Gupta Empire

Literature, Art and Architecture

Current News:
Recently, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) discovered remains of an
ancient temple dating back to the Gupta period (5th century) in Bilsarh village
in Uttar Pradesh’s Etah district.
The Bilsarh site was declared ‘protected’ in 1928 by the ASI.
Two pillars were excavated on which there is an inscription about
Kumaragupta I, the powerful ruler of Gupta dynasty, in ‘sankh lipi’ (conch
script or shell script) typical of the 5th century AD.
The inscription was deciphered as Mahendraditya which was the title of king
Kumargupta I who had even conducted ashwamedh yagya during his rule.
The statue of a horse having similar inscription is at the state museum in
Lucknow.
The discovery becomes significant since only two other structural temples from
the Gupta age have been found so far — Dashavatara Temple (Deogarh) and
Bhitargaon Temple (Kanpur Dehat).
Shankhalipi Script:

Also called “shell-script” is found in inscriptions across north-central India and

dates to between the 4th and 8th centuries.
Both Shankhalipi and Brahmi are stylised scripts used primarily for names and
signatures.
The inscriptions consist of a small number of characters, suggesting that the
shell inscriptions are names or auspicious symbols or a combination of the two.
It was discovered in 1836 on a brass trident in Uttarakhand’s Barahat by
English scholar James Prinsep.
Prominent sites with shell inscriptions: Mundeshwari Temple (Bihar), the
Udayagiri Caves (Madhya Pradesh), Mansar (Maharashtra) and some of the
cave sites of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
These inscriptions are also reported in Indonesia’s Java and Borneo.
Literature and Language
Sanskrit was the court language of the Guptas.
Two great epics(Mahakayva), the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were
compiled around 4AD.
Puranas follow on the lines of epics. Some of the earlier Puranas were
compiled in this era. There are 18 Mahapuranas and 19 Upa-puranas.
The Puranas were associated with revivalism of Hinduism.
Kalidasa created such epics as Abhijnanasakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram,
Raghuvansha, Vikramorvasiya, Ritusamhara, Meghaduta and Kumarsambhaba

Mahakavya(epic poem):
Kumarasambhava:An epic poem depicting birth of Kartikeya, son of shiva and
Parvati
Raghuvamsa:Geneology of Lord Rama. The Ikshvakus are also known as
Raghuvanshis hence the name.
Play(3)
Malavikagnimitra:Story of love between Agnimitra, the Sunga Prince and the
hand-maiden of his chief queen, Mālavikā. Also gives an account of his father
Pushyamitra Sunga’s Rajasuya Yagna.
Vikramorvasiya:It’s a Sanskrit drama depicting the love story of Puruvas, a
Vedic King and Urvashi. Puruvas is chosen to reflect the qualities of
Chandragupt Vikramaditya.
Abhigyana Shakuntala:A sanskrit play which depicts the story of Dushyanta,
king of Hastinapur, and Shakuntala, daughter of the sage Vishwamitra and the
apsara Menaka.
Ritusamhara:A mini epic poem on six seasons (Ritu). Considered to be the
earliest work of Kalidasa.
Meghaduta:Cloud is a messenger. An exiled yaksha who is pining for his
beloved on a lonely mountain peak. When, at the beginning of a monsoon, a
cloud perches on the peak, he asks it to deliver a message to his love in the
Himalayan city of Alaka.
Sudraka wrote Mricchakatika
Vishakhadatta created Mudrarakshasa
Vishnusharma penned Panchatantra.
Harishena composed Allahabad Prasasti
(The Allahabad Pillar also has inscriptions by Ashoka and Mughal Emperor
Jahangir)
Bhasa:Swapnavasavadatta
Bhartṛhari:Vakyapadiya
Aryabhatta:Aryabhatiyam
(Also mentions Suryasiddhanta. Aryabhatta is credited with the discovery of
algebra. He formulated the area of triangle which led to the origin of
Trigonometry.)
Varahamihira:Panchasiddhanta, Brihatsamhita
(Gives a summary of 5 schools of astrology – Surya Siddhanta, Romaka
Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasishtha Siddhanta and Paitamaha Siddhanta.
Also discusses concepts of Trigonometry.)
Architecture:
Caves
Udayagiri Caves:
There are a number of places in India with the same name, the most notable
being the mountain called Udayagiri at Rajgir in Bihar and the Udayagiri and
Khandagiri caves in Orissa. The caves in Orissa correspond to the Jainism.
The Udayagiri caves belonging to the Gupta period are located in Vidisha,
Madhya Pradesh.
There are about 14 caves but you need to focus on only 1 of them: Cave #5 –
Dedicated to the Varaha avatar of Vishnu.
This shrine is one of the finest examples of Gupta art, the celebrated relief
showing Vishnu in his incarnation as the boar-headed Varaha. Varaha avatar
rescued the Earth from the chaos of the cosmic sea.

