| Native name | गुप्त राजवंश |
|---|
| Conventional long name | Gupta Empire |
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| Common name | Gupta Empire |
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| Continent | Asia |
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| Region | hmh |
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| Era | Antiquity |
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| Year start | CE 320 |
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| Year end | CE 600s |
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| P1 | Kanva dynasty |
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| P2 | Kushan empire |
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| S1 | Pala dynasty |
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| Image map caption | Gupta Empire at its maximum extent (grey), and vassals (green). |
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| Capital | Pataliputra |
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| Common languages | Sanskrit |
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| Religion | HinduismBuddhism |
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| Government type | Monarchy |
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| Leader1 | Sri-Gupta |
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| Year leader1 | 240s–280s |
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| Leader2 | Chandragupta I |
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| Year leader2 | 319–335 |
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| Leader3 | Vishnugupta |
|---|
| Year leader3 | 540–550 |
|---|
| Title leader | Maharajadhiraja |
|---|
| Today | |
|---|
The
Gupta Empire (,
) was an
Ancient Indian empire which existed approximately from 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the
Indian Subcontinent. Founded by
Maharaja Sri-Gupta, the dynasty was the model of a
classical civilization. The peace and prosperity created under leadership of Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors. This period is called the
Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive
inventions and discoveries in
science, technology,
engineering,
art, ,
literature,
logic,
mathematics,
astronomy,
religion and
philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture.
Chandragupta I,
Samudragupta, and
Chandragupta II were the most notable rulers of the Gupta dynasty.
The high points of this cultural creativity are magnificent architecture, sculptures and paintings. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields. Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural center and set the region up as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in Burma, Sri Lanka, Malay Archipelago and Indochina.
The earliest available Puranas are also thought to have been written around this period. The empire gradually declined because of many factors like the substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories and the invasion by the Hunas from Central Asia. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms. A minor line of the Gupta clan continued to rule Magadha after the disintegration of the empire. These Guptas were ultimately ousted by the Vardhana ruler Harsha, who established an empire in the first half of the 7th century.
Origin of the Guptas
Specific details about the origin or social background of the Guptas are not yet available.
A.S. Altekar, regarded the
caste of the Guptas as
Vaishya on the basis of the ancient Indian texts on law, which prescribe the name-ending with Gupta for a member of the
Vaishya caste, but this injunction was more often disregarded than followed. A modern historian, K.P. Jayaswal suggested that the Guptas were
Jats. His argument was based on the Pune and Riddhapura copper plate grants of Prabahvatigupta, the
Vakataka regent and the daughter of Chandragupta II. In these two inscriptions, she states that she belonged to the
Dharana gotra and as it was not her husband's gotra, it is the
gotra of the Guptas. His view was endorsed by another modern historian,
Dasharatha Sharma, who added that the Jats of the
Dharana gotra still exist in the present-day Rajasthan Another modern historian,
H.C. Raychaudhuri, also accepted that the Guptas belonged to the
Dharana gotra. He also believed that they were possibly related to Queen Dharini, the chief consort of
Agnimitra. However, according to
J. N. Singh Yadav,
Dharana gotra not only belongs to the Jats, it is also a prominent gotra of the
Yadavs of the present-day
Haryana,
Uttar Pradesh,
Delhi and
Rajasthan states. But the basis of these arguments, the earlier accepted reading of the Riddhapura copper plate inscription may be incorrect and the correct reading possibly indicates that the family of Prabhavatigupta's mother, Kuberanaga belonged to this
Dharana gotra. Recently, a historian, Ashvini Agarwal, on the basis of the matrimonial alliances of the Guptas with the orthodox Brahman dynasties, assumed that they belong to the
Brahman caste. He pointed out that
Lichchhavayah, inscribed on the reverse of Samudragupta's coins is a plural term and cannot refer to Chandragupta I's Lichhavi queen, rather it is mentioned to pay allegiance to the Lichhavis of Nepal, whose feudatory, once Abhira-Guptas of Nepal were.
Fa Xian was the first of the Chinese pilgrims who visited India during the reign of Chandra Gupta II. He started his journey from China in 399 CE and reached India in 405 CE. During his stay in India up to 411 CE, he went on a pilgrimage to Mathura, Kanauj, Kapilavastu, Kushinagar, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Kashi and Rajgriha and made careful observations about the empire's conditions. Fa Xian was pleased with the mildness of administration. The Penal Code was mild and offences were punished by fines only. From his accounts, the Gupta Empire was a prosperous period.
