GUPTA EMPIRE(BIOGRAPHIES)
WHAT WE WILL STUDY?
- BIOGRAPHIES
- ART AND ARCHITECTURE
- EXPANSION
- FALL OF GUPTA EMPIRE
GUPTA(240-590 AD)
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire, existing from approximately 240 to 590 CE. This period is called the Golden Age of India.
The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by Sri Gupta; the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II.
The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India.
All literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were canonised during this period. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields.
SRIGUPTA AND GHATOTKACHA
According to many scholars and historians, the Gupta Dynasty was of Vaishya origin. Historian Ram Sharan Sharma asserts that the Vaishya Guptas “appeared as a reaction against oppressive rulers“.
The most likely time for the reign of Sri Gupta is c. 240–280. The Murundas, who were feudal lords of Kushans, provided or granted land to Sri Gupta. He can be considered the first person of Gupta’s empire, but not the founder of the empire.
His son and successor Ghatotkacha ruled presumably from c. 280–319. He challenged other feudal lords and conquered their lands. In contrast to his successor, Chandragupta I, who is mentioned as Maharajadhiraja, he and his son Ghatotkacha are referred to in inscriptions as Maharaja.
SRIGUPTA AND GHATOTKACHA
They were initially a family of landowners who acquired political control in the region of Magadha and parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh seems to have been a more important province for the Guptas than Bihar.
The Guptas enjoyed certain material advantages. The centre of their operations lay in the fertile land of Madhyadesha covering Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They took advantage of their proximity to the areas in north India which carried on silk trade with the Byzantine Empire.
On account of these favourable factors, the Guptas set up their rule over Anuganga (the middle Gangetic basin), Prayag (modern Allahabad), Saket (modern Ayodhya) and Magadha. In course of time this kingdom became an all-India empire.
CHANDRAGUPTA I
Chandragupta was a son of the Gupta king Ghatotkacha, and a grandson of the dynasty’s founder Gupta, both of whom are called Maharaja in the Allahabad Pillar inscription.
Chandragupta assumed the title Maharajadhiraja (“king of great kings”) and issued gold coins, which suggests that he was the first imperial ruler of the dynasty.
Several modern historians, including V. A. Smith and P. L. Gupta, have theorized that the Gupta calendar era, which begins in 319-320 CE, was founded by Chandragupta I, and marks his coronation. Thus, Chandragupta must have ascended the throne in 319-320 CE.
MARRIAGE
Chandragupta married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi. Lichchhavi is the name of an ancient clan that was headquartered at Vaishali in present-day Bihar during the time of Gautama Buddha.
The Lichchhavi kingdom of Kumaradevi is unlikely to have been located in present-day Nepal, because Samduragupta’s Allahabad Pillar inscription mentions Nepala as a distinct, subordinate kingdom.
The gold coins attributed to Chandragupta bear portraits of Chandragupta and Kumaradevi, and the legend Lichchhavayah . Their son Samudragupta is described as Lichchhavi-dauhitra (“Lichchhavi daughter’s son”) in the Gupta inscriptions
Numismatist John Allan theorized that Chandragupta defeated a Lichchhavi kingdom headquartered at Vaishali, and that Kumaradevi’s marriage to him happened as part of a peace treaty.
It is more likely that the marriage helped Chandragupta extend his political power and dominions, enabling him to adopt the title Maharajadhiraja.
The appearance of the Lichchhavis’ name on the coins is probably symbolic of their contribution to the expansion of the Gupta power.
After the marriage, Chandragupta probably became the ruler of the Lichchhavi territories.
Chandragupta and Kumaradevi being regarded as the sovereign rulers of their respective states, until the reign of their son Samudragupta, who became the sole ruler of the united kingdom.
SAMUDRAGUPTA(335-380)
Samudragupta was a son of the Gupta king Chandragupta I and queen Kumaradevi, who came from a Licchavi family.
His Allahabad Pillar inscription similarly describes how Chandragupta called him a noble person in front of the courtiers, and appointed him to “protect the earth”.
