Gupta Empire

2022-02-04T10:43:48Z

2405:201:E00B:9850:3158:E095:F7B1:BF5C: robot: Add missing article in Category:Mahabharata

{{Short description|Ancient Indian empire (c. 3rd century CE–575 CE)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox Former Country
| conventional_long_name = Gupta Empire
| common_name = Gupta Empire (Dynasty)
| era = Ancient India
| year_start = Fourth century CE
| year_end = Late 6th century CE
| p1 = Kushan Empire
| p2 = Western Satraps
| p3 = Nagas of Padmavati
| p4 = Mahameghavahana dynasty
| p5 = Murunda dynasty
| s1 = Later Guptas
| s2 = Maukhari
| s3 = Maitraka
| s4 = Vardhana dynasty
| s5 = Mathara dynasty
| s6 = Shailodbhava dynasty
| s7 = Varman dynasty
| s8 = Gauda Kingdom
| s9 = Kalachuris
| s10 = Gurjaradesa{{!}}Gurjara kingdoms
| s11 = Nala dynasty
| s12 = Sharabhapuriya dynasty
| s13 = Rajarsitulyakula
| image_map = South Asia historical AD375 EN.svg
| image_map_caption = Approximate extent of the Gupta territories (pink) in 375 CE
| image_map2 = South Asia historical AD450 EN.svg
| image_map2_caption = Approximate extent of the Gupta territories (pink) in 450 CE
| capital = [[Pataliputra]]
| common_languages = [[Sanskrit]] (literary and academic); [[Prakrit]] (vernacular)
| religion = {{ubl|[[Hinduism]] (prominent)|[[Jainism]]|[[Buddhism]]}}
| government_type = Monarchy
| leader1 = [[Gupta (king)|Gupta]] (first)
| year_leader1 = c. late 3rd century
| leader2 = [[Vishnugupta (Gupta Empire)|Vishnugupta]]
| year_leader2 = c. 540 – c. 550 CE
| stat_year1 = 400 est.
| stat_area1 = 3500000
| ref_area1 = <ref name="Turchin223">{{Cite journal |last1=Turchin |first1=Peter |last2=Adams |first2=Jonathan M. |last3=Hall |first3=Thomas D |date=December 2006 |title=East-West Orientation of Historical Empires |journal=Journal of World-Systems Research |volume=12 |issue=2 |page=223 |issn=1076-156X |doi=10.5195/JWSR.2006.369|doi-access=free }}</ref>
| stat_year2 = 440 est.
| stat_area2 = 1700000
| ref_area2 = <ref name="Taagepera">{{Cite journal |last=Taagepera |first=Rein |year=1979 |title=Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D |journal=Social Science History |volume=3 |issue=3/4 |page=121 |doi=10.2307/1170959 |jstor=1170959}}</ref>
}}
{{Part of History of India}}
The '''Gupta Empire''' was an [[Outline of ancient India|ancient Indian]] empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the [[Indian subcontinent]].<ref name="Gupta Dynasty – MSN Encarta">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Gupta Dynasty – MSN Encarta |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571624/gupta_dynasty.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029013809/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761571624/Gupta_Dynasty.html |archive-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> This period is considered as the [[Golden Age of India]] by historians.<ref>N. Jayapalan, ''History of India'', Vol. I, (Atlantic Publishers, 2001), 130.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Although this characterisation has been disputed by [[D. N. Jha]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ancient India in Historical Outline |last=Jha |first=D.N. |publisher=Manohar Publishers and Distributors |year=2002 |isbn=978-81-7304-285-0 |location=Delhi |pages=149–73}}</ref>|group=note}} The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri [[Gupta (king)|Gupta]]; the most notable rulers of the dynasty were [[Chandragupta I]], [[Samudragupta]], and [[Chandragupta II]], also known as [[Vikramaditya]]. The 5th-century CE [[Sanskrit]] poet [[Kalidasa]] credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of [[Persians|Parasikas]], the [[Huna people|Hunas]], the [[Kambojas]], tribes located in the west and east [[Oxus river|Oxus valleys]], the [[Kinnara Kingdom|Kinnaras]], [[Kiratas]], and others.<ref name="Raghu Vamsa v 4.60–75">Raghu Vamsa v 4.60–75</ref>{{npsn|date=August 2016}}

The high points of this period are the great cultural developments which took place primarily during the reigns of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Many Hindu epics and literary sources, such as [[Mahabharata]] and [[Ramayana]], were canonised during this period.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/249590/Gupta-dynasty Gupta dynasty (Indian dynasty)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330100325/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/249590/Gupta-dynasty |date=30 March 2010 }}. Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 November 2011.</ref> The Gupta period produced scholars such as [[Kalidasa]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/indiahistory00keay/page/151 |title=India: A history |last=Keay |first=John |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-87113-800-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/indiahistory00keay/page/151 151–52] |quote=Kalidasa wrote ... with an excellence which, by unanimous consent, justifies the inevitable comparisons with Shakespeare ... When and where Kalidasa lived remains a mystery. He acknowledges no links with the Guptas; he may not even have coincided with them ... but the poet's vivid awareness of the terrain of the entire subcontinent argues strongly for a Guptan provenance. |author-link=John Keay }}</ref> [[Aryabhata]], [[Varahamihira]], and [[Vatsyayana]] who made great advancements in many academic fields.{{sfn|Vidya Dhar Mahajan|1990|p=540}}<ref name="Keay">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/indiahistory00keay/page/132 |title=India: A history |last=Keay |first=John |publisher=Atlantic Monthly Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-87113-800-2 |page=[https://archive.org/details/indiahistory00keay/page/132 132] |quote=The great era of all that is deemed classical in Indian literature, art and science was now dawning. It was this crescendo of creativity and scholarship, as much as ... political achievements of the Guptas, which would make their age so golden. |author-link=John Keay }}</ref><ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/285248/1960/The-Gupta-empire-at-the-end-of-the-4th-century Gupta dynasty: empire in 4th century] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100330103811/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/285248/1960/The-Gupta-empire-at-the-end-of-the-4th-century |date=30 March 2010 }}. Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21 November 2011.</ref> [[History of science and technology in the Indian subcontinent|Science]] and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era.<ref name="Keay"/> The period gave rise to achievements in architecture, sculpture, and painting that "set standards of form and taste [that] determined the whole subsequent course of art, not only in India but far beyond her borders".{{sfn|J.C. Harle|1994|p=87}} Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural centre and established the region as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in India and [[Southeast Asia]].<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/gallery/photos/8.html Trade | The Story of India – Photo Gallery] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100328013124/http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/gallery/photos/8.html |date=28 March 2010 }}. PBS. Retrieved 21 November 2011.</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=March 2016}} The [[Puranas]], earlier long poems on a variety of subjects, are also thought to have been committed to written texts around this period.{{sfn|J.C. Harle|1994|p=87}}<ref name="Dikshitar 1993">{{Cite book|last=Dikshitar|first=V. R. Ramachandra |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KP_DTtd6kJEC&pg=PA199 |title=The Gupta Polity|date=1993|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=978-81-208-1024-2|language=en}}</ref> Hinduism was followed by the rulers and the Brahmins flourished in the Gupta empire but the Guptas tolerated people of other faiths as well.<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization
|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=227 |isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ancient_Indian_History_and_Civilization/Wk4_ICH_g1EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=indus}}</ref>

The empire eventually died out because of factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories, as well as the invasion by the [[Huna people]]s ([[Kidarites]] and [[Alchon Huns]]) from [[Central Asia]].{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=264–69}}<ref name="Rene">{{Cite book |title=The Empire of the Steppes |last=Grousset |first=Rene |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=1970 |isbn=978-0-8135-1304-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/69 69] |url=https://archive.org/details/empireofsteppesh00prof/page/69 }}</ref> After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms.