The Chinese traveler Yijing (see also Xuanzang) provides more knowledge of the Gupta kingdom in Magadha. He came to north India in 672 CE and heard of Maharaja Sri-Gupta, who built a temple for Chinese pilgrims near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mrigasikhavana). According to Yijing, this temple was "about 40 yojanas to the east of Nalanda, following the course of the Ganga".
Srigupta and Ghatotkacha
The most likely time for the reign of
Sri Gupta is c. 240–280 CE. A number of modern historians, which include
Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay and K. P. Jayaswal, think he and his son were possibly feudatories of the
Kushans. His son and successor
Ghatotkacha ruled probably from c. 280–319 CE. In contrast to their successor, Chandragupta I, who is mentioned as
Maharajadhiraja, he and his son Ghatotkacha are referred to in inscriptions as
Maharaja. He performed
Ashwamedha yajna (horse sacrifice) to underline the importance of his conquest. The stone replica of the sacrificial horse, then prepared, is in the Lucknow Museum. The Samudragupta Prashasti inscribed on the Ashokan Pillar, now in Akbar’s Fort at Allahabad, is an authentic record of his exploits and his sway over most of the continent.
Samudragupta was not only a talented military leader but also a great patron of art and literature. The important scholars present in his court were Harishena, Vasubandhu and Asanga. He was a poet and musician himself. He was a firm believer in Hinduism and is known to have worshipped Lord Vishnu. He was considerate of other religions and allowed Sri Lanka's Buddhist king Sirimeghvanna to build a monastery at Bodh Gaya. That monastery was called by Xuanzang as the Mahabodhi Sangharama. He provided a gold railing around the Bodhi Tree.
Succession of Samudragupta
According to
A.S. Altekar, a king named Ramagupta intervened between Samudragupta and Chandragupta II. His theory is based on a tradition that, Samudragupta's eldest son Ramagupta, who succeeded him, was a weak ruler. After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Sakas, he agreed to surrender his wife Dhruvadevi or Dhurvasvamini to the
Saka Chief (who, Altekar believes is Rudrasena II). But, Rama Gupta’s younger brother Chandra Gupta II, protested against this dishonour and went to the Saka camp disguised as the queen and assassinated the Saka Chief. After this he killed his brother Rama Gupta, married Dhruvadevi and ascended to the throne. But this theory is not supported by any contemporary epigraphic evidence. The earliest version of this narrative is found in the
Harshacharita of
Bana. The later versions are found in a number of texts, which include the extracts of the
Devichandragupta, a historical drama of
Vishakhadatta found in the
Natyadarpana of Ramachandra and Gunachandra and also in the
Shringaraprakasha of
Bhoja I. The version of this narrative given by
Bana in his
Harshacharita differs significantly from all the later versions, even the narrative known to the author of the
Kavyamimamsa (c.900). The
Harshacharita only mentions that Chandragupta II, disguised as a female, destroyed a Saka king, who coveted the wife of another, in the very city of the enemy.
Garudadhvaja,
lion and
border legend types. The
Brahmi legends on these coins are written in the early Gupta style.
Chandragupta II
.]]
According to the Gupta records, amongst his many sons,Samudragupta nominated prince Chandra Gupta II, born of queen Dattadevi, as his successor.
Chandra Gupta II, Vikramaditya (the Sun of Power), ruled from 380 until 413. Chandra Gupta II also married to a Kadamba princess of Kuntala region and a princess of Naga lineage (Nāgakulotpannnā), Kuberanaga. His daughter Prabhavatigupta from this Naga queen was married to Rudrasena II, the Vakataka ruler of Deccan. His son Kumaragupta I was married to Kadamba princess of karnatka region . Emperor Chandra Gupta II expanded his realm westwards, defeating the Saka Western Kshatrapas of Malwa, Gujarat and Saurashtra in a campaign lasting until 409, but with his main opponent Rudrasimha III defeated by 395, and crushing the Bengal (Vanga) chiefdoms. This extended his control from coast-to-coast, estabilshed a second capital at Ujjain and was the high point of the empire.
.]]
.Obv: Bust of king, with corrupted Greek legend "OOIHU".Rev: Legend in Brahmi, "Chandragupta Vikramaditya, King of Kings, and a devotee of Vishnu" , around a peacock. 15mm, 2.1 grams. Mitchiner 4821–4823.]]
Despite the creation of the empire through war, the reign is remembered for its very influential style of Hindu art, literature, culture and science, especially during the reign of Chandra Gupta II. Some excellent works of Hindu art such as the panels at the Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh serve to illustrate the magnificence of Gupta art. Above all it was the synthesis of elements that gave Gupta art its distinctive flavour. During this period, the Guptas were supportive of thriving Buddhist and Jain cultures as well, and for this reason there is also a long history of non-Hindu Gupta period art. In particular, Gupta period Buddhist art was to be influential in most of East and Southeast Asia. Many advances were recorded by the Chinese scholar and traveller Faxian (Fa-hien) in his diary and published afterwards.
