdhari i.e. Archer type, Axe type, Ashvamedha type, Vyaghrahanan i.e. Tiger killing type, Veenavadani.e. lute playing type.

• Samudragupta was a Vaishnavite.
• According to the Chinese writer Wang-Hiuen-Tse, Meghavarna, king of Sri Lanka, sent an embassy to Samudragupta for his permission to build a monastery for Buddhist pilgrims at Bodh Gaya.

Chandragupta II 'Vikramaditya': 380-414 AD

• According to 'Devi Chandragupta' (Vishakhadatta), Samudragupta was succeeded by Ramgupta. It seems Ramgupta ruled for a very short period. He was 'the only Gupta ruler to issue copper coins'.
• Ramagupta, a coward and impotent king, agreed to surrender his queen Dhruvadevito Saka invader. But the prince Chandragupta II, the younger brother of the king, resolved to go to the enemy's camp in the guise of the queen with a view to kill the hated enemy. Chandragupta II succeeded in killing the Saka ruler.
• Chandragupta II also succeeded in killing Ramgupta,and not only seized his kingdom but also married his widow Dhruvadevi.
• Chandragupta II extended the limits of his empire through matrimonial alliances (with the Nagas and Vakatakas) and conquests (Western India). He married Kubemaga of Naga dynasty and married his daughter prabhavatigupta with Vakataka prince Rudrasena II.
• As a result of the overthrow of Saka rule in Western India, the Gupta empire extended upto Arabian sea. He issued silver coins in the memory of victory over Sakas. He was 'the first Gupta ruler to issue silvercoins' and adopted the titles Sakari and Vikramaditya.Ujjain seems to have been made the second capital by Chandragupta II.
• Mehrauli (near Kutub Minar, Delhi) Iron Pillar inscription says that the king defeated the confederacy of Vangas and Vahilkas (Bulkh).

Navaratna (i.e. nine gems) of Chandragupta II:

1. Kalidasa (Poetry-Ritusamhar, Meghadutam, Kumarsambhavam, Raghuvamshama; Dramas Malvikagnimitra, Vikramorvashiyam, Abhijnan Shakuntalam)

2.   Amarsinh (Amarsinhkosha)

3.   Dhanavantri (Navanitakam-medicine text)

4.   Varahmihira (Panch Sidhantaka, Vrihatsamhita, VrihatJataka, Laghu Jataka)

5.   Araruchi (Vartika-a comment on Ashtadhyayi)

6.   Ghatakama         

7.   Kshapranak

8.   Velabhatt

9.   Shanku.

• Fahien, a Chinese pilgrim, visited India during Chandragupta's reign and described what he saw in his travelogue 'fo-gu-oji'

Titles:

Devagupta/Devaraja/Devashri, ParamaBhagavata, Narendra Chandra, Sinh Vikram etc.

Original types of Gold coins (Dinaras):

Ashvarohi type, Chhatradhari type, Chakra-Vikram type etc.

Kumaragupta I : 415-455 AD

• Chandragupta-II was succeeded by his son Kumaragupta-I.
• Towards the end of his reign, the Gupta empire was threatened from the North by the Huns, who were temporarily checked by his son Skandagupta.
• Kumaragupta was the worshipper of god Kartikeya.
• He founded the Nalanda Mahavihara which developed into a great centre of learning.
• Titles: Mahendraditya, Mahendra Singh and Ashvamedha Mahendrah (coins) etc.
• Original types of Gold Coins (Dinars): Khadgadharitype, Gajarohi type, Gajarohi Sinh-nihanta type,Khang-nihanta i.e. rhinoceros-slayer type, Kartikeyatype, Apratigh-mudra type etc.

Skandagupta: 455-467 AD

• Skandagupta, the last great ruler of the Gupta dynasty.
• During his reign the Gupta empire was invaded by the Huns. He succeeded in defeating the Huns. Success inrepelling the Huns seems to have been celebrated by the assumption of the title 'Vikramaditya' (Bhitari Pillar Inscription).
• The continuous attacks of the Huns weakened empire and adversely affected its economy. The gold coinage of Skandagupta bears testimony to this.
• The decline of the empire began soon after his death.
• Titles ; Vikramaditya and Kramaditya (coins), Parart/ Bhagavat (coins), Sharkropama (Kahaum Pilj(lr Inscription), Devaraja (Arya Manjushri Mula Kalpa) etc.

