GUPTAS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. SOURCES
3. RISE OF GUPTA EMPIRE
4. ADMINISTRATION OF GUPTA EMPIRE
5. DECLINE OF GUPTA EMPIRE
 அறிமுகம்

• period from c. 300 to

700 CE
• Feudalism as an
institution began to
take root during this
period

• Gupta period was a

golden age
 SOURCES
1.I. Literary sources

Narada, Vishnu, Brihaspati and Katyayana smritis.

Kamandaka’s Nitisara, a work on polity addressed to the king (400 CE)

Devichandraguptam and Mudrarakshasam by Vishakadutta provide

details about the rise of the Guptas.

Buddhist and Jaina texts

Works of Kalidasa

Accounts of the Chinese traveller Fahien

 வரலாற் றுச் சான்றுகள்
• 2. Epigraphical Sources

Mehrauli Iron Pillar inscription – achievements of

Chandragupta I.

Allahabad Pillar inscription – describing

Samudragupta’s personality and achievements
in 33 lines composed by Harisena and engraved
in Sanskrit in Nagari script.
 SOURCES

Coins issued by
Gupta kings
contain legends
and figures.
These gold coins
tell us about the
titles the Guptas
assumed and the
Vedic rituals they
performed.

Numismatic Sources
 KING OF GUPTA
SRI GUPTA (AD 240 – 280)

Ghatotkacha (AD 280 – 319)

Chandragupata I(AD 319 - 335 )

Samudragupta(AD 335 – 375)

Chandragupta II(AD 375 – 415)

Kumara Gupta I(AD 415-455)

Skanda Gupta (AD465-467 CE)

Vishnu Gupta
 ORIGINS OF THE GUPTA DYNASTY

• Chandragupta I, who was the third ruler of the Gupta dynasty

married Kumaradevi, a Lichchavi prince.
• Lichchavi was an old, established gana-sangha and its territory lay between
the Ganges and the Nepal Terai.
• According to Allahabad pillar inscription Samudragupta, the illustrious son of
Chandragupta I, had conquered the whole fertile plains west of Prayag to
Mathura and launched a spectacular raid through Kalinga into the south as
far as Kanchipuram, the Pallava capital.
 CHANDRAGUPATA I AND EMPIRE
BUILDING

• The first ruler of the Gupta Empire was Sri Gupta (240–280 CE) who was
succeeded by his son Ghatotkacha (280–319 CE).
• Both Sri Gupta and Ghatotkacha are mentioned as Maharajas in inscriptions.
Chandragupta I, the son of Ghatotkacha, ruled from 319 to 335 CE and is
considered to be the first great king of the Gupta Empire.
• Chandragupta held the title of maharaja-adhiraja (great king over other
kings). His imperial position is inferred from the records of others. No
inscriptions or coins have survived from his reign.
 SAMUDRAGUPTA

• Ashokan pillar-t he was claiming the legacy of the Mauryan kingdom.

• The kings of the south and the east were forced to pay homage, and from
the places mentioned, it appears that Samudragupta campaigned down
the eastern coast as far as Kanchipuram. Nine kings of the western half of
the Ganges Plain were violently uprooted.
• The forest kings (tribal chiefs of Central India and the Deccan) were forced
to pay tribute.
• The kings of Assam and Bengal in eastern India and those of small kingdoms
in Nepal and the Punjab also paid tribute by submission. Nine Republics in
Rajasthan, including the Malavas and Yaudheyas, were forced to accept
Gupta’s suzerainty.
• Lanka, its ruler Meghavarman sent presents and requested permission from
Samudragupta to build a Buddhist monastery at Gaya.
• Samudragupta’s reign lasted for about 40 years, which must have given him
ample time to plan and organise these campaigns.
• He performed the horsesacrifice ritual to proclaim his military conquests.
• Samudragupta patronised scholars and poets like Harisena and thus
promoted Sanskrit literature.
• Though an ardent follower of Vaishnavism, he also patronised the great
Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu.
• As a lover of poetry and music, he was given the title “Kaviraja”. His coins
bear the insignia of him playing the vina (lute).
 CHANDRAGUPTA II

• Named after his grandfather, Chandragupta II was a capable ruler, who

ruled for 40 years from c. 375 to 415 CE.
• He came to power after a succession struggle with his brother Rama Gupta.
He is also known as Vikramaditya.
• With the capital at Pataliputra, Chandragupta II extended the limits of the
Gupta Empire by conquest and matrimonial alliances.
• He married off his daughter Prabhavati to a Vakataka prince, who ruled the
strategic lands of Deccan.
• He was a great conqueror and an able administrator as well. His other
names (as mentioned in coins) include Vikrama, Devagupta, Devaraja,
Simhavikrama, Vikramaditya and Sakari.
• His court had nine jewels or navaratnas, that is, nine eminent people in
various fields of art, literature and science. This included the great Sanskrit
poet Kalidasa, the Sanskrit scholar Harisena, the lexicographer Amarasimha,
and the physician Dhanvantari.
• Fahien, the Buddhist scholar from China, visited India during his reign. He
records the prosperity of the Gupta Empire.
• Chandragupta II was the first Gupta ruler to issue silver coins. His rule thus
formed the peak period of Gupta’s territorial expansion.
• Chandragupta II was succeeded by his son Kumara Gupta I, who founded
the Nalanda University.
• He was also called Sakraditya. The last great king of the Gupta dynasty,
Skanda Gupta, was the son of Kumara Gupta I.
• He was able to repulse an attack by the Huns, but the recurrence of Huns’
invasion strained his empire’s coffers. The Gupta Empire declined after the
death of Skanda Gupta in 467 CE.
• He was followed by many successors who hastened the end of the Gupta
Empire. The last recognised king of the Gupta line was Vishnu Gupta who
reigned from 540 to 550 CE.
 GUPTA’S ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM

