The following is taken
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gupta_Empire
The Gupta Empire
was one of the largest political and military empires in ancient India. It was
ruled by the Gupta dynasty from around 240 to 550 CE and covered most of
northern India.
Origins
The origins of the
Guptas are shrouded in obscurity. The Chinese traveller I-tsing provides the
first evidence of the Gupta kingdom in Magadha. He came to India in 672 CE and
heard of 'Maharaja Sri-Gupta' who built a temple for Chinese pilgrims near
Mrigasikhavana. I-tsing gives the date for this event merely as '500 years
before'. This does not match with other sources and hence we can assume that
I-tsing's computation was a mere guess.Some scholars link Guptas with
abhir(see:yadav)ruler mentioned in Bhagwatam[1]
The most likely date for
the reign of Sri-Gupta is c. 240-280 CE His successor Ghatotkacha ruled
probably from c. 280-319 CE In contrast to his successor, he is also referred
to in inscriptions as 'Maharaja' .
At the beginning of the
4th century the Guptas established and ruled a few small Hindu kingdoms in
Magadha and around modern-day Uttar Pradesh.
The Guptas ascendant
The Gupta dynasty ruled
India north of the Vindhya Range during the 4th and 5th centuries. Though not
as vast as Mauryan empire, The Gupta era left a deep and wide cultural impact
not only in the subcontinent but on the adjacent Asian countries as well. We
get plenty of information about this illustrious dynasty through coins,
inscriptions, monuments and Sanskrit classics.
The Gupta rulers were
great conquerors and good administrators. They checked the infiltration of
foreign tribes like Sakas and Hunas and established political stability.
Economic prosperity followed and led to cultural expansion.
Sanskrit language and
literature were reached its peak during the Gupta era. Poets Kalidasa, Dandi,
Visakhadatta, Shudraka, and Bharavi all belong to this period. Many puranas
and shastras were composed and famous commentaries on sacred works appeared.
Buddhist and Jain literature, which was produced earlier in Pali, Ardhamagadhi
and other Prakrit languages, began to appear in Sanskrit. The practice of
dedicating temples to different deities came into vogue followed by fine
artistic temple architecture and sculpture. Of the twenty-eight Ajanta caves,
most of them were constructed during this period. Gupta inscriptions, some of
them on "victory pillars" provide first hand information not only
about royalty but society in general.
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Head of a Buddha, Gupta period, 6th century. |
Books on medicine,
veterinary science, mathematics, astronomy and astrophysics were written. The
famous Aryabhata and Varahamihira belong to this age. Overseas trade and
commerce flourished. Hindu and Buddhist mythology, architecture, along with
religion took root in Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia and other countries.
The Chinese monk Lui Kang who was in India and Sri Lanka between 399 and 414
noticed general prosperity and peace-loving nature of the people.
This period is regarded
as the golden age of Indian culture. The high points of this cultural
creativity are magnificent and creative architecture, sculpture, and painting.
The wall-paintings of Ajanta Caves in the central Deccan are considered among
the greatest and most powerful works of Indian art. The paintings in the cave represent
the various lives of the Buddha, but also are the best source we have of the
daily life in India at the time.
The Gupta established a
strong central government which also allowed a degree of local control. Gupta
society was ordered in accordance with Hindu beliefs. This included a strict
caste system, or class system. The peace and prosperity created under Gupta
leadership enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors.
The Gupta Dynasty
declined due to weak rulers and a series of invasions, but many of their
cultural and intellectual achievements were saved and transmitted to other
cultures and live on today. The Gupta period is considered something of a
golden age, marked by great achievements in literature, music, art,
architecture, and philosophy. Lui Kang wrote of beautiful cities, fine
hospitals and universities, and described a content and prosperous people
Main Gupta rulers
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Buddha of the Gupta period, 5th century, Mathura. |
Chandragupta
Ghatotkacha (c. 280–319)
CE, had a son named Chandragupta. In a breakthrough deal, Chandragupta was
married to Kumaradevi, a Lichchhavi—the main power in Magadha. With a dowry of
the kingdom of Magadha (capital Pataliputra) and an alliance with the
Lichchhavis, Chandragupta set about expanding his power, conquering much of
Magadha, Prayaga and Saketa. He established a realm stretching from the Ganga
(Ganga) river to Prayaga (modern-day Allahabad) by 320. Chandragupta was the
first of the Guptas to be referred to as 'Maharajadhiraja' or 'King of Kings'.
Samudragupta
Chandragupta died in 335
and was succeeded by his son Samudragupta, a tireless conqueror. He took the
kingdoms of Shichchhatra and Padmavati early in his reign. He then took the
Kingdom of Kota and attacked the tribes in Malvas, the Yaudheyas, the
Arjunayanas, the Maduras and the Abhiras. By his death in 380, he had
incorporated over twenty kingdoms into his realm, his rule extended from the
Himalayas to the river Narmada and from the Brahmaputra to the Yamuna. He gave himself
the titles King of Kings and World Monarch. He performed Ashwamedha
yajna (horse sacrifice) to underline the importance of his conquest.
Samduragupta was not
only a warrior 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 to build a monastery at Bodh Gaya.
He was succeeded by his
son Ramagupta, who was captured by the Saka Satraps (Kshatrapas) and was soon
succeeded by his brother Chandragupta II.