==Origin==
{{Main|Origin of the Gupta dynasty}}
{{Gupta Empire}}
The homeland of the Guptas is uncertain.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=79}} According to one theory, they originated in the present-day lower-doab<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Dani|first1=Ahmad Hasan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=883OZBe2sMYC |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, A.D. 250 to 750|last2=Litvinsky|first2=B. A.|date=1996|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=978-92-3-103211-0|pages=185|language=en|quote=On the basis of...historians have now come to accept the lower doab region as the original homeland of the Guptas.}}</ref> region of [[Uttar Pradesh]], where most of the inscriptions and coin hoards of the early Gupta kings have been discovered.{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|p=14}}{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=39}} This theory is also supported by the [[Purana]], as argued by the proponents, that mention the territory of the early Gupta kings as [[Prayaga]], [[Saketa]], and [[Magadha]] areas in the [[Ganges]] basin.{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|p=2}}{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=96}}

Another prominent theory locates the Gupta homeland in the present-day [[Bengal]] region in Ganges basin, based on the account of the 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk [[Yijing (monk)|Yijing]]. According to Yijing, king Che-li-ki-to (identified with the dynasty's founder ''Shri'' [[Gupta (king)|Gupta]]) built a temple for Chinese pilgrims near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (apparently a transcription of [[Mṛgaśikhāvana|Mriga-shikha-vana]]). Yijing states that this temple was located more than 40 ''[[yojana]]s'' east of [[Nalanda]], which would mean it was situated somewhere in the modern Bengal region.{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|pp=7–11}} Another proposal is that the early Gupta kingdom extended from Prayaga in the west to northern Bengal in the east.{{sfn|Dilip Kumar Ganguly|1987|p=12}}

The Gupta records do not mention the dynasty's [[varna in Hinduism|varna]] (social class).{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=44}} Some historians, such as [[A.S. Altekar]], have theorised that they were of [[Vaishya]] origin, as certain ancient Indian texts prescribe the name "Gupta" for the members of the Vaishya varna.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=82}}{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=42}} According to historian [[Ram Sharan Sharma|R. S. Sharma]], the Vaishyas – who were traditionally associated with trade – may have become rulers after resisting oppressive taxation by the previous rulers.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i_sIE1sO5kwC&pg=PA69 |title=Early Medieval Indian Society: A Study in Feudalisation |last=R. S. Sharma |publisher=Orient Longman |year=2003|isbn=9788125025238 }}</ref> Critics of the Vaishya-origin theory point out that the suffix Gupta features in the names of several non-Vaishyas before as well as during the Gupta period,{{sfn|R.C. Majumdar|1981|p=4}} and the dynastic name "Gupta" may have simply derived from the name of the family's first king [[Gupta (king)|Gupta]].{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=40}} Some scholars, such as S.R. Goyal, theorise that the Guptas were [[Brahmins|Brahmanas]], because they had matrimonial relations with Brahmans, but others reject this evidence as inconclusive.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|pp=43–44}} Based on the Pune and Riddhapur inscriptions of the Gupta princess [[Prabhavatigupta|Prabhavati-gupta]], some scholars believe that the name of her paternal [[gotra]] (clan) was "Dharana", but an alternative reading of these inscriptions suggests that Dharana was the ''gotra'' of her mother Kuberanaga.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=83}}

==History==
{{For|historical calendar era|Gupta era}}

=== Early rulers ===
[[File:Maharaja Sri Gupta inscription on the Allahabad pillar Samudragupta inscription.jpg|thumb|280px|[[Gupta script]] inscription ''Maharaja Sri Gupta'' [[File:Gupta allahabad m.svg|11px]] [[File:Gupta allahabad haa.jpg|11px]] [[File:Gupta allahabad raa.jpg|11px]] [[File:Gupta allahabad j.svg|12px]] [[File:Gupta allahabad shrii.jpg|14px]] [[File:Gupta allahabad gu.jpg|14px]][[File:Gupta allahabad pt.jpg|12px]] ("Great King, Lord Gupta"), mentioning the first ruler of the dynasty, king [[Gupta (king)|Gupta]]. Inscription by [[Samudragupta]] on the [[Allahabad pillar]], where Samudragupta presents king Gupta as his great-grandfather. Dated circa 350 CE.<ref>[[:File:Allahabad stone pillar inscription of Samudragupta.jpg|Full inscription]], {{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49403 |title=Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol. 3 |last=Fleet |first=John Faithfull |date=1888 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.49403/page/n197 1]–17}}</ref>|left]]
[[File:Queen Kumaradevi and King Chandragupta I on a coin of their son Samudragupta 350 380 CE.jpg|thumb|Queen Kumaradevi and King [[Chandragupta I]], depicted on a gold coin.|left]]
[[Gupta (king)|Gupta]] ([[Gupta script]]: [[File:Gupta allahabad gu.jpg|14px]][[File:Gupta allahabad pt.jpg|12px]] ''gu-pta'', fl. late 3rd century CE) is the earliest known king of the dynasty: different historians variously date the beginning of his reign from mid-to-late 3rd century CE.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|pp=49–55}}{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=86}} Sri Gupta founded the Gupta Empire c. 240-280 CE, and was succeeded by his son, Ghatotkacha, c. 280-319 CE, followed by Ghatotkacha’s son, Chandragupta, c. 319-335 CE.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Gupta Empire {{!}} Boundless World History|url=https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-gupta-empire/ |access-date=2021-01-30|website=courses.lumenlearning.com}}</ref>"Che-li-ki-to", the name of a king mentioned by the 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk [[Yijing (monk)|Yijing]], is believed to be a transcription of "[[Shri]]-Gupta" ([[IAST]]: Śrigupta), "Shri" being an honorific prefix.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=84–85}} According to Yijing, this king built a temple for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims near "Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no" (believed to be a transcription of [[Mṛgaśikhāvana]]).{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=79–81}}

In the [[Allahabad Pillar]] inscription, Gupta and his successor [[Ghatotkacha (king)|Ghatotkacha]] are described as ''[[Maharaja]]'' ("great king"), while the next king [[Chandragupta I]] is called a ''[[Maharajadhiraja]]'' ("king of great kings"). In the later period, the title ''Maharaja'' was used by feudatory rulers, which has led to suggestions that Gupta and Ghatotkacha were vassals (possibly of [[Kushan Empire]]).{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=85}} However, there are several instances of paramount sovereigns using the title ''Maharaja'', in both pre-Gupta and post-Gupta periods, so this cannot be said with certainty. That said, there is no doubt that Gupta and Ghatotkacha held a lower status and were less powerful than Chandragupta I.{{sfn|R.C. Majumdar|1981|pp=6–7}}

Chandragupta I married the [[Licchavi (clan)|Lichchhavi]] princess Kumaradevi, which may have helped him extend his political power and dominions, enabling him to adopt the imperial title ''Maharajadhiraja''.{{sfn|R.C. Majumdar|1981|p=10}} According to the dynasty's official records, he was succeeded by his son [[Samudragupta]]. However, the discovery of the coins issued by a Gupta ruler named [[Kacha (king)|Kacha]] have led to some debate on this topic: according to one theory, Kacha was another name for Samudragupta; another possibility is that Kacha was a rival claimant to the throne.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=71}}