The Huns : 

500-530 AD-Huns were primitive pastora/iste owing herds of cattle and horses but knowing nothing of agriculture. They roamed in the Steppe in search of pasture and water. From the white Huns came into Afghanistan, destroyed the local power and, after establishing themselves there, began to pour into India in 458 AD. However, Skandagupta who was at the time ruling  Northern India, checkmated them effectively. Whenever the Gupta empire's resistance collapsed the Huns occupied the areas upto Central India and Malwa about 500 AD. There were two powerful Hun rulers Toramana and his son MihirkuJa. They ruled during 500-530 AD. Mihirkula, a Shaivite was a persecutor of Buddhism, In 530AD, the Huns were uprooted by Yashodarmana of Mandsaur

Vakatakas : 

3rd Century-5,h Century AD—The Vakatakas were the most important power that held sway over parts of Deccan and Central India after the fall of the Satavahanas and before the rise of Chalukyas. The founder of the Vakataka dynasty was Vindhyasakti (255-75 AD). Vindhyasakti was succeeded by his' son Pravarasena I (275-335 AD), who was the real founder of the akataka empire. He perfomed 4 Ashuvamedha Yajnas. After his death, the empire was divided. Rudrasena I took over the reigns of main branch i.e. Northern branch. He was the contemporary of Samudragupta. Rudrasena I was succeeded by Prithvisen L He was contemporary of Chandragupta II. Chandragupta married his aughter Prabhavatigupta to the prince Rudrasena II. Prithvisena was succeeded by his son Rudrasena U. Rudrasena U died er a s ort reign of five years, leaving behind two minor sons4 lva arasena and Damodarsena. Prabhavatigupta ruled as 4 gen o er son. Later, Damodarsena became ruler with the name ^masm II. Pravarasena II composed 'Setubandh/Ravanaho. (Poetry) in Marathi Script.

Administration

• Centralised control was not as fully realized under the Guptas as it had been under the Mauryas.
• The Guptan administration was thus highly decentralised, and as patrimonial bureaucracy reached its logical conclusion. In hereditary grants it reflected the quasi-feudal character of the economy.
• It comprised a network of self governing tribes and tributary kingdoms and their chiefs often served as representatives of imperial powers.
• The Gupta king took exalted titles like Mahadhiraja, Samrat, Ekadhiraja, Chakravartin befitting their large empire and imperial status.
• The practice of appointing the crown prince (Kuniara) came in vogue.
• The Gupta kings were assisted by a council of ministers ( Mantriparishad/Mantrimandalam). The existence of such a council is implied in the Prayaga/Allahabad Pillar Inscription, which speaks of the delight of the Sabhyas (members) at the selection for Samudragupta for the throne.
• Among the high officers we may take special notice of the Kumaramatyra and the Sandhivigrahikat who are not known to inscriptions of earlier period.
• The Kumaramatyas formed the chief cadre for recruiting high officials under the Guptas. It was from them that the Mantris, Senapati, Mahadanda-nayaka (Minister ofjsutice) and Sandhivigrahika (Minister of peace and war) were generally chosen.
• The office of Sandhivigrahika first appears under Samudragupta, whose amatya Harisena held this title.
• Other Important officials : Mahapratihari (the Chief usher of the Royal Palace), Dandapashika (Chief officer of Police Department), Vinayasthitisthapak (Chief Officer of Religious affairs), Mahapilupati (Chief of Elephant corps), Mahashvapati (Chief of Cavalry) etc.
• The important Bhuktis (J.e. provinces) of Gupta period were : Magadha, Barddhaman, Pundra Vardhana, Teerbhukti (Northern Bihar), Eastern Malwa, Western Malwa and Saurashtra.