The Gupta inscriptions suggest that Samudragupta had a remarkable military career. The Eran stone inscription of Samudragupta states that he had brought “the whole tribe of kings” under his suzerainty, and that his enemies were terrified when they thought of him in their dreams.
GREAT MILITARY GENERAL
The later Allahabad Pillar inscription, a panegyric written by Samudragupta’s minister and military officer Harishena, credits him with extensive conquests.
It gives the most detailed account of Samudragupta’s military conquests, listing them in mainly geographical and partly chronological order. It states that Samudragupta fought a hundred battles, acquired a hundred wounds that looked like marks of glory, and earned the title Prakrama.
The Mathura stone inscription of Chandragupta II describes Samudragupta as an “exterminator of all kings”, as someone who had no equally powerful enemy, and as a person whose “fame was tasted by the waters of the four oceans”.
The Allahabad Pillar inscription suggests that Samudragupta’s aim was the unification of the earth (dharani-bandha), which suggests that he may have aspired to become a Chakravartin (a universal ruler).
VICTORIES
Samudragupta “uprooted” Achyuta, Nagasena, among the kings of Aryavarta (northern India) defeated by Samudragupta.These kings are identified as the rulers of present-day western Uttar Pradesh.
According to one theory, these three kings were vassal rulers who rebelled against Samudragupta after the death of his father. Samudragupta crushed the rebellion, and reinstated them after they sought his forgiveness.
Later, these rulers rebelled once more, and Samudragupta defeated them again.Samudragupta dispatched an army to capture the scion of the Kota family, whose identity is uncertain. The Kotas may have been the rulers of present-day Punjab.
SOUTHERN CONQUEST
According to the Allahabad Pillar inscription, Samudragupta captured the following kings of Dakshinapatha, the southern region:
1 – Mahendra of Kosala
2 – Vyaghra-raja of Mahakantara
3 – Mantaraja of Kurala
4 – Mahendragiri of Pishtapura
5 – Svamidatta of Kottura
6 – Damana of Erandapalla
7 – Vishnugopa of Kanchi
8 – Nilaraja of Avamukta
9 – Hastivarman of Vengi
10 – Ugrasena of Palakka
11 – Kubera of Devarashtra
12 – Dhananjaya of Kusthalapura
NORTHERN CONQUESTS
According to the Allahabad Pillar inscription, Samudragupta “forcibly uprooted” the following kings of Aryavarta, the northern region:
1 – Rudradeva
2 – Matila
3 – Nagadatta
4 – Chandravarman
5 – Ganapatinaga
6 – Nagasena
7 – Achyuta-nandin
8 – Balavarman
RELIGION
Samudragputa’s Eran inscription records the installation of a Vishnu idol in a temple.Samudragupta explicitly call him a devotee of Vishnu , but the authenticity of these inscriptions is doubtful.
He was also tolerant towards Buddhism, and permitted the construction of a Buddhist monastery commissioned by the Anuradhapura king Meghavarna at Bodh Gaya in his territory.
The Mathura stone inscription of his son Chandragupta II also describes him as the giver of “millions of cows and gold”.It appears that Samudragupta donated these cows to the Brahmins
Samudragupta was succeeded by his son Ramagupta, who was dethroned and killed by his other son, Chandragupta II
CHANDRAGUPTA II(380-415)
Chandragupta II also known as Chandragupta Vikramaditya was one of the most powerful emperors of the Gupta Empire in India. From 388 to 409 he subjugated Gujarat, the region north of Mumbai, Saurashtra, in western India, and Malwa, with its capital at Ujjain.
Chandragupta II’s mother, Dutta Devi, was the chief queen of Samudragupta. Dhruvadevi was Chandragupta II’s chief queen.
Vishakhadatta’s play “Natya-darpana” mentions that Ramagupta, the elder brother of Chandragupta II, decided to surrender Dhruvadevi to the Saka ruler Rudrasimha III of the Western Kshatrapas dynasty, when faced with a military defeat.
Chandragupta II’s daughter, Prabhavatigupta, by his Naga queen Kuberanaga was married to the powerful Vakataka dynasty ruler Rudrasena II.