===Samudragupta===
{{Main|Samudragupta}}
[[Samudragupta]] succeeded his father around 335 or 350 CE, and ruled until c. 375 CE.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|pp=51–52}} The [[Allahabad Pillar]] inscription, composed by his courtier [[Harisena|Harishena]], credits him with extensive conquests.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=106–07}} The inscription asserts that Samudragupta uprooted 8 kings of [[Aryavarta]], the northern region, including the [[Nagas of Padmavati|Nagas]].{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=114}} It further claims that he subjugated all the kings of the forest region, which was most probably located in central India.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=117}} It also credits him with defeating 12 rulers of [[Dakshinapatha]], the southern region: the exact identification of several of these kings is debated among modern scholars,{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=107}} but it is clear that these kings ruled areas located on the eastern coast of India.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=112}} The inscription suggests that Samudragupta advanced as far as the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] kingdom in the south, and defeated Vishnugopa, the Pallava regent of [[Kanchipuram|Kanchi]].{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=110}} During this southern campaign, Samudragupta most probably passed through the forest tract of central India, reached the eastern coast in present-day [[Odisha]], and then marched south along the coast of [[Bay of Bengal]].{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|pp=80–81}}

The Allahabad Pillar inscription mentions that rulers of several frontier kingdoms and tribal [[oligarchy|oligarchies]] paid Samudragupta tributes, obeyed his orders, and performed obeisance before him.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=84}}{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2017|p=343}} The frontier kingdoms included [[Samatata]], [[Davaka]], [[Kamarupa]], [[Nepala]], and [[Katyuri kings|Karttripura]].{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=112–18}} The tribal oligarchies included [[Malavas]], [[Arjunayanas]], [[Yaudheyas]], [[Madra Kingdom|Madrakas]], and [[Abhira tribe|Abhiras]], among others.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2017|p=343}}

Finally, the inscription mentions that several foreign kings tried to please Samudragupta by personal attendance; offered him their daughters in marriage (or according to another interpretation, gifted him maidens{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=125}}); and sought the use of the [[Garuda]]-depicting Gupta seal for administering their own territories.{{sfn|Shankar Goyal|2001|p=168}} This is an exaggeration: for example, the inscription lists the king of [[Sri Lanka|Simhala]] among these kings. It is known that from Chinese sources that the Simhala king [[Sirimeghavanna of Anuradhapura|Meghavarna]] sent rich presents to the Gupta king requesting his permission to build a Buddhist monastery at [[Bodh Gaya]]: Samudragupta's panegyrist appears to have described this act of diplomacy as an act of subservience.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=90}}

Samudragupta appears to have been [[Vaishnavite]], as attested by his Eran inscription,{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=68}}{{sfn|R.C. Majumdar|1981|p=32}} and performed several [[Brahmanism|Brahmanical]] ceremonies.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=91}} The Gupta records credit him with making generous donations of cows and gold.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=68}} He performed the [[Ashvamedha]] ritual (horse sacrifice), which was used by the ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty, and issued gold coins (see [[#Coinage|Coinage]] below) to mark this performance.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=125–26}}

The Allahabad Pillar inscription presents Samudragupta as a wise king and strict administrator, who was also compassionate enough to help the poor and the helpless.{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|pp=91, 94}} It also alludes to the king's talents as a musician and a poet, and calls him the "king of poets".{{sfn|R.C. Majumdar|1981|p=31}} Such claims are corroborated by Samudragupta's gold coins, which depict him playing a [[ancient veena|veena]].{{sfn|Tej Ram Sharma|1989|p=94}}

Samudragupta appears to have directly controlled a large part of the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] in present-day India, as well as a substantial part of central India.{{sfn|R.C. Majumdar|1981|pp=23, 27}} Besides, his empire comprised a number of monarchical and tribal tributary states of northern India, and of the south-eastern coastal region of India.{{sfn|R.C. Majumdar|1981|p=22}}{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|p=112}}

=== Ramagupta ===
[[File:Standing_Buddha_Installed_by_Buddist_Monk_Yasadinna_-_Circa_5th_Century_CE_-_Jamalpur_Mound_-_ACCN_00-A-5_-_Government_Museum_Mathura_Golden_background.jpg|thumb|Standing [[Buddha]] in red sandstone, [[Mathura]], Gupta period circa 5th century CE. [[Mathura Museum]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Vincent Arthur |title=A history of fine art in India and Ceylon, from the earliest times to the present day |date=1911 |publisher=Oxford: Clarendon Press |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyoffineart00smit/page/170 170]–171 |url=https://archive.org/details/historyoffineart00smit}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Ramagupta}}
Ramagupta is known from a sixth-century play, the ''[[Devichandragupta]]'', in which he surrenders his wife to the enemy [[Saka]]s and his brother Chandragupta has to sneak into the enemy camp to rescue her and kill the Saka king. The historicity of these events is unclear, but Ramagupta's existence is confirmed by three [[Jainism|Jain]] statues found at Durjanpur, with inscriptions referring to him as the ''Maharajadhiraja''. A large number of his copper coins also have been found from the [[Eran]]-[[Vidisha]] region and classified in five distinct types, which include the ''Garuda'',{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=153–59}} ''Garudadhvaja'', ''lion'' and ''border legend'' types. The [[Brahmi]] legends on these coins are written in the early Gupta style.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chGrJUMarHoC&pg=PA120 |title=Indian Numismatic Studies |last=Bajpai |first=K.D. |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-7017-035-8 |location=New Delhi |pages=120–21}}</ref>

===Chandragupta II "Vikramaditya"===
{{Main|Chandragupta II}}
[[File:GuptaEmpire300-550.png|thumb|Maximum extent of Gupta Empire during [[Chandragupta II]], 414 AD including tributaries]]
According to the Gupta records, amongst his sons, Samudragupta nominated prince Chandragupta II, born of queen [[Dattadevi]], as his successor. Chandragupta II, ''Vikramaditya'' (the Sun of Power), ruled from 375 until 415. He married a Kadamba princess of Kuntala and of Naga lineage (''Nāgakulotpannnā''), Kuberanaga. His daughter [[Prabhavatigupta]] from this Naga queen was married to [[Rudrasena II]], the [[Vakataka]] ruler of [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]].{{sfn|H.C. Raychaudhuri|1923|p=489}} His son Kumaragupta I was married to a Kadamba princess of the Karnataka region. Chandragupta II expanded his realm westwards, defeating the [[Saka]] [[Western Kshatrapas]] of [[Malwa]], [[Gujarat]] and [[Saurashtra (region)|Saurashtra]] in a campaign lasting until 409. His main opponent [[Rudrasimha III]] was defeated by 395, and he crushed the Bengal chiefdoms. This extended his control from coast to coast, established a second capital at [[Ujjain]] and was the high point of the empire.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}} Kuntala inscriptions indicate rule of Chandragupta in [[Kuntala country|Kuntala region]] of Indian state of [[Karnataka]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107941|title=Annual Report Of Mysore 1886 To 1903|via=Internet Archive}}</ref> [[Sacred Rock of Hunza|Hunza inscription]] also indicate that Chandragupta was able to rule north western indian subcontinent and proceeded to conquer [[Balkh]], although some scholars have also disputed the identity of gupta king.<ref>{{Cite web|title=HALDEIKISH, Sacred Rocks of Hunza|url=https://www.hunzabytes.com.au/history/haldeikish-sacred-rocks-of-hunza/|access-date=2020-10-20|website=Hunza Bytes|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Upinder|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&q=upinder+singh|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-1120-0|pages=480|language=en}}</ref> Chalukyan ruler [[Vikramaditya VI|Vikramditya VI]] (r. 1076 – 1126 CE) mentions Chandragupta with his title and states 'why should the glory of the Kings Vikramaditya and Nanda be a hindrance any longer ? he with a loud command abolished that (era), which has the name of Saka, and made that (era) which has the Chalukya counting ” <ref>{{Cite book|last=Barua|first=Benimadhab|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.103481|title=Old Brahmi Inscriptions In The Udayagiri And Khandagiri Caves|date=1929}}</ref>

[[Image:Two Gold coins of Chandragupta II.jpg|thumb|right|Gold coins of [[Chandragupta II]].]]
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 Chandragupta II. Some excellent works of Hindu art such as the panels at the Dashavatara Temple in [[Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh|Deogarh]] serve to illustrate the magnificence of Gupta art. Above all, it was the synthesis of elements that gave Gupta art its distinctive flavour. During this period, the Guptas were supportive of thriving [[Buddhism|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. Many advances were recorded by the Chinese scholar and traveller [[Faxian]] in his diary and published afterwards.

