Ancient History Class Notes by Aman Srivastava

Class 10

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Gupta Empire
● Background of the Gupta Empire

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● Prominent Gupta Rulers Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II,
Kumaragupta, Skanda Gupta
● Gupta period administrative, social, economic, religious and art and culture

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Background of the Gupta Empire
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● After the decline of the rulers of the Kushan dynasty in North India
and the Satavahana dynasty in the region of the Deccan, a new
dynasty emerged, which is known as the ‘Gupta Empire’.
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● Probably the Guptas were feudatories of the ‘Kushanas’.

● The military technical and matrimonial relations obtained from the
Kushans played an important role in the promotion and strengthening
of the Gupta Empire.
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● Initially, the kingdom of Gupta dynasty was spread over Uttar

Pradesh and Bihar.
● Samudragupta's 'Prayag Prashasti' gives information about the early
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kings of the Gupta dynasty.

● The Gupta period is referred to as the "Golden Age" in ancient India
because of the many achievements in the fields of art, literature,
science and technology. It also led to the political integration of the
subcontinent.
● Shrigupta had established the Gupta dynasty and assumed the title of
'Maharaj' in it.
Chandragupta I (319-335 AD)
● He was the son of Ghatotkacha.
● Chandragupta I is considered the real founder of the Gupta dynasty which
began with his accession in 319 - 320 CE.
● He expanded his kingdom through conquests. His territory extended from
the river Ganges to Prayag till 321 AD.
● He married the Licchavi princess ‘Kumaradevi’ and got the kingdom of
Vaishali.

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● He issued coins bearing the joint names of his queen, the Licchavi
princess 'Kumaradevi' and himself.
● He first assumed the title of 'Maharajadhiraja' (great king of kings).

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● His empire included parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and modern Bihar, with
its capital at Pataliputra.
● He is considered the first great king of the Gupta Empire.

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Samudragupta (335 - 380 CE)
● Samudragupta, the son of Chandragupta I was his successor and the most
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illustrious ruler of the Gupta dynasty.
● Samudragupta's mother belonged to the Licchavi clan.
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● He greatly expanded the Gupta Empire.

● The Allahabad Pillar Inscription (Prayaga - Prashasti) gives a detailed
account of his achievements.
● This inscription was composed in Sanskrit by his court poet Harishena.
● This inscription, written on the Ashoka Pillar at Allahabad, praises
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Samudragupta as a Warrior, Scholar and Poet.

● Samudragupta's court poet Harishena was given the post of
'Sandhivigrahak', 'Maha Dandanayaka' and 'Kumaramatya'.
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● Samudragupta has been called 'Licchavi Dauhitra' in Prayag Prashasti.

● He is known by the title of Kaviraja (King among poets) because of his
ability to compose verses.
● He was an ardent follower of Vaishnavism but was tolerant of other
religions. He showed a keen interest in Buddhism and was a patron of the
great Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu.
● Historian VA Smith has called Samudragupta the 'Napoleon of India'.
Major conquests of Samudragupta
● Samudragupta completed his victory campaign in total 5 phases.
● In the first phase, Samudragupta defeated the nine rulers of northern India
or Aryavarta and directly merged these states into his empire.
● In the second phase, Samudragupta captured the region of Punjab.
● In the third phase, Samudragupta defeated the Atvik states of the Vindhya
region.
● He defeated 12 rulers of South India in the fourth phase.

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● In the fifth phase, Samudragupta defeated some foreign states of
North-West India.
● After these victories, Samudragupta performed Ashwamedha Yajna and

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assumed the title of 'Ashwamedha Parakram'.

Chandragupta II (380 - 415 CE)

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● He was the son of Samudragupta and his successor.
● However, it is known from the play 'Devichandraguptam' composed by
Visakhadatta that after Samudragupta, Ramagupta became the Gupta
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ruler, who was the Elder brother of Chandragupta II.
● During the reign of Chandragupta II, the Gupta dynasty reached its zenith
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by expanding territories through conquest as well as matrimonial alliances.