The court of Chandragupta was made even more illustrious by the fact that it was graced by the Navaratna (Nine Jewels), a group of nine who excelled in the literary arts. Amongst these men was the immortal Kalidasa whose works dwarfed the works of many other literary geniuses, not only in his own age but in the ages to come. Kalidasa was particularly known for his fine exploitation of the shringara (romantic) element in his verse.
Chandra Gupta II's campaigns against Foreign Tribes
4th century CE
Sanskrit poet
Kalidasa, credits Chandragupta Vikramaditya with having conquered about twenty one kingdoms, both in and outside India. After finishing his campaign in the East and West India, Vikramaditya (Chandra Gupta II) proceeded northwards, subjugated the
Parasikas (
Persians), then the
Hunas and the
Kambojas tribes located in the west and east
Oxus valleys respectively. Thereafter, the king proceeds across the
Himalaya and reduced the
Kinnaras,
Kiratas etc. and lands into India proper.
The Brihatkathamanjari of the Kashmiri writer Kshmendra states, king Vikramaditya (Chandra Gupta II) had "unburdened the sacred earth of the Barbarians like the Sakas, Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Tusharas, Parasikas, Hunas, etc. by annihilating these sinful Mlecchas completely".
Kumaragupta I
.]]
AD (414–455) (Coin of his Western territories, design derived from the
Western Satraps).
Obv: Bust of king with crescents, with traces of corrupt Greek script.
Rev:
Garuda standing facing with spread wings. Brahmi legend:
Parama-bhagavata rajadhiraja Sri Kumaragupta Mahendraditya.]]
Chandragupta II was succeeded by his second son Kumaragupta I, born of Mahadevi Dhruvasvamini. Kumaragupta I assumed the title, Mahendraditya. He ruled until 455. Towards the end of his reign a tribe in the Narmada valley, the Pushyamitras, rose in power to threaten the empire.
Skandagupta
Skandagupta, son and successor of Kumaragupta I is generally considered to be the last of the great Gupta rulers. He assumed the titles of
Vikramaditya and
Kramaditya. He defeated the Pushyamitra threat, but then was faced with invading
Hephthalites or "White Huns", known in India as the
Huna, from the northwest. He repulsed a
Huna attack c. 455, But the expense of the wars drained the empire's resources and contributed to its decline. Skandagupta died in 467 and was succeeded by his agnate brother
Purugupta.
Huna invasion and the decline of the empire
Skandagupta was followed by weak rulers
Purugupta (467–473),
Kumaragupta II (473–476),
Budhagupta (476–495?),
Narasimhagupta,
Kumaragupta III,
Vishnugupta,
Vainyagupta and
Bhanugupta. In the 480's the
Hephthalite King Oprah broke through the Gupta defenses in the northwest, and much of the empire in northwest was overrun by the Huna by 500. The empire disintegrated under the attacks of
Toramana and his successor
Mihirakula. The Hunas conquered several provinces of the empire, including
Malwa,
Gujarat and
Thanesar. It appears from inscriptions that the Guptas, although their power was much diminished, continued to resist the Hunas. Narasimhagupta formed an alliance with the independent kingdoms to drive the Hun from most of northern India by the 530's. The succession of the sixth-century Guptas is not entirely clear, but the tail end recognized ruler of the dynasty's main line was king
Vishnugupta, reigning from 540 to 550. In addition to the Huna invasion, the factors, which contribute to the decline of the empire include competition from the Vakatakas and the rise of Yashodharman in Malwa.
Military organization
The Imperial Guptas could have achieved their successes through force of arms with an efficient martial system. Historically, the best accounts of this come not from the Hindus themselves but from Chinese and Western observers. However, a contemporary Indian document, regarded as a military classic of the time, the
Siva-Dhanur-veda, offers some insight into the military system of the Guptas.
The Guptas seem to have relied heavily on infantry archers, and the bow was one of the dominant weapons of their army. The Hindu version of the longbow was composed of metal, or more typically bamboo, and fired a long bamboo cane arrow with a metal head. Unlike the composite bows of Western and Central Asian foes, bows of this design would be less prone to warping in the damp and moist conditions often prevalent to the region. The Indian longbow was reputedly a powerful weapon capable of great range and penetration and provided an effective counter to invading horse archers. Iron shafts were used against armored elephants and hippos, and fire arrows were also part of the bowmen's arsenal. India historically has had a prominent reputation for its steel weapons. One of these was the steel bow. Due to its high tensility, the steel bow was capable of long range and penetration of exceptionally thick armor. These were less common weapons than the bamboo design and found in the hands of noblemen rather than in the ranks. Archers were frequently protected by infantry equipped with shields, javelins, and longswords.