The court of Chandragupta was made even more illustrious by the fact that it was graced by the ''Navaratna'' (Nine Jewels), a group of nine who excelled in the literary arts. Amongst these men was [[Kālidāsa]], whose works dwarfed the works of many other literary geniuses, not only in his own age but in the years to come. Kalidasa was mainly known for his subtle exploitation of the ''shringara'' (romantic) element in his verse.

====Chandragupta II's campaigns against foreign tribes====
The 4th century [[Sanskrit]] poet [[Kalidasa]] credits Chandragupta Vikramaditya with conquering about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India. After finishing his campaign in East and West India, Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) proceeded northwards, subjugated the [[Parasika]]s, then the [[Huna people|Hunas]] and the [[Kambojas]] tribes located in the west and east [[Oxus]] valleys respectively. Thereafter, the king proceeded into the [[Himalaya]] mountains to reduce the mountain tribes of the [[Kinnara Kingdom|Kinnaras]], [[Kiratas]], as well as India proper.<ref name="Raghu Vamsa v 4.60–75" />{{npsn|date=August 2016}} In one of his works Kalidasa also credits him with the removal of the [[Saka]]s from the country. He wrote 'Wasn't it Vikramaditya who drove the Sakas out from the lovely city of Ujjain?'.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wolpert|first=Stanley|title=India|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1993}}</ref>

The ''Brihatkathamanjari'' of the [[Kashmir]]i writer [[Kshemendra]] states, King Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) had "unburdened the sacred earth of the [[Barbarian]]s like the [[Sakas]], [[Mleccha]]s, [[Kambojas]], [[Yavana]]s, [[Tushara Kingdom|Tusharas]], [[Persians|Parasikas]], [[Huna people|Hunas]], and others, by annihilating these sinful Mlecchas completely".<ref>ata shrivikramadityo helya nirjitakhilah Mlechchana Kamboja. Yavanan neechan Hunan Sabarbran Tushara. Parsikaanshcha tayakatacharan vishrankhalan hatya bhrubhangamatreyanah bhuvo bharamavarayate (Brahata Katha, 10/1/285-86, Kshmendra).</ref>{{npsn|date=August 2016}}<ref>Kathasritsagara 18.1.76–78</ref><ref>Cf:"In the story contained in Kathasarit-sagara, king Vikarmaditya is said to have destroyed all the barbarous tribes such as the Kambojas, Yavanas, Hunas, Tokharas and the, National Council of Teachers of English Committee on Recreational Reading – Sanskrit language.</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=August 2016}}

====Faxian====
[[Faxian]] (or Fa Hsien etc.), a Chinese [[Buddhist]], was one of the pilgrims who visited India during the reign of the Gupta emperor [[Chandragupta II]]. He started his journey from China in 399 and reached India in 405. During his stay in India up to 411, he went on a pilgrimage to [[Mathura]], [[Kannauj]], [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]], [[Kushinagar]], [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]], [[Pataliputra]], [[Varanasi|Kashi]], and [[Rajagriha]], and made careful observations about the empire's conditions. Faxian was pleased with the mildness of administration. The Penal Code was mild and offences were punished by fines only. From his accounts, the Gupta Empire was a prosperous period. His writings form one of the most important sources for the history of this period.<ref name="Fa-hsien 1886">{{Cite book|last1=Fa-hsien|first1=ca 337-ca 422|url=http://archive.org/details/recordofbuddhist00fahsuoft|title=A record of Buddhistic kingdoms; being an account by the Chinese monk Fâ-Hien of his travels in India and Ceylon, A.D. 399-414, in search of the Buddhist books of discipline. Translated and annotated with a Corean recension of the Chinese text|last2=Legge|first2=James|date=1886|publisher=Oxford Clarendon Press|others=Robarts - University of Toronto}}</ref>

[[Faxian]] on reaching [[Mathura]] comments––<blockquote>"The snow and heat are finely tempered, and there is neither hoarfrost nor snow. The people are numerous and happy. They have not to register their households. Only those who cultivate the royal land have to pay (a portion of) the gain from it. If they want to go, they go. If they want to stay on, they stay on. The king governs without decapitation or (other) corporal punishments. Criminals are simply fined according to circumstances. Even in cases of repeated attempts at wicked rebellion, they only have their right-hand cut off. The king's bodyguards & attendants all have salaries. Throughout the whole country, the people do not kill any living creature, not drink any intoxicating liquor, nor eat onions or garlic."<ref name="Fa-hsien 1886"/></blockquote>

===Kumaragupta I===
{{Main|Kumaragupta I}}
[[File:Silver Coin of Kumaragupta I.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Silver coin of the Gupta King [[Kumaragupta I]] (Coin of his Western territories, design derived from the [[Western Satraps]]).
 ''Obv'': Bust of king with crescents, with traces of corrupt Greek script.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_mUg2BBJr7kC&pg=PA112 |title=Coin splendour: a journey into the past |last=Prasanna Rao Bandela |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=2003 |isbn=978-81-7017-427-1 |pages=112– |access-date=21 November 2011}}</ref><ref>"Evidence of the conquest of Saurastra during the reign of [[Chandragupta II]] is to be seen in his rare silver coins which are more directly imitated from those of the [[Western Satraps]]... they retain some traces of the old inscriptions in Greek characters, while on the reverse, they substitute the Gupta type (a peacock) for the chaitya with crescent and star." in Rapson "A catalogue of Indian coins in the British Museum. The Andhras etc...", p. cli</ref>
 ''Rev'': [[Garuda]] standing facing with spread wings. Brahmi legend: ''Parama-bhagavata [[rajadhiraja]] Sri Kumaragupta Mahendraditya''.]]

Chandragupta II was succeeded by his second son [[Kumara Gupta I|Kumaragupta I]], born of ''Mahadevi'' Dhruvasvamini. Kumaragupta I assumed the title, ''Mahendraditya''.{{sfn|Ashvini Agrawal|1989|pp=191–200}} 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. The [[Kidarites]] as well probably confronted the Gupta Empire towards the end of the rule of Kumaragupta I, as his son [[Skandagupta]] mentions in the [[Bhitari pillar inscription of Skandagupta|Bhitari pillar inscription]] his efforts at reshaping a country in disarray, through reorganisation and military victories over the [[Pushyamitras]] and the [[Hunas]].<ref name="HCCE 119">History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Ahmad Hasan Dani, B.A. Litvinsky, UNESCO [https://books.google.com/books?id=883OZBe2sMYC&pg=PA119 pp. 119–]</ref>

He was the founder of [[Nalanda (university)|Nalanda University]] which on 15 July 2016 was declared as a UNESCO world heritage site.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://travelnewsindia.com/nalanda-university-ruins/ |title=Nalanda University Ruins {{!}} Nalanda Travel Guide {{!}} Ancient Nalanda Site |date=5 October 2016 |work=Travel News India |access-date=20 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211075258/http://travelnewsindia.com/nalanda-university-ruins/ |archive-date=11 February 2017 |language=en-US |url-status=live}}</ref> Kumaragupta I was also a worshipper of [[Kartikeya]]

===Skandagupta===
{{Main|Skandagupta}}
[[File:Kakandi.jpg|thumb|[[Jain]] [[tirthankara]] relief [[Parshvanatha]] on [[Khukhundoo|Kahaum pillar]] erected by Skandagupta<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jain shrines|url=http://www.uptourism.gov.in/post/jain-shrines|access-date=2020-09-17|publisher=[[Uttar Pradesh Tourism]]}}</ref>]]

[[Skandagupta]], son and successor of Kumaragupta I is generally considered to be the last of the great Gupta rulers. He assumed the titles of ''Vikramaditya'' and ''Kramaditya''.{{sfn|H.C. Raychaudhuri|1923|p=510}} He defeated the Pushyamitra threat, but then was faced with invading [[Kidarites]] (sometimes described as the [[Hephthalite]]s or "White Huns", known in India as the [[Huna (people)|Sweta Huna]]), from the northwest.