• The administration of city was in the hand of a council (Paura), which consisted of the president of the city corporation, the chief representative of the guild of merchants, a representative of the artisans and the Chief Accountant.
• Whereas under the Maury as, the city committee was appointed by the Maurya government, under the Guptas, it was comprised of the local representatives. Decentralisation of the administrative authority began during the Gupta period.
• It was during the Gupta rule that the village headmen became more important than before.
• The Gupta military organisation was feudalby character (though the emperor had a large standing army).
• In the Gupta period for the first time civil and criminal law were clearly defined and demarcated.
• Gupta kings depended primarily on land revenue, varying from 1/4 to 1/6 of the produce.
• During Gupta period the army was to be fed by the people whenever it passed through the countryside. This tax was called Senabhakta.
• The villagers were also subjected to forced labour called vishti for serving royal army and officials
• The Gupta period also experienced an excess of land grants. (Agarhara grants, Devagrahara grants). Land grants included the transfer of royal rights over salt and mines, which were under the royal monopoly during the Maurya period.

Society

• The varna system begins to get modified owing to the proliferation of castes. This was chiefly due to three factors : (i) A large number of foreigners had been assimilated into the Indian society primarily and were known as Kshatriyas (ii) There was a large absorption of tribal people into Brahamanical society through land grants. The acculturated tribes were absorbed into the Shudra Varna, (iii) Guilds of craftsmen were often transformed into castes as a result of the decline of trade and urban centres and the localised character of crafts.
• The social positions of the Shudras seems to have improved in this period. They were permitted to listen to the epics and Puranas and also worship a new god called Krishna.
• From around the 3rd century onwards the practice of untouchability appears to have intensified and their number registered a rise. Katyayana, a smriti writer of the Gupta period was the first to use the expression asprasya to denote the untouchable.
• The position of women deteriorated further. Polygamy was common.
• Early marriages were advocated and often pre-puberty marriages took place.
• The first example of Sati appears in Gupta time in 510 AD in Eran in Madhya Pradesh. (Bhanugupta's Eran Inscription - 510 AD)
• Women were denied any right to property except for Stridhana in the form of jewellery and garments.
• Under the patronage of Gupta ruler, Vaishnavism became very popular.
• The gods were activated by their unions with the respective consorts. Thus, Laxmi got her association with Vishnu and Parvati got her association with Shiva.
• This was the period of evolution of Vajrayanism and Buddhist tantric cults.
• Idol worship became a common feature of Hinduism from Gupta period onwards.

Economy

• It is argued by many scholars that the state was the exclusive owner of land. The most decisive argument in favour of the exclusive state ownership of land is in the Pahadpur Copper Plate inscription of Buddhagupta.
• From the economic standpoint, we may classify land under the Gupta period into 5 groups : 1. Kshetra Bhoomi-Cultivable land 2. Khila- Waste land 3. Vastu Bhoomi-Habitable land 4. Charagah Bhoomi-Pasture land 5. Aprahata Bhoomi-Forest land.
• In the Gupta period land survey is evident from the Poona plates of Prabhavati Gupta and many other inscriptions.
• An officer named Pustapala maintained records of all land transactions in the district.
• The Guptas issued the largest number of gold coins in ancient India, but in gold content, Gup In coins arc not as pure as Kushnnn coins.
• The Guptas also issued n good number of silver coins for local exchange.

• The Gupta copper coins are very few as compared to those of Kushanas, which show that use of money did not spread to common people.
• Gupta period witnessed a decline in long distance trade.
• Trade with the Roman Empire declined after 3rd century AD.
• Indian merchants began to rely more heavily on the South-East Asian trade.
• The ports of the East coast- Tamralipti, Ghantashalaand Kandura-handled the North-Indian trade with South- East Asia; and those of the West coast- Bharoach, Chaul, Kalyan and Cambay-traded with the Mediterranean and West Asia.

Culture

The architecture of the Gupta period may be divided into three categories:

1. Rock-cut caves:

Ajanta and Ellora Group (Maharashtra) and Bagh (MP).

2. Structural Temples:

• Dasavatara temple of Deogarh (Jhansi district, UP}-the oldest and the best, Siva temple of Bhumra (Nagod, MP), Vishnu and Kankali temple (Tigawa, MP), Parvati temple of Nanchana-Kuthwa (Parma district, MP), Shiva temple of Khoh (Satna, Panna, MP), Krishna brick temple of Bhittargaon (Kanpur, UP), Laxman temple of Sirpur (Raipur, MP), Vishnu temple and Varah temple oi Eran (MP).