• titles -maharajadhiraja, parama-bhattaraka and parameshvara. parama-

daivata (the foremost worshipper of the gods) and parama-bhagavata (the
foremost worshipper of Vasudeva Krishna).
• , Samudragupta is compared to Purusha (Supreme Being) in the Allahabad
inscription.
 MINISTERS AND OTHER OFFICIALS

• The term “kumaramatya” occurs in six Vaishali seals,

• “amatya” ,“kumaramatya”
• Individuals holding the ranks of kumaramatya sometimes had additional
designations as well, and such ranks were hereditary.
• For example, Harisena, composer of the Allahabad prashasti (inscriptions of
praise), was a kumaramatya, sandhivigrahika and mahadandanayaka, and
was the son of Dhruvabhuti, a mahadandanayaka.
 COUNCIL OF MINISTERS

• The various high-ranking functionaries included the sandhivigrahika or

mahasandhivigrahika (minister for peace and war),
• High-ranking officials were called dandanayakas, and mahadandanayakas
were high-ranking judicial or military officers.
• One of the seals mentions a mahadandanayaka named Agnigupta.
The Allahabad prashasti refers to three mahadandanayakas.
• mahashvapati (commander of the cavalry), indicating military functions.
 DIVISION OF THE EMPIRE

• The Gupta Empire was - deshas or bhuktis(uparikas).

• The uparika was directly appointed by the king and he, in turn, frequently
appointed the head of the district administration and the district board.
• The fact that the uparika had the title maharaja in three of the Damodarpur
plates indicates his high status and rank in the administrative hierarchy.
• The Eran pillar inscription of Budhagupta, dated Gupta year 165 CE, refers to
maharaja Surashmichandra as a lokpala, governing the land between the
Kalinndi and Narmada rivers. Lokpala here seems to refer to a provincial
governor.
• visayas, which were controlled by officers known as vishyapatis.
• The vishyapatis seems to have been generally appointed by the provincial
governor. Sometimes, even the kings directly appointed the vishyapatis.
• Prominent members of the town assisted the vishyapati in administrative
duties.
 ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS BELOW THE
DISTRICT LEVEL

• vithi, bhumi, pathaka and peta.

• There are references to officials known as ayuktakas and vithi-mahattaras.
At the village level, villagers chose functionaries such as gramika and
gramadhyaksha.
• The Damodarpur copper plate of the reign of Budhagupta mentions
an ashtakula-adhikarana (a board of eight members) headed by the
mahattara.
• Mahattara has a range of meanings including village elder, village
headman, and head of a family community.
• The Sanchi inscription of the time of Chandragupta II mentions the
panchmandali, which may have been a corporate body.
 ARMY

• baladhikrita and mahabaladhikrita (commander of infantry and cavalry).

• The standard term “senapati” does not occur in Gupta inscriptions, but the
term could be found in some Vakataka epigraphs.
• A Vaishali seal mentions the ranabhandagar-adhikarana, which is the office
of the military storehouse.
• The system of espionage included spies known as dutakas. The ayuktakas
were another cadre of high-ranking officers.
 ECONOMIC CONDITION

• Nitisara, written by Kamandaka- royal treasury and mentions various sources

of revenue.
• akshapataladhikrita was the keeper of royal records.
• Gupta inscriptions mention the terms klipta, bali, udranga, uparikara, ,and
iranyavesti meant forced labour.
• Agriculture and Agrarian Structure
• . The crops cultivated during the Gupta period were rice, wheat, barley,
peas, lentils, pulses, sugarcane and oil seeds.
• From Kalidasa-was famous for pepper and cardamom.
• Varahamihira gives elaborate advice on the plantation of fruit trees.
• The Paharpur copper plate inscription indicates that the king was the sole
proprietor of the land. The location and boundaries of individual plots were
marked out and measured by the record keepers and influential men in the
locality.
• As stated in Paharpur plates, an officer called ustapala maintained records
of all the land transactions in the district and the village accountant
preserved records of land in the village.
 IRRIGATION

• From the Narada Smriti, we understand that there were two kinds of dykes:
the bardhya, which protected the field from floods, and the khara, which
served the purpose of irrigation.

• Sudarsana lake at the foot of Girnar Hills in Gujarat.