He repelled a ''Huna'' attack around 455 CE, but the expense of the wars drained the empire's resources and contributed to its decline. The Bhitari Pillar inscription of [[Skandagupta]], the successor of Chandragupta, recalls the near-annihilation of the Gupta Empire following the attacks of the [[Kidarites]].<ref name="Hyun">The Huns, Hyun Jin Kim, Routledge, 2015 [https://books.google.com/books?id=mcf4CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT50 pp. 50–]</ref> The Kidarites seem to have retained the western part of the Gupta Empire.<ref name="Hyun" />

Skandagupta died in 467 and was succeeded by his agnate brother [[Purugupta]].{{sfn|H.C. Raychaudhuri|1923|p=516}}

===Decline of the empire===
Following Skandagupta's death, the empire was clearly in decline,<ref>Sachchidananda Bhattacharya, ''Gupta dynasty'', ''A dictionary of Indian history'', (George Braziller, Inc., 1967), 393.</ref> and the later Gupta coinage indicates their loss of control over much of western India after 467–469.<ref name="Gupta Dynasty – MSN Encarta" /> Skandagupta was followed by [[Purugupta]] (467–473), [[Kumaragupta II]] (473–476), [[Budhagupta]] (476–495), [[Narasimhagupta]] (495—530), [[Kumaragupta III]] (530—540), [[Vishnugupta (Gupta Empire)|Vishnugupta]] (540—550), two lesser known kings namely, [[Vainyagupta]] and [[Bhanugupta]].

In the 480's the [[Alchon Huns]] under [[Toramana]] and [[Mihirakula]] broke through the Gupta defences in the northwest, and much of the empire in the northwest was overrun by the Huns by 500. According to some scholars the empire disintegrated under the attacks of [[Toramana]] and his successor [[Mihirakula]].<ref>"The Alchon Huns....established themselves as overlords of northwestern India, and directly contributed to the downfall of the Guptas" in {{Cite book|last=Neelis|first=Jason|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GB-JV2eOr2UC&pg=PA162|title=Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of India|date=2010|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004181595|page=162|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Bakker|first=Hans|title=Monuments of Hope, Gloom and Glory in the Age of the Hunnic Wars: 50 years that changed India (484–534)|url=https://www.knaw.nl/en/news/publications/monuments-of-hope-gloom-and-glory|year=2017|at=Section 4|publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences|isbn=978-90-6984-715-3}}</ref> It appears from inscriptions that the Guptas, although their power was much diminished, continued to resist the Huns. The Hun invader Toramana was defeated by [[Bhanugupta]] in 510.<ref>Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen p. 220</ref><ref>Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates by S B. Bhattacherje p. A15</ref> The Huns were defeated and driven out of India in 528 by King [[Yashodharman]] from [[Malwa]], and possibly Gupta emperor [[Narasimhagupta]].<ref name="Columbia Encyclopedia">''Columbia Encyclopedia''</ref>

[[File:South Asia historical AD550 EN.svg|thumb|The much-weakened Late Guptas, circa 550 CE.]]
These invasions, although only spanning a few decades, had long term effects on India, and in a sense brought an end to [[Classical India|Classical Indian civilisation]].<ref name="Eraly">The First Spring: The Golden Age of India by Abraham Eraly [https://books.google.com/books?id=te1sqTzTxD8C&pg=PA48 pp. 48–]</ref> Soon after the invasions, the Gupta Empire, already weakened by these invasions and the rise of local rulers such as [[Yashodharman]], ended as well.<ref>Ancient Indian History and Civilization by Sailendra Nath Sen [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&pg=PA221 p. 221]</ref> Following the invasions, northern India was left in disarray, with numerous smaller Indian powers emerging after the crumbling of the Guptas.<ref>A Comprehensive History Of Ancient India [https://books.google.com/books?id=gE7udqBkACwC&pg=PA174 p. 174]</ref> The Huna invasions are said to have seriously damaged India's trade with [[Europe]] and [[Central Asia]].<ref name="Eraly" /> In particular, [[Indo-Roman trade relations]], which the Gupta Empire had greatly benefited from. The Guptas had been exporting numerous luxury products such as [[silk]], leather goods, fur, iron products, [[ivory]], [[pearl]], and pepper from centres such as [[Nasik]], [[Paithan]], [[Pataliputra]], and [[Benares]]. The Huna invasion probably disrupted these trade relations and the tax revenues that came with them.<ref>Longman History & Civics ICSE 9 by Singh [https://books.google.com/books?id=EXPouL4BYTMC&pg=PA81 p. 81]</ref>

Furthermore, Indian urban culture was left in decline, and [[Buddhism]], gravely weakened by the destruction of monasteries and the killing of monks by the hand of the vehemently anti-Buddhist [[Shaivism|Shaivist]] Mihirakula, started to collapse.<ref name="Eraly" /> Great centres of learning were destroyed, such as the city of [[Taxila]], bringing cultural regression.<ref name="Eraly" /> During their rule of 60 years, the Alchons are said to have altered the hierarchy of ruling families and the Indian [[Caste system in India|caste system]]. For example, the Hunas are often said to have become the precursors of the [[Rajputs]].<ref name="Eraly" />

The succession of the 6th-century Guptas is not entirely clear, but the tail end recognised ruler of the dynasty's main line was king [[Vishnugupta (Gupta Empire)|Vishnugupta]], reigning from 540 to 550. In addition to the Hun invasion, the factors, which contribute to the decline of the empire include competition from the [[Vakatakas]] and the rise of [[Yashodharman]] in [[Malwa]].<ref name="singh3">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |last=Singh |first=Upinder |publisher=Pearson Education |year=2008 |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9 |location=New Delhi |page=480}}</ref>

[[File:Maukharis of Kanauj. Isanavarman. Circa AD 535-553.jpg|thumb|Coin of King Iśanavarman of the [[Maukhari dynasty|Maukharis]] of [[Kannauj]], successors of the Guptas in the Gangetic region circa 535-553 CE. The ruler faces to the left, whereas in Gupta coinage the ruler faces to the right. This is possibly a symbol of antagonism and rivalry, as also seen on [[:File:Toramana coin in Western Gupta style.jpg|some similar coins]] of [[Toramana]].<ref name="RST">{{cite book |last1=Tripathi |first1=Rama S. |title=History of Kanauj: To the Moslem Conquest |date=1989 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=9788120804043 |page=45 Note 1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2Tnh2QjGhMQC&pg=PA45 |language=en}}</ref>]]
The last known inscription by a Gupta emperor is from the reign of Vishnugupta (the Damodarpur copper-plate inscription),<ref>Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum Vol.3 (inscriptions of the Early Gupta Kings) [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.108395 p. 362]</ref> in which he makes a land grant in the area of [[Kotivarsha]] ([[Bangarh]] in [[West Bengal]]) in 542/543 CE.<ref name="Davidson">Indian Esoteric Buddhism: Social History of the Tantric Movement by Ronald M. Davidson [https://books.google.com/books?id=n_VquVQvnBwC&pg=PA31 p. 31]</ref> This follows the occupation of most of northern and central India by the [[Aulikara]] ruler [[Yashodharman]] circa 532 CE.<ref name="Davidson" />