● He married the Naga princess Kubernaga.
● He married his daughter Prabhavati to the Vakataka prince, Rudrasena II
(Deccan).
● After the death of her husband, Prabhavati ruled the region as the regent
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of her minor sons with the assistance of her father. Thus Chandragupta II
indirectly controlled the Vakataka kingdom.
● An iron pillar inscription at Mehrauli in Delhi indicates that his empire also
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included northwestern India and Bengal.

● He assumed the titles of 'Vikramaditya' (as powerful as the Sun),
'Parambhagavata Vikramank' and 'Shakari' (after defeating the
Shaka-Kshatrapa).
● He issued gold coins (Dinara), silver coins and copper coins. He is
mentioned as ‘Chandra’ on his coins.
● During his reign, a Chinese traveler 'Fa Hien' (399-414 AD) visited India
and wrote a detailed account of the life of the people there.
● Fahien started his journey from Bengal while returning to China.
 ● The Udayagiri Cave Inscription mentions his Digvijaya, i.e. his victory over
the whole world.
● His court at Ujjain was adorned by nine eminent scholars who were known
as Navaratnas (Nine Gems).

Navaratna Subject Important work

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Kalidas Literature Wrote Abhijnanasakuntalam, the first Indian
text to be translated into most languages.

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Amar Singh Grammer Amarkosh was created

Dhanwantari doctor Father of Ayurveda

Varahamihira

Gatkarpar poetry AS
Astrology Composed 'Panchasiddhantika'
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Kshapdak Astrology

Varruchi Grammer
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Shanku architecture He composed 'Shilpa Shastra'

Vetalbhatta occultism He was the author of Mantra Shastra

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Kumaragupta I (415 - 455 CE)

● Kumaragupta I was the son and successor of Chandragupta II.
● The information about the reign of Kumaragupta comes from 'Vilsad
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inscription', Mandsaur inscription (composed by Vatsabhatti) and

Karamdanda inscription.
● He assumed the titles of 'Shakraditya' and 'Mahendraditya'.
● He also performed 'Ashwamedha' Yajna.
● The most important work of Kumaragupta I was the establishment of
Nalanda University during his reign. This university is called 'Oxford of
Mahayana'.
● Among the Gupta rulers, maximum records are found of Kumaragupta.
● Silver coins were introduced in Central India during his reign.
Skandagupta (455 - 467 CE)
● From the point of view of administrative convenience, Skandagupta shifted
his capital to Ayodhya.
● During the reign of Skandagupta, the first Huna invasion (under the
leadership of Khushnawaz) took place, whose information is available from
the Junagarh inscription. Although it had failed the invasion of Hunas.
● It also did the work of restoration of Sudarshan Lake in Gujarat.
● It sent an ambassador to the court of the Chinese emperor in 466 AD.

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Other Gupta Rulers

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● After Sakandagupta Buddhagupta, Kumaragupta II, Bhanugupta and
Vishnugupta became the main rulers.
● Vishnu was the last ruler of the Gupta dynasty.

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● For the first time epigraphic evidence of Sati practice is found in the
Eran inscription related to Bhanu Gupta.
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Gupta period administrative, social, economic,
religious and art and culture
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Administrative System
● The governance system in the Gupta period was based on the
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Monarchical system.
● The Gupta Empire was very large, which required a well-organized
administrative system.
● In this period, the emperor was at the top of the administration. He was
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also the highest official of the Justice Department.

● There was a Council of Ministers to assist the state, whose appointment
was done by the emperor himself from among the princes and feudal lords.
● An officer named 'Kumaramatya' was appointed in the provinces by the
emperor and he was given a cash salary.
● From the point of view of administrative convenience, the entire empire
was divided into 'Bhuktis'. The 'bhuktis' were further divided into 'districts'.
● The officer of the districts was called 'Vishayapati'.
 ● The village was the smallest unit of administration. Its highest official was
called 'Gramik' or Mahattar, for whose help there was a village panchayat.
● Its main work was to make security arrangements, do construction work
and collect revenue.

