The Gupta Empire came into existence in 320 ad at a time when the Indian subcontinent, unified under the erstwhile Maurya dynasty, had become fragmented and divided into small kingdoms and republics. Under Gupta rule, India’s past glory was revived in an atmosphere of peace and stability. In fact, the Gupta dynasty’s reign is known as the Golden Age in Indian history for the rapid strides made in education, science, architecture, sculpture, painting and Sanskrit literature, under the patronage of the monarchs. As India’s culture came into its own during this period, Hinduism was established as the major religion, trade flourished and textiles became a booming industry with silk, cotton, muslin and linen exported to foreign lands.
Chandragupta I is credited with having founded the Gupta dynasty and the Gupta Empire, although the first known member of the Gupta clan was Sri Gupta, the grandfather of Chandragupta I. Chandragupta I was a local chief in the kingdom of Magadha whose influence grew after a marital alliance with Princess Kumaradevi of the influential Lichchavi clan from present-day Nepal. He gained control of the strategic Ganges Valley and proclaimed himself Maharajadhiraya, ‘King of Kings’. Like his namesake Chandragupta Maurya, he set up his capital at Pataliputra and consolidated his empire across the Ganges Valley and Magadha.
Chandragupta I’s warrior son, Samudragupta, who succeeded him, was a statesman and a brilliant strategist. He waged countless military campaigns during his rule, which lasted for nearly half a century. He extended the Gupta Empire to Punjab in the north, Assam in the east and to the Deccan Plateau in the south. Samudragupta is hailed as one of India’s greatest military geniuses and is referred to as the Napoleon of India.
Besides his military prowess, Samudragupta was known for his remarkable skill in poetry and music. He composed many works of poetry during his reign, and was lauded for his creativity in literature and classical music. Coins that were minted during Samudragupta’s rule show him playing on the veena, an Indian string instrument. He was also known to be tolerant towards other faiths even though he himself followed the Hindu religion and was a devotee of Vishnu. Samudragupta was succeeded by his son, Ramagupta, who was a weak ruler and had a brief reign. Ramagupta was assassinated by his brother, Chandragupta II, also called Vikramaditya, who was considered the greatest of the Gupta rulers.
The Gupta Empire reached its zenith under Chandragupta II who continued the expansionist policies of his father and grandfather. One of his greatest achievements was the defeat of the independent Shaka principalities in the Gujarat region of western India. He also had patronage over the Vataka Empire in the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh region following the marriage of his daughter, Prabhavatigupta, with Vataka ruler Rudrasena II. With these developments, Chandragupta II was able to take the Gupta Empire to its height, strategically placed as it was to control the prosperous trade routes to the West. He led a strong government in an atmosphere of peace, prosperity and political and cultural unity. Ujjain, in Madhya Pradesh, was the second capital of his empire.
We have a detailed account of the opulence of Chandragupta II’s reign through the writings of Chinese Buddhist monk Fa Hsien who travelled to India in 399 in search of Buddhist texts. He also described the just nature of the Gupta administration and the vast spread of the empire. Gold coins also provide evidence of the grandeur of Chandragupta II’s court. These coins, bearing images of the Gupta rulers, were carried outside India to other parts of Asia by traders.
Chandragupta II was succeeded by his son, Kumaragupta, in 415. Kumaragupta ruled for about 40 years and was succeeded by Skandagupta, considered the last of the great Gupta rulers. The remaining Gupta rulers included Narasimhagupta, Kumaragupta ll, Buddhagupta and Vishnugupta.
The Gupta kings presided over the Golden Age in Indian history. It was under their benign leadership that India’s arts and sciences flourished as never before. In art and architecture, the murals in the caves at Ajanta, Maharashtra, stand out for their skillful craftsmanship. Most of the murals in the 30 caves are believed to have been created between 460 and 480. They depict the life of the Buddha and represent other scenes and symbols from Buddhism. The famous Iron Pillar in Delhi is a legacy from the era of Chandragupta ll.
Iron Pillar Of Delhi
The Iron Pillar in the Indian capital Delhi is a metallurgical curiosity because it has withstood corrosion since it was built during the reign of Chandragupta II, due, apparently, to its high phosphorus content. The pillar is almost seven metres high with an idol of the mythical bird Garuda on top. It was originally located at a place called Vishnupadagiri near present-day Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
The Gupta rulers built universities, monasteries and free hospitals to improve the quality of life of their people and provide them with new avenues of learning. The Buddhist monastery of Nalanda, near Patna, Bihar, had pride of place among Indian universities of that period. Trade helped to export the culture of the Gupta Empire to other countries such as Burma, Cambodia and Sri Lanka, where it left a deep impact.
The Gupta rulers were great patrons of literature and poetry, particularly in the Sanskrit language, which reached spectacular heights under their reign. Buddhist and Jain literature, produced earlier in Prakrit, dialects of Sanskrit, began to appear in classical Sanskrit. Notable writers and poets from this period include Kalidasa, a master of his craft, Dandi, Visakhadatta, Shudraka and Bharavi. Noteworthy works from the Gupta period include Kalidasa’s masterpiece Abhijnana Shakuntala; Kamasutra on the art of love by Vatsyayana; and Panchatantra, a renowned collection of fables which is said to have inspired the Fables of Aesop and A Thousand and One Nights. The Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, was rewritten during this period. Most of the literary works sang the praises of Hindu gods, as the tenets of Hinduism crystallised and the religion grew in significance under royal patronage. Under the new style of worship, temples were built and dedicated to a particular god.
Significant progress was also made in mathematics with the development of the Indian numerical and decimal system. Books on medicine, veterinary science, mathematics, astronomy and astrophysics were penned. Astronomy was a growing discipline, with the brilliant astronomers, Aryabhata and Varahamihira, belonging to this age. It was at this time that Aryabhata made his discoveries of pi as 3.1416 and the length of the solar year as 365.358 days.
Kalidasa
Kalidasa, considered as the greatest Indian poet and playwright, was believed to be one of the nine gems, or most learned men, of Chandragupta ll’s court. He excelled in lyric poetry and drama and is best known for his second play in Sanskrit, Abhijnana Shakuntala, an all-time classic of world literature which has been translated in many Indian and foreign languages. Legend goes that Kalidasa was a devotee of the Hindu goddess Kali, hence his name meaning ‘Kali’s slave’. Kali rewarded him with an extraordinary gift of wit, which endeared him to King Chandragupta ll. Kalidasa wrote three plays, Malavikagnimitra, Abhijnana Shakuntala and Vikramorvashe; the lyric Meghadutta; and two epic poems Raghuvamsha and Kumarasambhava. Abhijnana Shakuntala is a poignant tale of love and separation, revolving around Shakuntala, a forest nymph who bewitches King Dushyanta while he is out hunting. Kalidasa is believed to have been inspired by the character of Shakuntala in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata.
The Gupta Empire, under the rule of Skandagupta, fell prey to the Huns or Hunas, tribals who originated from the north of China. The Huns had settled in northern and central India by 454 and posed a constant threat to the Gupta Empire. Skandagupta spent the last 12 years of his reign warding off attacks from the tribe, which considerably weakened the empire. In 510, the Huns, led by Mihirakula, conquered Punjab, Gujarat and Malwa, leaving the Guptas to rule over Bengal. The last of the Gupta kings, Vishnugupta, who reigned over a vastly diminished kingdom, died in 550. With the demise of the Gupta Empire, northern India was split into independent kingdoms once again, signifying an end to the political unity the region had enjoyed.