A 2019 study by archaeologist Shanker Sharma has concluded that the cause of the Gupta empire's downfall was a devastating flood which happened around the middle of the 6th century in [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Bihar]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/deluge-drowned-mighty-guptas-study/cid/1685500 |title=Deluge drowned mighty Guptas: Study |website=The Telegraph|location=Kolkota |language=en |access-date=19 August 2019}}</ref>

===Post-Gupta successor dynasties===
In the heart of the former Gupta Empire, in the Gangetic region, the Guptas were succeeded by the [[Maukhari dynasty]] and the [[Pushyabhuti dynasty]].<ref name="HPR">{{cite book |last1=Ray |first1=Himanshu Prabha |title=Negotiating Cultural Identity: Landscapes in Early Medieval South Asian History |date=2019 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781000227932 |pages=161–164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qkyfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT163 |language=en}}</ref> The coinage of the Maukharis and Pushyabhutis followed the silver coin type of the Guptas, with portrait of the ruler in profile (although facing in the reverse direction compared to the Guptas, a possible symbol of antagonism)<ref name="RST"/> and the peacock on the reverse, the Brahmi legend being kept except for the name of the ruler.<ref name="HPR"/>

In the western regions, they were succeeded by the [[Gurjara]]s, the [[Pratiharas]], and later the [[Chaulukya dynasty|Chaulukya]]-[[Paramara dynasty|Paramara]] dynasties, who issued so-called [[Indo-Sasanian coinage]], on the model of the [[Sasanian coinage|coinage of the Sasanian Empire]], which had been introduced in India by the Alchon Huns.<ref name="HPR"/>

==Military organisation==
[[File:Vishnu sculpture.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of Vishnu (red sandstone), 5th century CE.]]
In contrast to the [[Mauryan Empire]], the Guptas introduced several military innovations to Indian warfare. Chief amongst these was the use of [[Siege engine]]s, heavy cavalry archers and heavy sword cavalry. The [[heavy cavalry]] formed the core of the Gupta army and were supported by the traditional Indian army elements of elephants and [[light infantry]].<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wu7ZoAEACAAJ |title=Warfare in Pre-British India, 1500 BCE to 1740 CE |last=Roy |first=Kaushik |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-74270-0 |page=56}}</ref>

The utilisation of horse archers in the Gupta period is evidenced on the coinage of [[Chandragupta II]], [[Kumaragupta I]] and Prakasaditya (postulated to be [[Purugupta]])<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hud2_Ie3T94C |title=The Imperial Guptas and Their Times |last=Ganguly |first=Dilip Kumar |date=1987 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=9788170172222 |page=92}}</ref> that depicts the emperors as horse-archers.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wu7ZoAEACAAJ |title=Warfare in Pre-British India, 1500 BCE to 1740 CE |last=Roy |first=Kaushik |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-74270-0 |page=57}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/in.ernet.dli.2015.110150/2015.110150.The-Military-System-In-Ancient-India_djvu.txt |title=The military system in ancient India |last=Majumdar |first=Bimal Kanti |date=1960 |publisher=Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay |edition=2 |page=118}}</ref>

[[File: ChandraguptaIIOnHorse.jpg|thumb|left|An 8 gm gold coin featuring [[Chandragupta II]] astride a caparisoned horse with a bow in his left hand.<ref>*{{British-Museum-db|1910,0403.26|3137724}}</ref>]]
Unfortunately there is a paucity of contemporary sources detailing the tactical operations of the Imperial Gupta Army. The best extant information comes from the Sanskrit mahakavya (epic poem) [[Raghuvaṃśa]] written by the Classical Sanskrit writer and dramatist [[Kalidasa]]. Many modern scholars put forward the view that Kalidasa lived from the reign of Chandragupta II to the reign of [[Skandagupta]]<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sueiThBrP4gC&pg=PA1 |title=Kālidāsa; Date, Life, and Works |last=Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi and Narayan Raghunath Navlekar |publisher=Popular Prakashan |year=1969 |isbn=9788171544684 |pages=1–35}}</ref><ref>Ram Gopal. p.14</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N8fBQ5vH34gC&pg=PR7 |title=Works of Kālidāsa |last=C. R. Devadhar |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |year=1999 |isbn=9788120800236 |volume=1 |pages=vii–viii}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Gaurīnātha Śāstrī |year=1987 |title=A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |pages=77–78 |isbn=978-81-208-0027-4}}</ref> and that the campaigns of Raghu – his protagonist in the Raghuvaṃśa – reflect those of Chandragupta II.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wu7ZoAEACAAJ |title=Warfare in Pre-British India, 1500 BCE to 1740 CE |last=Roy |first=Kaushik |date=2015 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-74270-0 |page=58}}</ref> In Canto IV of the Raghuvamsa, Kalidasa relates how the king's forces clash against the powerful, cavalry-centric, forces of the Persians and later the Yavanas (probably Huns) in the North-West. Here he makes special mention of the use horse-archers in the kings army and that the horses needed much rest after the hotly contested battles.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/raghuvamsaofkali00kliduoft/page/112 |title=The Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa |last=Kale |first=Moreshwar Ramchandra |date=1922 |publisher=P.S. Rege |location=Canto IV}}</ref> The five arms of the Gupta military included infantry, cavalry, chariot, elephants and ships. Gunaighar copper plate inscription of [[Vainyagupta|Vainya Gupta]] mentions ships but not chariots.<ref>{{Cite journal |author=Bimal Kanti Majumdar |year=1949 |title=Military Pursuits and National Defence Under the Second Magadhan Empire |journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress |volume=12 |pages=105–109 |jstor=44140516}}</ref> Ships had become integral part of Indian military in the 6th century AD.

==Religion==
[[File:Buddha in Sarnath Museum (Dhammajak Mutra).jpg|thumb|[[Dharmachakra Pravartana Buddha at Sarnath]] from the Gupta era, 5th century CE.|left]]
The Guptas were traditionally a [[Hindu]] dynasty.<ref name="Singh">A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India by Upinder Singh [https://books.google.com/books?id=H3lUIIYxWkEC&pg=PA521 p. 521]</ref> They were orthodox [[Hindus]], and allowed followers of [[Buddhism]] and [[Jainism]] to practice their religions.<ref name="Mookerji">The Gupta Empire by Radhakumud Mookerji [https://books.google.com/books?id=uYXDB2gIYbwC&pg=PA133 pp. 133–]</ref> [[Sanchi]] remained an important centre of Buddhism.<ref name="Mookerji" /> [[Kumaragupta I]] 455 CE) is said to have founded [[Nalanda]].<ref name="Mookerji" /> Modern genetic studies indicate that it was during the Gupta period that Indian caste groups ceased to intermarry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/01/the-caste-system-has-left-its-mark-on-indians-genomes/|title=The caste system has left its mark on Indians' genomes|first=Annalee|last=Newitz|date=25 January 2016|website=Ars Technica}}</ref>

