The
Gupta Empire was an ancient
Indian empire founded by
Sri Gupta. The empire existed at its zenith from approximately 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the
Indian subcontinent. This period is called the
Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy.
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| Bhitargaon, one of the most complete surviving Gupta temples |
Srigupta, considered founder of
Gupta Empire reigned from 240 CE to 280 CE. His son and successor
Ghatotkacha ruled presumably from c. 280–319. He challenged other feudal lords and conquered their lands. At the beginning of the 4th century, the
Guptas established and ruled a few small
Hindu kingdoms in
Magadha and around modern-day
Bihar.
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| Magadha |
Ghatotkacha (reigned c. 280–319 CE), had a son named
Chandragupta (reigned c. 320–335 CE) (not to be confused with
Chandragupta Maurya (322–298 BCE), founder of the
Mauryan Empire.) He established a realm stretching from the
Ganges River to
Prayaga (modern-day
Allahabad) by 321. He assumed the imperial title of
Maharajadhiraja.
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| Chandragupta I with his queen as depicted on a coin |
Samudragupta (r. c. 335 – c. 380 CE) was the fourth ruler of the
Gupta Empire and the son and successor of
Chandragupta I. He took the kingdoms of
Ahichchhatra and
Padmavati early in his reign. He then attacked the
Malwas, the
Yaudheyas, the
Arjunayanas, the
Maduras and the
Abhiras, all of which were tribes in the area. By his death in 380, he had incorporated over twenty kingdoms into his realm and his rule extended from the
Himalayas to the river
Narmada and from the
Brahmaputra to the
Yamuna.
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| Coin of Samudragupta, with Garuda pillar. British Museum. |
He performed Ashwamedha yajna in which a horse with an army is sent to all the nearby territories of friends and foes. These territorial kings on arrival either accept the King's alliance, who is performing this yajna or fight if they don't. The stone replica of the horse, then prepared, is in the Lucknow Museum. The Samudragupta Prashasti inscribed on the Ashokan Pillar, now in Akbar’s Fort at Allahabad, is an authentic record of his exploits and his sway over most of the continent.
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| Ashok Pillar, Allahabad |
Samudragupta was not only a talented military leader but also a great patron of art and literature. He conquered what is now
Kashmir and
Afghanistan enlarging the empire. He was a firm believer in Hinduism and is known to have worshipped
Lord Vishnu. He was considerate of other religions and allowed
Sri Lanka's Buddhist king
Sirimeghvanna to build a monastery at
Bodh Gaya.
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| Mahabodhi temple, Bodh Gaya |
Ramagupta was the elder son and immediate successor of
Samudragupta and succeeded by his younger brother
Chandragupta II who ruled from 375 until 415. He expanded his realm westwards, defeating the
Saka Western Kshatrapas of
Malwa, Gujarat and
Saurashtra in a campaign lasting until 409, but with his main opponent
Rudrasimha III defeated by 395, and crushing the
Bengal (Vanga) chiefdoms. This extended his control from coast-to-coast, established a second capital at
Ujjain and was the high point of the empire.
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| Ujjain |
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 serve to illustrate the magnificence of
Gupta art.
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| Dashavatara Temple, Deogarh |
Close to the
Qutub Minar is, an iron pillar, dating back to 4th century CE. The pillar bears an inscription which states that it was erected in the memory of
Chandragupta II ( according to some accounts the pillar had been put up by
Chandragupta II himself after defeating
Vahilakas.). The pillar also highlights ancient
India's achievements in metallurgy. The pillar is made of 98% wrought iron and has stood more than 1,600 years without rusting or decomposing.
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| Iron Pillar, Delhi |
During this period, the
Guptas were supportive of thriving
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 (Fa-hien) in his diary and published afterwards.
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| Meditating Buddha from the Gupta era, 5th century CE. |
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Chandragupta II was succeeded by his second son
Kumaragupta I who reined from 415 CE to 455 CE. Towards the end of his reign a tribe in the
Narmada valley, the
Pushyamitras, rose in power to threaten the empire. He is considered the founder of
Nalanda University which on July 15, 2016 was declared as a
UNESCO world heritage site.
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| Ruins of Nalanda University |
Skandagupta, son and successor of
Kumaragupta I is generally considered to be the last of the great
Gupta rulers. He defeated the
Pushyamitra threat, but then was faced with invading
Hephthalites or "White Huns", from the northwest. He repulsed a
Hun attack c. 455, But the expense of the wars drained the empire's resources and contributed to its decline.
Skandagupta died in 467 and was succeeded by his agnate brother
Purugupta.
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| Coin of Skandagupta period depicting himself |
Following
Skandagupta's death, the empire was clearly in decline. He was followed by
Purugupta (467–473),
Kumaragupta II (473–476),
Budhagupta (476–495),
Narasimhagupta (495—530),
Kumaragupta III (530—540),
Vishnugupta(540—550), two lesser known kings namely,
Vainyagupta and
Bhanugupta. In the 480's the
Hephthalites broke through the
Gupta defenses in the northwest, and much of the empire in the northwest was overrun by the
Hun by 500.
The
Gupta period is generally regarded as a classic peak of
North Indian art for all the major religious groups. The period saw the emergence of the iconic carved stone deity in
Hindu art, as well as the
Buddha figure and
Jain tirthankara figures, these last often on a very large scale. The two great centres of sculpture were
Mathura and
Gandhara, the latter the centre of
Greco-Buddhist art.
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| Vishnu reclining on the serpent Shesha (Ananta), Dashavatara Temple 5th century |
The most famous remaining monuments in a broadly
Gupta style, the caves at
Ajanta,
Elephanta, and
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.
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| Ajanta Cave art |