3. Stupas:

Mirpur klias (Sindh), Dhammekh (Saranath) and Ratnagiri (Orissa).

• The art of architecture attained great heights. By evolving the Nagara Style (Shikhar style), the Gupta art ushers in the history of Indian architecture. Shikhara Shrine, a Vaishnava symbol, one of the most characteristic features of temple architecture, found its fullest development during this period. The temple architecture, with its garbha griha (shrine room) in which the image of the god was placed, began with the Guptas.
• The fragmentary remains of Dasavatara temple of Deogarh is the example of the most ornate and beautifully composed Gupta temple building.
• The centres of the Gandhar sculptures declined & their places were taken by Benaras, Patliputra and Mathura.
• For the first time we get images of Vishnu, Shiva and other Gods.
• Among the best specimen of the images of Buddha,, is a seated Buddha image of Sarnath, which depicts Buddha preaching the Dhamma
• Of the Brahmanical images perhaps the most impressiwas the Great Boar (Varah) carved m relief at the entrance of a cave at Udayagiri.
• The painting of this period are found in Bagh (dhar district, MP), and Ajanta (Aurangabad district Maharashtra). The frescoes of the Ajanta caves are masterpieces of the paintings of this age

Literature

Religion Literature

A.   Hindu Texts : Some of the old religious books (viz. Vayu Purana Vishnu Purana, Matsya Purana; Ramayan and Mahabharata, Manu Smriti) were re-wrltten. Nnrada Smriti, Parashara Smriti, Brihaspati Smriti and Katyayana Smriti were written in this period.

B.    Buddhist Texts : Abhidharma Kosha (Dignaga), Vishudhimagga (Buddhghosa)

C.    Jain texts: Nvavavartam (Sidhsena)

Secular Literature

• Ritusamhar (first poetry), Meghadutam, Kumarasambhavam Raghuvamsam; Malavikagnimitra (first drama), Vikramorvashi-yam Abhijnana-Shakun-talam (Kalidasa); Mudrarakshasa (Visakhadatta); Kirataijuniya (Bharavi); Kavyadarsa, Dasa Kumar Charita (Dandin}; Mrichchhakatika (Sudraka), Panchatantra (Vishnu Sharma), Kamasutra (Vatsyayan).

Scientific Literature

• Aryabhatiya, Surya Sidhant (Aryabhatta), Brahmasidhanta (Brahmagupta); Pancha Sidhantaka, Vrihat Samhita, Vrihat Jataka, Laghu Jataka (Varaliamihira), Ashtanga Hridaya (medicine) (Vagbhatta), Navanitakam (Dhanvantri); Mahabhaskarya, Laghubhaskarya (Bhaskara); Hastyayurveda (Palkapya) |

Note :

1.      'Manusmriti' was translated into English under the title of 'Institutes of Hindoo Law' by William Jones.

2.      'Abhijnana Shakuntalam (i.e. recognition of Shakuntala) was translated in English by William Jones.

3.      Kalidas is known as 'the Shakespeare of India'.

4.    'Mrichchakatika' (i.e. the clay cart), love story of a poor brahman Charudatta and the virtuous courtesan Vasantasena,is notable for its realistic depiction of city life,

5.      'Kamsutra' is the earliest book on sex.

6.      'Brahmasidhanta' was translated in Arabic under the title of 'Sind Hind'.

Gupta Period: Golden Age of Ancient India—Reality or Myth?

Arguments For :

1. There were political units; foreign rule was completely removed and peace and prosperity prevailed

2. Enlightened character of government, i.e. taxes were light, punishment mild, etc.

3. Revival of Hinduism but there was tolerance of all other religions

4. Use of Sanskrit developed and art and literature flourished during the period

5. Great personage like Kalidasa, Amarsinha, Dhanavantri, Aryabhatta, Varahamihira etc. lived during this period.

Against:

1.Existence of too many feudatories

2.Absence of large Central army and Bureaucracy

3. Development of Feudal elements (Increasing land grants, Serfdom, Sub¬infeudation etc.)

4. Decline of trade and Guilds

5. Decline of urban centres

6. Increasing Varna distinction and social disorder

7. Decline in status of women.