Some later rulers however seem to have especially promoted [[Buddhism]]. [[Narasimhagupta Baladitya]] (c. 495–?), according to contemporary writer [[Paramartha]], was brought up under the influence of the [[Mahayanist]] philosopher, [[Vasubandhu]].<ref name="Singh" /> He built a [[sangharama]] at [[Nalanda]] and also a {{convert|300|feet|abbr=on}} high [[vihara]] with a Buddha statue within which, according to Xuanzang, resembled the "great Vihara built under the [[Bodhi tree]]". According to the ''[[Manjushrimulakalpa]]'' (c. 800 CE), king Narasimhsagupta became a Buddhist monk, and left the world through meditation ([[Dhyāna in Buddhism|Dhyana]]).<ref name="Singh" /> The Chinese monk [[Xuanzang]] also noted that Narasimhagupta Baladitya's son, Vajra, who commissioned a sangharama as well, "possessed a heart firm in faith".<ref name="sankalia">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZOVtAAAAMAAJ |title=The University of Nālandā |last=Sankalia, Hasmukhlal Dhirajlal |publisher=B.G. Paul & co. |year=1934 |isbn=9781014542144 |author-link=Hasmukh Dhirajlal Sankalia}}</ref>{{rp|45}}<ref name="sdutt">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lxRHYFd0fB4C |title=Buddhist Monks And Monasteries of India: Their History And Contribution To Indian Culture |last=Sukumar Dutt |publisher=George Allen and Unwin Ltd, London |year=1988 |isbn=978-81-208-0498-2 |orig-year=First published in 1962}}</ref>{{rp|330}}

==Gupta administration==
A study of the epigraphical records of the Gupta empire shows that there was a hierarchy of administrative divisions from top to bottom. The empire was called by various names such as ''Rajya'', ''Rashtra'', ''Desha'', ''Mandala'', ''Prithvi'' and ''Avani''. It was divided into 26 provinces, which were styled as ''Bhukti'', ''Pradesha'' and ''Bhoga''. Provinces were also divided into ''Vishayas'' and put under the control of the ''Vishayapati''s. A ''Vishayapati'' administered the ''Vishaya'' with the help of the ''Adhikarana'' (council of representatives), which comprised four representatives: ''Nagarasreshesthi'', ''Sarthavaha'', ''Prathamakulika'' and ''Prathama Kayastha''. A part of the ''Vishaya'' was called ''Vithi''.{{sfn|Vidya Dhar Mahajan|1990|pp=530–31}} The Gupta also had trading links with the Sassanid and Byzantine Empire.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}. The four-fold varna system was observed under the Gupta period but caste system was fluid. Brahmins followed non-Brahmanical profession as well. Khastriyas were involved in trade and commerce. The society largely coexisted among themselves.<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=235 |isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ancient_Indian_History_and_Civilization/Wk4_ICH_g1EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=maurya+dynasty+sen&printsec=frontcover}}</ref>{{request quote|date=February 2021}}

==Legacy==
Scholars of this period include [[Varahamihira]] and [[Aryabhata]], who is believed to be the first to consider [[zero]] as a separate number, postulated the theory that the Earth rotates about its own axis, and studied [[Solar eclipse|solar]] and [[lunar eclipse|lunar]] [[eclipses]]. [[Kalidasa]], who was a great playwright, who wrote plays such as [[Shakuntala]], and marked the highest point of [[Sanskrit literature]] is also said to have belonged to this period. The [[Sushruta|Sushruta Samhita]], which is a Sanskrit redaction text on all of the major concepts of ayurvedic medicine with innovative chapters on surgery, dates to the Gupta period.

[[Chess]] is said to have developed in this period,<ref>{{cite book
| last=Murray
| first=H.J.R.
| author-link=H. J. R. Murray
| title=A History of Chess
| publisher=Benjamin Press (originally published by Oxford University Press)
| year=1913
| isbn=978-0-936317-01-4
| oclc=13472872
| url=https://archive.org/details/historyofchess00murr
}}</ref> where its early form in the 6th century was known as ''[[chaturanga|{{IAST|caturaṅga}}]]'', which translates as "four divisions [of the military]" – [[infantry]], [[cavalry]], [[war elephant|elephantry]], and [[chariot]]ry – represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. Doctors also invented several medical instruments, and even performed operations. The [[Indian numerals]] which were the first [[positional]] [[base 10]] [[numeral systems]] in the world originated from Gupta India. The [[Hindu calendar#Weekday/Vāsara|names of the seven days in a week]] appeared at the start of the Gupta period based on Hindu deities and planets corresponding to the Roman names. The ancient Gupta text [[Kama Sutra]] by the Indian scholar [[Vatsyayana]] is widely considered to be the standard work on [[human sexual behaviour]] in Sanskrit literature.

[[Aryabhata]], a noted mathematician-astronomer of the Gupta period proposed that the earth is round and rotates about its own axis. He also discovered that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight. Instead of the prevailing cosmogony in which eclipses were caused by pseudo-planetary nodes [[Rahu]] and [[Ketu (mythology)|Ketu]], he explained eclipses in terms of shadows cast by and falling on Earth.<ref>Thomas Khoshy, Elementary Number Theory with Applications, Academic Press, 2002, p. 567. {{ISBN|0-12-421171-2}}.</ref>

==Art and architecture==
{{Main|Gupta art}}
<gallery mode="packed" style="font-size:88%; line-height:130%; border-bottom:1px #aaa solid;" heights="230">
Sanchi_temple_17.jpg|A [[tetrastyle]] [[prostyle]] [[Gupta period]] temple at [[Sanchi]] besides the Apsidal hall with [[Maurya]] foundation, an example of [[Buddhist architecture]]. 5th century CE.
Mahabodhitemple.jpg|The current structure of the [[Mahabodhi Temple]] dates to the Gupta era, 5th century CE. Marking the location where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment.
Deogarh01.jpg|[[Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh|Dashavatara Temple]] is a Vishnu Hindu temple built during the Gupta period.
</gallery>
The Gupta period is generally regarded as a classic peak of North [[Indian art]] for all the major religious groups. Although painting was evidently widespread, the surviving works are almost all religious sculpture. The period saw the emergence of the iconic carved stone deity in Hindu art, as well as the Buddha-figure and [[Jain]] ''[[tirthankara]]'' figures, the latter often on a very large scale. The two great centres of sculpture were [[Mathura]] and [[Gandhara]], the latter the centre of [[Greco-Buddhist art]]. Both exported sculpture to other parts of northern India.

The most famous remaining monuments in a broadly Gupta style, the caves at [[Ajanta Caves|Ajanta]], [[Elephanta Caves|Elephanta]], and [[Ellora Caves|Ellora]] (respectively Buddhist, Hindu, and mixed including Jain) were in fact produced under later dynasties, but primarily reflect the monumentality and balance of Guptan style. Ajanta contains by far the most significant survivals of painting from this and the surrounding periods, showing a mature form which had probably had a long development, mainly in painting palaces.{{sfn|J.C. Harle|1994|pp=118–22, 123–26, 129–35}} The Hindu [[Udayagiri Caves]] actually record connections with the dynasty and its ministers,{{sfn|J.C. Harle|1994|pp=92–97}} and the [[Vishnu Temple, Deogarh|Dashavatara Temple]] at [[Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh|Deogarh]] is a major temple, one of the earliest to survive, with important sculpture.{{sfn|J.C. Harle|1994|pp=113–14}}

<gallery widths="170" heights="170">
File:Vishnu Hood2 Deogarh.jpg|[[Vishnu]] reclining on the serpent [[Shesha]] (Ananta), [[Dashavatara Temple]] 5th century
File:SFEC BritMus Asia 030.JPG|Buddha from [[Sarnath]], 5–6th century CE
File:Elephanta tourists.jpg|The Colossal [[trimurti]] at the [[Elephanta Caves]]
File:Ajanta Padmapani.jpg|Painting of [[Padmapani]] Cave 1 at [[Ajanta Caves|Ajanta]]
File:Mukhalinga.JPG|The [[Shiva]] ''[[mukhalinga]]'' (faced-[[lingam]]) from the [[Bhumara Temple]]
File:Nalraja fort chilapata.JPG|Nalrajar Garh fortification wall in [[Chilapata Forests]], [[West Bengal]], is one of the last surviving fortification remains from the Gupta period ,currently 5–7 m high
File:Nalanda University India ruins.jpg|[[Nalanda|Nalanda university]] was first established under Gupta empire
File:Gupt kalin mandir bhitargaon.jpg|[[Bhitargaon|Bitargaon temple]] from the Gupta period provide one of the earliest examples of pointed arches anywhere in the world
File:Ajanta-3-aurangabad.jpg|Ajanta caves from Gupta era
File:MET DT5237 (cropped).jpg|Krishna fighting the horse demon [[Keshi (demon)|Keshi]], 5th century
</gallery>

