THE GUPTA EMPIRE

THE GUPTA EMPIRE

Overview

The Gupta Empire. Territories added by the emperors and the Hun invasions that ultimately destroyed the empire

• The Gupta Empire c.320 CE to c. 550 CE covered much of the Indian subcontinent
• It was founded in c.320 CE by Sri Gupta
• Important rulers of the Gupta empire were Chandra Gupta I, Samudra Gupta and Chandra Gupta II
• The Gupta period is known as the Golden Age of India due to scientific and artistic achievements made possible by the sustained peace and prosperity
• The Gupta Empire is also known for the poet Kalidasa, the writing of the Puranas and the astronomers Varahamihira and Aryabhata
• The Empire collapsed in the 6^th century CE following sustained invasions of Huns from Central Asia
• The Chinese travellers Fa Hsien and Yijing visited India during the reign of the Guptas

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IMPORTANT GUPTA EMPERORS

1. Chandra Gupta I
   1. The Gupta dynasty first rose to eminence under Chandra Gupta I
   2. He ruled c. 319 CE – c. 335 CE
   3. Chandra Gupta rose to prominence with his marriage to Kumaradevi, a Licchhavi princess (who were the main power in Magadha)
   4. Chandra Gupta established a realm stretching from Pataliputra to Prayaga (Allahabad)
   5. The Gupta Era, which commenced on 26 Feb 320 CE is attributed to the accession of Chandra Gupta I
2. Samudra Gupta
   1. Samudra Gupta succeeded his father Chandra Gupta I
   2. He ruled c 335 CE – 380 CE
   3. His kingdom stretched from the Himalayas in the north to the Narmada in the south and the Brahmaputra in the east to the Yamuna in the west
   4. Samudra Gupta is known as the Napoleon of India. He is considered to be the one of the greatest military geniuses in Indian history
   5. Samudra Gupta granted permission to the Ceylon king Meghavarman to build a Buddhist monastery in Bodh Gaya
   6. Samudra Gupta performed the Ashvamedha Yaga to underline the importance of his conquests
   7. The Samudra Gupta Prashasti, inscribed on the Asoka Pillar, was authored by Harisena. It is an important source of information regarding his reign
   8. Important scholars at his court were Harisena, Vasubandu and Asanga
3. Chandra Gupta II
   1. Chandra Gupta II succeeded the Gupta throne after his father Samudra Gupta
   2. He ruled 380 CE – 413 CE
   3. Chandra Gupta expanded the empire westwards by defeating the Western Satraps (Sakas)
   4. The Gupta Empire achieved its greatest extent under Chandra Gupta II, stretching up to the Indus in the west
   5. The court of Chandra Gupta II was graced by the Navaratnas – a group of nine literary experts, including Kalidasa and Varahamira
   6. The Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien visited India during the reign of Chandra Gupta II
   7. Chandra Gupta II is also known as Vikramaditya
   8. The Vikram-Samvat calendar marks the coronation of Chandra Gupta II
   9. The iron pillar near the Qutub Minar (Delhi) was erected by Kumara Gupta, in memory of Chandra Gupta II. Made of 98% wrought iron, it has stood more than 1600 years without rusting or decomposing
      

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SOCIETY IN THE GUPTA EMPIRE

• The division of society into the four classes was formalized
• However, marriage rules were elastic
• There were multiple types of marriages
  • Brahma marriage: a duly dowreyed girl given in marriage to a man of the same class
  • Prajapatya marriage: marriage without dowry
  • Arsa marriage: token price of a cow and bull is given instead of dowry
  • Daiva marriage: girl given to priest in lieu of his fees
  • Asura marriage: marriage by purchase
  • Rakshasa marriage: marriage by capture
  • Paisacha marriage: marriage by abduction
  • Gandharva marriage: love marriage

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CULTURAL LEGACY OF THE GUPTA EMPIRE

The iron pillar at Delhi erected by Chandra Gupta II has defied corrosion for over 1600 years

• Aryabhata came up with the concept of zero, and postulated that the Earth revolves around the Sun, and determined the cause of eclipses
• The works of Kalidasa marked the highest point of Sanskrit literature
  
• Chess originated in the Gupta period
  
• Indian numerals, the world’s first base 10 numeral system, originated in the Gupta Empire
• The Kama Sutra was written by Vatsayana in the Gupta period
• Varahamihira postulated that moon revolves around the sun

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About Aryabhata

• Arybhata (476-550 CE) was the first in a line of great mathematicians-astronomers in India
• His famous works are the Arbhatiyam and the Arya-Siddhanta
• His discoveries in mathematics include
  • Value and irrationality of Pi
  • Area of a triangle, concept of sine
  • Sum of series
  • Intermediate equations
• His discoveries relating to astronomy include
  • Postulated Heliocentrism i.e. planets revolve around the Sun
  • Calculated sidereal rotation (24 hrs) and sidereal year (365 days)
  • Computed earth’s circumference
  • Discovered cause of eclipses

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THE NAVARATNAS IN VIKRAMADITYA’S COURT

Person	Author of	Famous for
Dhanvantari		One of the world’s first surgeons Discovered antiseptic properties of turmeric and preservative properties of salt Pioneer of plastic surgery
Kshapanak
Amarasimha	Amara-Kosha	Thesaurus of Sanskrit
Shanka
Vetal Bhatt
Ghat Karpar
Varahamihira	Pancha-Siddhantika Brihat-Samhita	Postulated that the moon revolves around the Sun
Kalidasa	Three plays, four poems including Abhijanashakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram, Kumarasambhava, Raghuvamsa	One of the most famous literary figures in Sanskrit

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