CONQUESTS
Chandragupta is believed to have defeated the Western Kshatrapas led by Rudrasimha III, capturing Malwa and Gujarat in the process.
Chandragupta II controlled a vast empire, from the mouth of the Ganges to the mouth of the Indus River and from what is now North Pakistan down to the mouth of the Narmada.
Pataliputra continued to be the capital of his huge empire but Ujjain too became a sort of second capital. The large number of beautiful gold coins issued by the Gupta dynasty are a testament to the grandeur of that age.
Chandragupta II also started producing silver coins in the Western Satrap tradition in his western territories.Chandragupta II was succeeded by his second son Kumaragupta I.
The conquest gave Chandragupta the Western sea coast, famous for trade and commerce. This contributed to the prosperity of Malwa, and its chief city Ujjain. Ujjain seems to have been made the second capital of Chandragupta II.
‘King Chandra’ whose exploits has been mentioned in the Mehrauli Iron Pillar Inscription, which is located in the Qutub-Minar complex in Delhi is identified by many scholars with Chandragupta II.
Chandragupta II adopted the title of Vikramaditya which had been first used by an Ujjain ruler in 57 B.C. as a mark of victory over the Saka Kshatrapas of western India.
NAVRATNA
Nine famous scholars known as the Navaratnas (“nine gems”) attended the court of the legendary Vikramaditya.
1 – Kalidasa
2 – Amarasimha
3 – Dhanvantari
4 – Ghatakarapara
5 – Kshapanaka
6 – Shanku
7 – Varahamihira
8 – Vararuchi
9 – Vetala Bhatta.
KUMARAGUPTA(414-455)
Kumaragupta I, also known as Shakraditya and Mahendraditya was an emperor of the Gupta Empire in 415–455 CE. He was the son of his predecessor, Chandragupta II, and Dhruvadevi (also known as Dhruvasvamini).
He was an able ruler and retained, intact, the vast empire, which extended from Bengal to Kathiawar and from the Himalayas to the Narmada.
Kumaragupta who enjoyed a long reign of more than forty years. He performed the Asvamedha sacrifice, but we do not know of any military success achieved by him.
He maintained intact the vast empire built up by his two predecessors. Towards the close of his reign the empire was menaced by hordes of the Pushyamitras probably a tribe allied to the Hunas which were defeated by the Crown prince Skandagupta.
SKANDAGUPTA(455 – 467)
Skandagupta, who succeeded Kumaragupta I, was perhaps the last powerful Gupta monarch. To consolidate his position he had to fight the Pushyamitras, and the country faced Huna invasion from access the frontiers in the north-west. However, Skandagupta was successful in throwing the Huns back.
It appears that these wars adversely affected the economy of the empire, and the debased gold coinage of Skandagupta bears testimony to these. Moreover, he appears to have been the last Gupta ruler to mint silver coins in western India.
The Sudarsana lake (originally built during the Maurya times) burst due to excessive rains and in the early part of his rule his governor Parnadatta and his son Chakrapalita got it repaired. The last known date of Skandagupta is 467 A.D. from his silver coins.
LAST DAYS OF GUPTA EMPIRE
Purugupta, a son of kumaragupta, ruled for some time and was succeeded by his son Budhagupta whose earliest known date is A. D. 477 and the latest A.D. 495. He was succeeded by his brother Narasimhagupta Baladitya.
A king named Kumaragupta II is known to have reigned in A.D. 474. This indicates internal dissension which continued after the end of Budhagupta’s reign.
He was succeeded by his son and grandson, Kumaragupta III and Visnugupta – the three reigns covered the period A.D. 500-550. Two otherkinos, Vainyagupta (A.D. 507) and Bhanugupta (A.D. 510) ruled in Samatataand Nalandaand in Eran respectively.
The Guptas continued to rule till about 550 A.D., but by then their power had already become very insignificant.
FALL OF GUPTA EMPIRE
In the 480’s the Alchon Huns under Toramana and Mihirakula broke through the Gupta defenses in the northwest, and much of the empire in the northwest was overrun by the Huns by 500.
The empire disintegrated under the attacks of Toramana and his successor Mihirakula. These invasions, although only spanning a few decades, had long term effects on India, and in a sense brought an end to Classical Indian civilization.