POSITION OF PEASANTRY
 INDUSTRY: MINING AND METALLURGY

• metallurgy was one of the most flourishing industries during the Gupta
period.
• Amarasimha, Varahamihira and Kalidasa make frequent mention of the
existence of mines. The rich deposits of iron ore from Bihar and copper from
Rajasthan were mined extensively during this period.
• The list of metals used apart from iron were gold, copper, tin, lead, brass,
bronze, bell-metal, mica, manganese, antimony, red chalk (sanssilajata)
and red arsenic.
• The most important and visible evidence of the high stage of development
in metallurgy is the Mehrauli Iron Pillar of King Chandra in the Qutb Minar
Complex in Delhi, identified with Chandragupta II.
 TRADE AND COMMERCE

• Two distinctive types of traders called sresti and sarthavaha existed.

• Sresti was usually settled at a particular place and enjoyed an eminent position by
virtue of his wealth and influence in the commercial life and administration of the
place.
• The sarthavaha was a caravan trader who carried his goods to different places for
profitable sale. Trade items ranged from products for daily use to valuable and
luxury goods.
• drafted by a larger body, the corporation of guilds, of which each guild was a
member.
• The Narada and Brihaspati Smritis describe the organisation and activities of guilds.
They mention that the guild had a chief and two, three or five executive officers.
Guild laws were apparently laid down in written documents.
 CULTURAL FLORESCENCE

• Art and Architecture

• By evolving the Nagara and the Dravida styles, Rock-cut and Structural
Temples
• rock-cut caves are found at Ajanta and Ellora (Maharashtra) and Bagh
(Madhya Pradesh). The Udayagiri caves (Orissa)
 STUPAS

• Stupas were also built in large numbers but the best are found at Samat
(Uttar Pradesh), Ratnagiri (Orissa) and Mirpur Khas (Sind).
 SANSKRIT LITERATURE

• Sanskrit Grammar
Panini who wrote Ashtadhyayi and Patanjali who wrote Mahabhashya on
the topic.
• This period is particularly memorable for the compilation of the Amarakosa, a
thesaurus in Sanskrit, by Amarasimha.
• A Buddhist scholar from Bengal, Chandrogomia, composed a book on
grammar named Chandravyakaranam.
 BUDDHIST LITERATURE

• The earliest Buddhist works are in Pali, but in the later phase, Sanskrit came to
be used to a great extent.
• Most of the works are in prose with verse passages in mixed Sanskrit. Arya
Deva and Arya Asanga of the Gupta period are the most notable writers.
• The first regular Buddhist work on logic was written by Vasubandhu.
Vasubandhu’s disciple, Dignaga, was also the author of many learned
works.
 JAINA LITERATURE

• Hindu itihasa and puranas were recast in Jaina versions to popularise their
doctrines. Vimala produced a Jaina version of Ramayana. Siddasena
Divakara laid the foundation of logic among the Jainas.
 SECULAR LITERATURE

• Samudragupta himself had established his fame as Kaviraja. It is widely

believed that his court was adorned by the celebrated navaratnas like
Kalidasa, Amarasimha, Visakadatta and Dhanvantri.
• Kalidasa’s famous dramas are Sakunthalam, Malavikagnimitram and
Vikramaurvashiyam.
• The works of Sudraka (Mrichchhakatika), Visakhadatta (Mudraraksasa and
Devichandraguptam)
 NALANDA UNIVERSITY

• Nalanda was an acclaimed Mahavihara,

• The site is located about ninety five kilometres southeast of Patna near the town of
Bihar Sharif and was a centre of learning from the fifth century CE to c. 1200 CE. It is
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Taxila, Nalanda and Vikramashila, which are often characterised as India’s early
universities.
• Nalanda flourished under the patronage of the Gupta Empire in the fifth and sixth
centuries and later under Harsha, the emperor of Kanauj.
• The liberal cultural traditions inherited from the Gupta age resulted in a period of
growth and prosperity until the ninth century.
• The subsequent centuries were a time of gradual decline, a period during which
Buddhism became popular in eastern India patronised by the Palas of Bengal .
 GUPTA SCIENCES
MATHEMATICS AND ASTRONOMY

• In the Surya Siddanta, Aryabhatta

• He was the first astronomer to discover that the earth rotates on its own axis.
He is also the author of Aryabhattiyam, which deals with arithmetic,
geometry and algebra.
• Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita (sixth century CE) is an encyclopaedia of
astronomy, physical geography, botany and natural history. His other works
are Panch Siddhantika and Brihat Jataka.
• Brahmagupta (late sixth and early seventh century CE) is author of important
works on mathematics and astronomy, namely Brahmasphuta-siddhanta
and Khandakhadyaka.
 MEDICAL SCIENCES

• The Navanitakam was a medical work, which is a manual of recipes,

formulation and prescriptions.
• Hastyayurveda or the veterinary science authored by Palakapya attests to
the advances made in medical science during the Gupta period.
 DECLINE OF THE GUPTA EMPIRE

• The last recognised king of the Gupta line was Vishnugupta who reigned
from 540 to 550 CE.
• Internal fighting.
• Later on, another Vakataka king Harishena conquered Malwa and Gujarat
from the Guptas.
• In the sixth century CE, the Huns occupied Malwa, Gujarat, Punjab and
Gandhara.