The Guptas also had knowledge of siegecraft, catapults, and other sophisticated war machines.
The Guptas apparently showed little predilection for using horse archers, despite the fact these warriors were a main component in the ranks of their Scythian, Parthian, and Hepthalite (Huna) enemies. However, the Gupta armies were probably better disciplined. Able commanders like Samudragupta and Chandragupta II would have likely understood the need for combined armed tactics and proper logistical organization. Gupta military success likely stemmed from the concerted use of elephants, armored cavalry, and foot archers in tandem against both Hindu kingdoms and foreign armies invading from the Northwest. The Guptas also maintained a navy, allowing them to control regional waters.
The collapse of the Gupta Empire in the face of the Huna onslaught was due not directly to the inherent defects of the Gupta army, which after all had initially defeated these people under Skandagupta. More likely, internal dissolution sapped the ability of the Guptas to resist foreign invasion, as was simultaneously occurring in Western Europe and China.
Gupta administration
A study of the epigraphical records of the Gupta empire shows that there was a hierarchy of administrative divisions from top to bottom. The empire was called by various names such as
Rajya,
Rashtra,
Desha,
Mandala,
Prithvi and
Avani. It was divided in to 26 provinces, which were styled as
Bhukti,
Pradesha and
Bhoga. Provinces were also divided into
Vishayas and put under the control of the
Vishayapatis. A
Vishayapati administered the
Vishaya with the help of the
Adhikarana (council of representatives), which comprised four representatives:
Nagarasreshesthi,
Sarthavaha,
Prathamakulika and
Prathama Kayastha. A part of the
Vishaya was called
Vithi.
Legacy of the Gupta Empire
paintings were made during the Gupta period]]
Scholars of this period include
Varahamihira and
Aryabhata, who is believed to be the first to come up with the concept of
zero, postulated the theory that
the Earth moves round the Sun, and studied
solar and
lunar eclipses.
Kalidasa, who was a great playwright, who wrote plays such as
Shakuntala, which is said to have inspired
Goethe, and marked the highest point of
Sanskrit literature is also said to have belonged to this period.The famous
Sushruta Samhita, which is a Sanskrit redaction text on all of the major concepts of ayurvedic medicine with innovative chapters on surgery, dates to the Gupta period.
The flow of invasions from the Huns from central Asia aided in accelerating the demise of the glorious Gupta dynasty rule in India, although the effects of its fall was far less devastating than that of the Han or Roman at the same time. According to historian's work,
Chess is said to have originated in this period, where its early form in the 6th century was known as , which translates as "four divisions [of the military]" – infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariotry – represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. Doctors also invented several medical instruments, and even performed operations. The Indian numerals which were the first positional base 10 numeral systems in the world originated from Gupta India. The ancient Gupta text Kama Sutra is widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature written by the Indian scholar Vatsyayana. Aryabhata, a noted mathematician-astronomer of the Gupta period proposed that the earth is not flat, but is instead round and rotates about its own axis. He also discovered that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight. Instead of the prevailing cosmogony in which eclipses were caused by pseudo-planetary nodes Rahu and Ketu, he explained eclipses in terms of shadows cast by and falling on Earth. These and the other scientific discoveries made by Indians during this period about gravity and the planets of the solar system spread throughout the world through trade.
Gupta dynasty rulers
The main branch of the Gupta dynasty ruled the Gupta Empire in
India, from around 320 to 550. This dynasty was founded by Srigupta. The rulers are:
Srigupta
Ghatotkacha
Chandragupta I
Samudragupta
Ramagupta
Chandragupta II
Kumaragupta I
Skandagupta
Purugupta
Kumaragupta II
Budhagupta
Narasimhagupta Baladitya
Kumaragupta III
Vishnugupta
Vainyagupta
Bhanugupta
See also
Indian numerals
Chess
Udayagiri Caves
Vakataka dynasty
Aulikaras
Notes
References
Majumdar, R.C. (1977). Ancient India, New Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 8120804368
Further reading
Andrea Berens Karls & Mounir A. Farah. World History The Human Experience.
External links
Frontline Article on Gupta Period Art
Regents Prep:Global History:Golden Ages:Gupta Empire
Inscriptions of the Guptas and their contemporaries
Category:Historical Hindu empires
Category:Empires and kingdoms of India
Category:Ancient India
Category:History of Bangladesh
Category:History of Bengal
Category:Dynasties of India
Category:Former empires
Category:States and territories established in the 3rd century