Chandragupta II
Chandragupta II, the Sun
of Power (Vikramaditya), ruled until 413. He married his daughter
Prabhavatigupta to Rudrasena II, the Vakataka king of Deccan, and gained a
valuable ally. Only marginally less war-like than his father, he 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, established a second (trading)
capital at Ujjain and was the high point of the empire.
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 the sacred and sensual 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. Much of advances was recorded by the Chinese scholar and traveller
Fa-hsien in his diary and published afterwords.
The court of
Chandragupta was made even more illustrious by the fact that it was graced by
the navaratna, 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 sringara (erotic)
element in his verse.
Kumaragupta I
Chandragupta II was
succeeded by his son Kumaragupta I. Known as the 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 is generally
considered the last of the great rulers. He defeated the Pushyamitra threat,
but then was faced with invading Hephthalites or "White Huns", known
in India as Indo-Hephthalites or Hunas, 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 son Narasimhagupta Baladitya.
Military organization
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Silver coin of the Gupta King Kumara Gupta I (414-455) CE (Western territories). |
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Indo-Sassanian trade routes |
The Imperial Guptas
could not have achieved their successes through force of arms without an
efficient martial system. Historically, the best accounts of this comes 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. Like Indian kings
before them, and centuries afterwards, the Guptas would have utilized war
elephants. These thick hided beasts, supplemented by additional armour and the
soldiers that they carried, would have provided a powerful offensive and
psychological weapon against an unprepared foe. Another advantage was that they
could cause the horses of enemy cavalry to panic from their scent, as the
Macedonians discovered. However, their use carried the grave risk of the
elephants panicking and stampeding, which more clever opponents used to their
advantage.
The use of chariots had
heavily declined by the time of the Guptas, having already proved their
uselessness against the Macedonians, Scythians, and other invaders. In
response, the Guptas seemed to have utilized heavy cavalry clad in mail armour
and equipped with maces and lances, who would have used shock action to break
the enemy line, much like the clibanarii of the Sassanid Persians and
Byzantines in the same era. It is unclear whether they were used to the extent
of elephants.
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. Iron shafts were used against armored elephants, and fire arrows
were also part of the bowmen's arsenal. 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 elephants, armored cavalry, and foot archers in tandem against
both Hindu kingdoms and foreign armies invading from the Northwest. 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 barbarians under Skandagupta. More likely, internal dissolution sapped
the ability of the Guptas to resist foreign invasion, as was simultenously
occurring in Western Europe and China.
Huna invasions and the end of empire
Narasimhagupta (467-473) was followed by
Kumaragupta II (473-476) and Buddhagupta (476-495?). In the 480's the Hephthalite
king Toramana broke through the Gupta defenses in the northwest, and much of
the empire was overrun by the Hunas 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, broke away under the rule of local dynasties. It appears from
inscriptions that the Guptas, although their power was much diminished,
continued to resist the Hunas, and allied with the independent kingdoms
to drive the Hunas from most of northern India by the 530's. The
succession of the sixth-century Guptas is not entirely clear, but the last
recognized ruler of the dynasty's main line was Vishnugupta, reigning from 540 to 550.
The Guptas of Magadha
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 king Harsha, who
established an empire in the first half of the seventh century that, for a
brief time, rivalled that of the Guptas in extent.
Gupta arts
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The Ajanta paintings were made during the Gupta period |
Some of India's most
magnificient works of art were produced during the Gupta era. The famous cave
paintings at Ajanta, the Sarnath Buddha, the Deogarh Dashavatara Temple panels
and the Udaygiri Varaha Cave are some marvellous products of the Gupta age.
Also, during the Gupta Empire, metal work and various sculptures were made. The
Gupta architecture helped in the consturction of Ajanta and Ellora Caves though
this may not be confirmed.
Legacy of the Gupta Empire
The Guptas circulated a
large number of gold coins, called dinars, with their inscriptions. This period
is also very rich in Sanskrit literature. Several important works were composed
by well-known writers, such as The Little Clay Cart and Mrichchakatika
by Shudraka, along with ones by Kalidasa and others. Panchatantra, the
animal fables by Vishnu Sharma, and 13 plays by Bhasa, were also written in
this period. The Gupta Dynasty also left behind an effective administrative
system. During times of peace, the Gupta system was decentralized, with only
taxation flowing to the capital at Paliputra. During times of war however, the
government realigned and fought its invaders. However, this ended up being no
match for the White Hun invasions of the 5th century.
Contributions to the World and
Achievements
Gupta golden age period
contributed much to the world. Two of India's earliest mathematicians,
Aryabhatta and Varahamihira, also appeared during this period. Their
intellectual advances helped to shape many future breakthroughs in technology.
The brilliant minds behind the Gupta Empire made major advances in Algebra and
also devised the concept of zero and infinity. One of their most important
gifts to the world were symbols of the numbers from 1 to 9. These numerals were
later adopted by the Arabs through trade and became known as the arabic
numerals. And these were eventually adopted by the west.
Gupta astronomers also
made advances in astronomy by using their mathematical breakthroughs. They knew
that the earth was round and even knew a little about gravity.They also knew a
bit about planets of the solar system they used this to tell the horoscopes.
Doctors also invented
several medical instruments, and even performed operations.
These ideas spread
throughout the world through trade.
References
- Karls, Farah. World History The Human Experience.