Soon after the invasions, the Gupta Empire, already weakened by these invasions and the rise of local rulers such as Yashodharman, ended as well. Following the invasions, northern India was left in disarray, with numerous smaller Indian powers emerging after the crumbling of the Guptas.
The Huna invasions are said to have seriously damaged India’s trade with Europe and Central Asia. In particular, Indo-Roman trade relations, which the Gupta Empire had greatly benefited from.
FALL OF GUPTA EMPIRE
The Guptas had been exporting numerous luxury products such as silk, leather goods, fur, iron products, ivory, pearl, and pepper from centres such as Nasik, Paithan, Pataliputra, and Benares.
The Huna invasion probably disrupted these trade relations and the tax revenues that came with them.Great centres of learning were destroyed, such as the city of Taxila, bringing cultural regression.
In addition to the Hun invasion, the factors, which contribute to the decline of the empire include competition from the Vakatakas and the rise of Yashodharman in Malwa.
The last known inscription by a Gupta emperor is from the reign of Vishnugupta in which he makes a land grant in the area of Kotivarsha.
LAND GRANTS
The sources of the Gupta period suggest that certain important changes were taking place in the agrarian society. Feudal development surfaced under the Guptas with the grant of fiscal and administrative concessions to priests and administrators.
Religious functionaries were granted land, free of tax, forever, and they were authorised to collect from the peasants all the taxes which could have otherwise gone to the emperor.
Religious grants were of two types: Agrahara grants were meant for the Brahmanas which meant to be perpetual, hereditary and tax-free, accompanied with the assignment of all land revenue.
The Devagrahara grants were made to secular parties such as writers and merchants, for the purpose of repair and worship of temples. The secular grants were made to secular parties and are evident from a grant made by the Uccakalpa dynasty.
MILITARY OF GUPTA EMPIRE
The Imperial Guptas couldn’t have achieved their successes through force of arms without an efficient martial system.
The Guptas seem to have relied heavily on infantry archers, and the bow was one of the dominant weapons of their army. The Indian version of the longbow was composed of metal, or more typically bamboo, and fired a long bamboo cane arrow with a metal head.
The Indian longbow was reputedly a powerful weapon capable of great range and penetration and provided an effective counter to invading horse archers.
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 Gupta armies were probably better disciplined. Able commanders such as 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, steel bow and foot archers in tandem against both Hindu kingdoms and foreign armies invading from the Northwest.
During the reign of Chandragupta II, Gupta Empire maintained a large army consisting of 500,000 infantry, 50,000 cavalry, 20,000 charioteers and 10,000 elephants along with a powerful navy with more than 1200 ships.
Chandragupta II controlled the whole of the Indian subcontinent;the Gupta empire was the most powerful empire in the world during his reign, at a time when the Roman Empire in the West was in decline.
ACHIEVMENTS AND LEGACY
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, and marked the highest point of Sanskrit literature is also said to have belonged to this period.
The 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.
Chess is said to have originated in this period, 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 by the Indian scholar Vatsyayana is widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behavior in Sanskrit literature.
Aryabhata, a noted mathematician-astronomer of the Gupta period proposed that the earth is round and rotates about its own axis. He also discovered that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight
ART AND ARCHITECTURE OF GUPTA EMPIRE
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
The Gupta period is generally regarded as a classic peak of North Indian art for all the major religious groups. Although painting was evidently widespread, the surviving works are almost all religious sculpture.
The period saw the emergence of the iconic carved stone deity in Hindu art, as well as the Buddha figure and Jain tirthankara figures, the latter often on a very large scale.
The two great centres of sculpture were Mathura and Gandhara, the latter the centre of Greco-Buddhist art. Both exported sculpture to other parts of northern India.
The most famous remaining monuments in a broadly Gupta style, the caves at Ajanta, Elephanta, and Ellora were in fact produced under later dynasties, but primarily reflect the monumentality and balance of Guptan style.
Earlier developments in plastic arts seem to have culminated in the Gupta sculpture. The most important contribution of Gupta sculpture is the evolution of the perfect types of divinities, both Buddhist and Brahmanical.
