Gupta Empire: Difference between revisions

| common_name            = Gupta Empire (Dynasty)

| era                    = Ancient India

| 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<br>Gupta territories (pink) in 375 CE

| capital                = [[Pataliputra]]

| common_languages      = [[Sanskrit]] (literary and academic); [[Prakrit]] (vernacular)

| government_type        = Monarchy

| leader1                = [[Gupta (king)|Gupta]] (first)

| year_leader1          = c. late 3rd century

| year_leader2          = c. 540 – c. 550 CE

| stat_year1            = 400 est.

| 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>

}}

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

{{Main|Origin of the Gupta dynasty}}

{{Gupta Empire}}

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}}

[[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}}

=== Ramagupta ===

{{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}}

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>

====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>

[[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]]).

<br />''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>

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>

===Skandagupta===

{{Main|Skandagupta}}

[[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.

===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>

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>

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" />

===Post-Gupta successor dynasties===

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==

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>

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]]

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}}

== References ==

{{Reflist}}