Social system
● The society during the Gupta period was divided into four castes, based
not on karma but on birth.

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● The family was the smallest unit of social organization in the Gupta period.
● According to the Chinese traveler Fa-hien, the practice of untouchability,
known as "Antyaja", was prevalent during this time.

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● The rise of the Kayastha caste was due to the prevalence of land grants,
which is described in the Yajnavalkya Smriti.
● The status of women during the Gupta period was considerably worse than

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during the Vedic period. The practice of purdah, child marriage, and sati
(evident from Bhanugupta's inscription) was prevalent during this time.
Information about widow remarriage is found in the Narada Smriti.
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● The practice of slavery was prevalent during the Gupta period. The
Manusmriti describes seven types of slaves, while the Narada Smriti
describes fifteen types.
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● The practice of "Vishti", a form of forced labor, was prevalent during the
Gupta period.

Economic system
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● Agriculture was the main basis of the economy during the Gupta period.
● The Amarakosha describes 12 types of land.
● Kulhavap, Dronavap, and Adhavap were measures of land.
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● Information about irrigation is found in Skandagupta's Junagarh inscription.

● Textile industry was the main industry during the Gupta period. Information
about silk weavers is found in the Mandasor inscription.
● In the Gupta period, a group of merchants of the same caste engaged in
trade, which was called a "shreni" at that time.
● Gupta rulers issued gold, silver, and copper coins. The most gold coins
were issued by Gupta rulers, which were called "dinars" in their
inscriptions.
Revenue system prevalent in Gupta period
● The main source of revenue during the Gupta period was obtained from
"land revenue".
● The state collected a tax called "Bhag" which was about 1/6th of the land's
produce.
● Farmers could pay the land tax in cash (hiranya) or in kind (meya).
● "Udrang" was a land tax imposed on permanent farmers and "Uparikar"
was a land tax imposed on temporary farmers.

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● "Dhruvadhikaran" was an officer who collected land revenue, and
"Shaulkik" was a revenue officer who collected boundary taxes.

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Types of Land during the Gupta Period
Vastu Habitable land

Aprahat

Khil AS
Forest land that was not tilled

Uncultivated land
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Audak Marshland
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Religious life
● Gupta rulers were primarily followers of Vaishnavism.
● They adopted Garuda as their royal emblem and took on the title of
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'Parambhagavat'.
● They commissioned the construction of the Dashavatar temple in the
Panchayatana style, which depicts Lord Vishnu in repose.
● During the Gupta era, many statues of Bodhisattvas were created under
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the Mahayana tradition.

Art & Culture

● The Gupta period is known as the Golden Age of Indian art and culture.
● Many art forms including sculpture, architecture, and painting emerged
during this period.
● Gupta art and culture were primarily influenced by religion, and many
temples were built in the field of architecture.
 ● The origin of temple construction art is attributed to the Gupta period.
● Mathura and Sarnath were the major centers of sculpture in the field of
Buddhist art.

Main temples of Gupta period

Bhitargaon Temple Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

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Dashavatar Temple of Deogarh Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh

Tigwa Vishnu Temple Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

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Parvati Temple of Nachna Panna, Madhya Pradesh
Kuthar

Shiv Temple of Bhumra Satna, Madhya Pradesh

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Major creations of the Gupta period
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Kalidas Abhigyan Shakuntalam, Meghdoot,
Ritusamhara, Kumarasambhavam, Raghuvansh
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Malvikagnimitram

Visakhadatta Mudrarakshasa, Devichandraguptam

Varahamihira Pancha Siddhantika, Vrihatsamhita

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Vishnu Sharma panchatantra

Shudraka Mrichkatikam
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