Pariksha SaathiLesson 6 of 10 · Ancient and Medieval Indian History
The Gupta Empire and the Age of Harsha
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Rise of the Guptas
The Guptas began in Magadha and eastern Uttar Pradesh with Sri Gupta and Ghatotkacha. Chandragupta I (about 319 to 335 AD) took the title Maharajadhiraja, married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi and issued gold coins showing the king and queen together; the Gupta era starts in 319-320 AD, probably with his accession. Samudragupta (about 335 to 375 AD) is known from the Prayag Prashasti, composed by his court poet Harisena and engraved on the Ashokan pillar at Allahabad. It says he uprooted nine kings of Aryavarta and annexed their lands, defeated twelve kings of the south (Dakshinapatha), including Vishnugopa of Kanchi, but released and reinstated them, made the forest kingdoms his servants, and took tribute from frontier states and republics. He performed the Ashvamedha, his coins show him playing the veena, and V. A. Smith called him the Napoleon of India.
Chandragupta II Vikramaditya
Chandragupta II (about 380 to 415 AD) married his daughter Prabhavati Gupta to the Vakataka king Rudrasena II, securing the Deccan flank, and then ended Shaka rule in Gujarat and Malwa, gaining the western ports; he issued silver coins there, took the title Vikramaditya and made Ujjain a second capital. The rust-free iron pillar at Mehrauli in Delhi honours a king Chandra, usually identified with him. The Chinese monk Fa-Hien, whose journey is usually dated 399 to 414 AD, visited India in his reign, though his account never names the king; he found the people prosperous, punishments mild and without the death penalty, and Chandalas living outside the villages. Tradition places nine gems (navaratnas), among them Kalidasa and Amarasimha, at his court.
Later Guptas and decline
Kumaragupta I (about 415 to 455 AD) is credited with founding Nalanda. Skandagupta (about 455 to 467 AD) repelled the Hunas, and his Junagadh inscription records that Chakrapalita, son of the governor Parnadatta, repaired the Sudarshana lake. Later Huna chiefs, Toramana and Mihirakula, broke into the north; Mihirakula was defeated by Yashodharman of Malwa and by Narasimhagupta Baladitya. Huna attacks, the rise of feudatories such as the Maitrakas of Valabhi and the Maukharis of Kannauj, falling trade and the growth of land grants ended the empire by the middle of the sixth century.
Administration and society
Gupta kings took grand titles such as Maharajadhiraja and Parama-bhattaraka, but rule was less centralised than under the Mauryas. The empire was divided into bhuktis (provinces) under uparikas, vishayas (districts) under vishayapatis, and villages; town boards included guild leaders. The sandhivigrahika was the minister for peace and war, and kumaramatyas were senior officers. The Guptas issued the largest number of gold coins (dinaras) of any ancient dynasty. Land grants to Brahmins (agraharas), with rights of administration, encouraged feudal tendencies. Caste became more rigid, untouchability grew and women's status declined; the Eran inscription of 510 AD is the first epigraphic evidence of sati.
Literature, science and art
The Gupta age is called the classical age of Sanskrit. Kalidasa wrote the plays Abhijnanashakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram and Vikramorvashiyam and the poems Meghadutam, Raghuvamsham, Kumarasambhavam and Ritusamhara; William Jones translated Shakuntala into English in 1789. Shudraka wrote Mrichchhakatika, Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa and Devichandraguptam, Vishnu Sharma the Panchatantra and Amarasimha the Amarakosha, and the Puranas reached their final form. Aryabhata, born in 476 AD, wrote the Aryabhatiya in 499 AD; he said the earth rotates on its axis, explained eclipses and gave pi as 3.1416. Varahamihira wrote the Pancha Siddhantika and Brihat Samhita. The Dashavatara temple at Deogarh and the brick temple at Bhitargaon mark the start of the Nagara style, and many Ajanta paintings, made under the Vakatakas, belong to this period.
Harshavardhana
The Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) dynasty ruled from Thanesar. After his brother-in-law Grahavarman, the Maukhari king of Kannauj, was killed by Devagupta of Malwa, and his brother Rajyavardhana by Shashanka of Gauda, Harsha became king in 606 AD, the start of the Harsha era. He rescued his sister Rajyashri and moved his capital to Kannauj. His southward advance was stopped on the Narmada by the Chalukya Pulakeshin II, as the Aihole inscription records. Called Siladitya, he turned from Shaivism to Mahayana Buddhism, held a great assembly at Kannauj in 643 AD in honour of Hiuen Tsang, and gave away his wealth at Prayag every five years. He wrote the Sanskrit plays Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda, and his court poet Banabhatta wrote the Harshacharita and Kadambari. He died in 647 AD without an heir.
Hiuen Tsang and Nalanda
The Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang), called the Prince of Pilgrims, left China in 629 AD and returned in 645 AD. He studied at Nalanda under its head Shilabhadra and described his travels in the Si-yu-ki (Records of the Western World). Nalanda in Bihar was a residential Buddhist university maintained from the revenue of donated villages; it taught Mahayana philosophy, logic, grammar and medicine and admitted students after an oral test at the gate. I-tsing (Yijing) studied there later in the seventh century. Nalanda flourished under the Palas and was destroyed by Bakhtiyar Khalji around 1200.
Key facts
- Chandragupta I married the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi and took the title Maharajadhiraja; the Gupta era begins in 319-320 AD.
- Harisena's Prayag Prashasti on the Allahabad pillar lists Samudragupta's conquests; V. A. Smith called him the Napoleon of India; his coins show him playing the veena.
- Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) defeated the Shakas of western India, married his daughter Prabhavati Gupta into the Vakataka family, and Fa-Hien (399-414 AD) visited India in his reign without naming him.
- Kumaragupta I is credited with founding Nalanda; Skandagupta repelled the Hunas; Mihirakula was defeated by Yashodharman and Narasimhagupta Baladitya.
- Eran inscription of 510 AD is the first epigraphic evidence of sati; the Guptas issued the most gold coins (dinaras) of any ancient dynasty.
- Aryabhata (born 476 AD) wrote the Aryabhatiya in 499 AD; earth's rotation, causes of eclipses, pi as 3.1416; Varahamihira wrote the Brihat Samhita.
- Kalidasa: Abhijnanashakuntalam, Meghadutam, Raghuvamsham, Kumarasambhavam, Malavikagnimitram; Shudraka: Mrichchhakatika; Amarasimha: Amarakosha.
- Gupta temples: Dashavatara temple at Deogarh and brick temple at Bhitargaon, early examples of the Nagara style.
- Harsha: accession 606 AD (Harsha era), capital Kannauj, defeated by Pulakeshin II on the Narmada, wrote Ratnavali, Priyadarshika and Nagananda; Banabhatta wrote Harshacharita.
- Hiuen Tsang (629-645 AD) studied at Nalanda under Shilabhadra and wrote the Si-yu-ki; Harsha's Kannauj assembly of 643 AD honoured him.
Quick revision
Gupta era 319-320 AD; Chandragupta I married Kumaradevi; Samudragupta's Prayag Prashasti by Harisena, Napoleon of India; Chandragupta II Vikramaditya ended Shaka rule, Fa-Hien 399-414 AD, Mehrauli iron pillar; Kumaragupta founded Nalanda; Skandagupta repelled Hunas; Eran 510 AD sati; Aryabhatiya 499 AD; Kalidasa; Deogarh temple; Harsha 606-647 AD, Kannauj, Pulakeshin II, Ratnavali; Banabhatta; Hiuen Tsang at Nalanda under Shilabhadra.