A large number of Buddha images have been unearthed at Sarnath, and one of them is justly regarded as the finest in the whole of India. Stone and bronze images of Buddha have also been found at Mathura and other places.
The images of Siva, Vishnu and other Brahmanical gods are sculptured in some of the finest panels of the Deogarh temple (Jhansi district).
The art of casting metals reached a degree of development. Fa-Hien saw an over 25 metre high image of the Buddha made of copper, but it is not traceable now. The Bronze Buddha, found at Sultanganj, is 71/2 feet high and is a fine piece of sculpture. The Iron Pillar of Delhi, near the Qutub-Minar, is a marvellous work belonging to the early Gupta period.
LITERATURE
Sanskrit language and literature after centuries of evolution, through lavish royal patronage reached to the level of classical excellence. Sanskrit was the court language of the Guptas.
- 1. The Puranas had existed much before the time of the Guptas in the form of bardic literature; in the Gupta age they were finally compiled and given their present form.
- The period also saw the compilation of various Smritis or the law-books written in verse. The Smritis of Yajnavalkya, Narada, Katyayana and Brihaspati were written during this period.
- The two great epics namely the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were almost completed by the 4th century A.D.
- The Gupta period is remarkable for the production of secular literature. Among the known Sanskrit poets of the period, the greatest name is that of Kalidasa who lived in the court of Chandragupta II.
The most important works of Kalidasa were the Abhijnanashakuntalam (considered to be one of the best hundred literary works in the world) Ritusamhara, Malavikagnimitra, Kumarasambhava, Meghaduta, Raghuvamsha and Vikrama Urvashiyam. Shudraka wrote the drama Mrichcbhakatika or the little Clay cart. Vishakadatta is the author of the Mudrarakshasa, which deals with the schemes of the shrewd Chanakya.
- The Gupta period also saw the development of Sanskrit grammar based on Panini and Patanjali. This period is particularly memorable for the compilation of the Amarakosha by Amarasimha, who was a luminary in the court of Chandragupta II.
- Buddhist and Jaina literature in Sanskrit were also written during the Gupta period Buddhist scholars Arya Deva, Arya Asanga and Vasubandhu of the Gupta period were the most notable writers.
CRAFTS
Crafts production covered a wide range of items. Texts like Amarakosha of Amarasimha and Brihat Samhita which are generally dated to this period, list many items, give their Sanskrit names and also mention different categories of craftsmen who manufactured them.
Many important sites like Taxila, Ahichchhatra, Mathura, Rajghat, Kausambi and Pataliputra have yielded many craft products like earthen wares, terracottas, beads made of different stones, objects of glass, items made of metals, etc.
Different varieties of silk, cloth, called Kshauma and Pattavastra are mentioned in the text of this period
Contemporary literature also testifies to the wide use of jewellery by the people of the time. A significant development of the period in metal technology was the manufacture of seals and statues, particularly of the Buddha.
Ivory work remained at a premium, as did stone cutting and carving, sculpture being very much in favour at this time. The cutting, polishing and preparing of a variety of precious stones – jasper, agate, carnelian, quartz, lapis – lazuli, etc., were also associated with foreign trade.
Pottery remained a basic part of industrial production, though the elegant black – polished ware was no longer used, instead an ordinary red ware with a brownish slip was produced in large quantities.
SCIENCE AN TECHNOLOGY
Aryabhata, was the first astronomer to pose the more fundamental problems of astronomy in A.D. 499. It was largely through his efforts that astronomy was recognized as a separate discipline from mathematics. He calculated n to 3.1416 and the length of the solar year to 365.3586805 days, both remarkably close to recent estimates.
He believed that the earth was sphere and rotated on its axis, and that the shadow of the earth falling on the moon caused eclipses. He is also the author of Aryabhattiyam, which deals with algebra, arithmetics and geometry.
Varahamihira, who lived towards the end of the fifth century wrote several treatises on astronomy and horoscopy. His Panchasiddhantika deals with five schools of astronomy, two of these reflect a close knowledge of Greek astonomy
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