==List of rulers==

{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor=#cccccc
! colspan=2 | Ruler!!Reign!!Notes
|-
|[[Sri-Gupta I]]||[[File:Maharaja Sri Gupta inscription on the Allahabad pillar Samudragupta inscription.jpg|100px]]||240–290|| Founder of the dynasty.
|-
|[[Ghatotkacha (king)|Ghatotkacha]]||[[File:Maharaja Sri Ghatotkacha inscription on the Allahabad pillar Samudragupta inscription.jpg|100px]]||290–320||
|-
|[[Chandragupta I|Chandra-Gupta I]]||[[File:Queen Kumaradevi and King Chandragupta I on a coin.jpg|100px]]||320–325||His title ''Maharajadhiraja'' ("king of great kings") suggests that he was the first emperor of the dynasty. It is not certain how he turned his small ancestral kingdom into an empire, although a widely accepted theory among modern historians is that his marriage to the [[Licchavi (clan)|Lichchhavi]] princess Kumaradevi helped him extend his political power.
|-
|[[Samudragupta|Samudra-Gupta]]||[[File:SamudraguptaCoin.jpg|100px]]||325–375||Defeated several kings of northern India, and annexed their territories to his empire. He also marched along the south-eastern coast of India, advancing as far as the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallava]] kingdom. In addition, he subjugated several frontier kingdoms and tribal oligarchies. His empire extended from [[Ravi River]] in the west to the [[Brahmaputra River]] in the east, and from the Himalayan foothills in the north to central India in the south-west; several rulers along the south-eastern coast were his tributaries.

|-
|[[Kacha (king)|Kacha]]||[[File:Kachagupta of the Gupta Empire circa AD 335.jpg|100px]]||4th-century|| Rival brother/king, possibly an usurper, there are coins who attest him as ruler; possibly identical with [[Samudragupta|Samudra-Gupta]].
|-
|[[Ramagupta|Rama-Gupta]]||||375–380||
|-
|[[Chandragupta II|Chandra-Gupta II Vikramaditya]]||[[File:ChandraguptaIIOnHorse.jpg|100px]]||380–415|| Continued the expansionist policy of his father [[Samudragupta]]: historical evidence suggests that he defeated the [[Western Kshatrapas]], and extended the Gupta empire from the [[Indus River]] in the west to the [[Bengal]] region in the east, and from the Himalayan foothills in the north to the [[Narmada River]] in the south.
|-
|[[Kumaragupta|Kumara-Gupta I]]||[[File:KumaraguptaFightingLion.jpg|100px]]||415–455|| He seems to have maintained control of his inherited territory, which extended from [[Gujarat]] in the west to [[Bengal]] region in the east.
|-
|[[Skandagupta|Skanda-Gupta]]||[[File:Skandagupta Circa 455-480 CE.jpg|100px]]||455–467||It is stated that he restored the fallen fortunes of the Gupta family, which has led to suggestions that during his predecessor's last years, the Empire may have suffered reverses, possibly against the [[Pushyamitras]] or the [[Hunas]]. He is generally considered the last of the great Gupta Emperors.
|-
|[[Purugupta|Puru-Gupta]]||||467–472||
|-
|[[Kumaragupta II|Kumara-Gupta II Kramaditya]]||[[File:Kumaragupta II Kramaditya Circa 530-540 CE.jpg|100px]]||472–479||
|-
|[[Buddhagupta|Buddha-Gupta]]||[[File:Budhagupta in Malwa Circa 476-495 CE.jpg|100px]]||479–496||He had close ties with the rulers of [[Kannauj]] and together they sought to run the [[Alchon Huns]] ([[Hunas]]) out of the fertile plains of Northern India.
|-
|[[Narasimhagupta|Narasimha-Gupta Baladitya]]||[[File:Narasinhagupta I Circa 414-455 AD.jpg|100px]]||496–530||
|-
|[[Kumaragupta III|Kumara-Gupta III]]||||530–540||
|-
|[[Vishnugupta (Gupta Empire)|Vishnu-Gupta Candraditya]]||[[File:Vishnugupta Candraditya Circa 540-550 CE.jpg|100px]]||540–550||
|-
|[[Bhanugupta|Bhanu-Gupta]]||||?||A lesser-known king with uncertain position in the list.
|-
|}

== See also ==
{{Portal|India|History|Monarchy
}}

* [[Gupta era]]
* [[Uchchhakalpa dynasty]]

== References ==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |author=Ashvini Agrawal |title=Rise and Fall of the Imperial Guptas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hRjC5IaJ2zcC&pg=PA315 |year=1989 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0592-7}}
* {{cite book |author=Dilip Kumar Ganguly |title=The Imperial Guptas and Their Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hud2_Ie3T94C&pg=PP1 |year=1987 |publisher=Abhinav |isbn=978-81-7017-222-2}}
* {{cite book |author=H.C. Raychaudhuri |author-link=Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri |title=Political History of Ancient India: From the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty |url=https://archive.org/details/politicalhistory00raycuoft |publisher=University of Calcutta |isbn=978-1-4400-5272-9 |year=1923}}
* {{cite book |author=J.C. Harle |title=The Art and Architecture of the Indian Subcontinent |url=https://archive.org/details/artarchitectureo00harl |url-access=registration |year=1994 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-06217-5}}
* {{cite book |author=R.C. Majumdar |author-link=R. C. Majumdar |title=A Comprehensive History of India |volume=3, Part I: A.D. 300-985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRBuAAAAMAAJ |year=1981 |publisher=Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House |oclc=34008529 |pages=17–52}}
* {{cite book |author=Shankar Goyal |title=Problems of Ancient Indian History: New Perspectives and Perceptions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSVuAAAAMAAJ |year=2001 |publisher=Book Enclave |isbn=978-81-87036-66-1}}
* {{cite book |author=Tej Ram Sharma |title=A Political History of the Imperial Guptas: From Gupta to Skandagupta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fWVZWjNAcAgC&pg=PA50 |year=1989 |publisher=Concept |isbn=978-81-7022-251-4}}
* {{cite book |author=Vidya Dhar Mahajan |author-link=Vidya Dhar Mahajan |year=1990 |title=A History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CJ2UAAAACAAJ |publisher=State Mutual Book & Periodical Service |isbn=978-0-7855-1191-5}}
* {{cite book |author=Upinder Singh |author-link=Upinder Singh |title=Political Violence in Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dYM4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA343 |year=2017 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-98128-7}}
{{Refend}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note|2}}

==External links==
{{EB1911 poster|Gupta}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category|Gupta Empire}}
* [http://coinindia.com/galleries-gupta.html Coins of Gupta Empire]

{{Middle kingdoms of India}}
{{Empires}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gupta Empire| ]]
[[Category:Historical Hindu empires]]
[[Category:Empires and kingdoms of India]]
[[Category:Medieval India]]
[[Category:History of Bengal]]
[[Category:History of West Bengal]]
[[Category:History of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:History of Kolkata]]
[[Category:History of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Dynasties of India]]
[[Category:Kingdoms of Bihar]]
[[Category:Former empires]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 320s]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in the 550s]]
[[Category:4th-century establishments in India]]
[[Category:550s disestablishments]]
[[Category:6th-century disestablishments in India]]
[[Category:3rd-century establishments in Nepal]]

Bharatpedia - User contributions [en]

Gupta Empire