Junagarh Caves:
The so-called “Buddhist Caves” are not actually caves, but three separate sites
of rooms carved out of stone to be used as monks’ quarters.
Bagh Caves:
Located on the bank of Baghani river in the Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.
These rock cut caves posses the most amazing paintings known to be made by
ancient man. According to legend these caves were established by Buddhist
monk Dataka. Out of the initial 9 caves only 5 have been extant.
The most famous features of Bagh Caves are these murals made in tempera
technique.
(which refers to use of permanent fast-drying painting medium consisting of
colored pigment mixed with a water-soluble binder media.)
Nasik Caves:
A group of 23 caves, also called as ‘Pandav-Leni’.
These caves belong to the Hinayana Buddhism (have no images of Buddhas)
Temples:
the Guptas were the first dynasty to build permanent free-standing Hindu
temples. This lay the foundation of Nagara School of art. Temple architecture
with the development of a square sanctum and pillared portico emerged
during the Gupta period.

Style of Temple Architecture:

Nagara style – Northern region
Dravida style – Southern region
Vesara style – Region between Vindhya and Krishna

A. Dasavatara temple of Deogarh

 B. Bhitargaon temple
C. Vishnu Temple of Tigawa Jabalpur
D. Shiva Temple of Bhumara
E. Parvati Temple of Nachria Kathura
F. Mukund Darra Temple of Kota
G. Lakshaman Temple of Raipur
H. Shiva Temple of Koh
I. Bhitari Temple at Ghazipur
Among stupas, the Dhamekh stupa is the most prominent masterpiece of
Gupta architecture.
Dasavatara temple, Deogarh Uttar Pradesh:
The most important temple of Gupta era is Dasavatar Temple of Deogarh,
Uttar Pradesh. The temple was discovered by Captain Charles Strahan and was
named so by Alexander Cunningham.

which is first North Indian temple with a sikhara, though its shikhara is
curtailed and part of it has disappeared. It is said that originally, its shikhara
was of about 40 feet.
The temple depicts the ten avataras of Vishnu. This temple has also been
linked to the “Sarvatobhadra temple” mentioned in the Vishnudharmottara
Purana by several scholars.
Bhitargaon Temple:
Bhitagaon Temple is located in Kanpur District of Uttar Pradesh. It is the oldest
remaining Hindu temple, and was built in the Gupta Era in 6th century. The
special feature of this temple is that it is made entirely in bricks. It is conceived
from top to bottom in terms of terracotta and bricks.
ART:
Mathura School:
Mathura school also witnessed some development during the Gupta period. A
prominent sculpture is Standing Buddha at Matura.
Red sandstone image of the Buddha dated to 500AD
Right hand in abhayamudra, assuring protection, and the left holding the hem
of the garment.

Sarnath School:
The art of Bharhut, Amravati, Sanchi and Mathura came closer and closer;
melting into one – The Sarnath School.
A prominent sculpture is Standing Buddha at Sarnath
At Sarnath the material used was cream coloured sandstone
Other points:
The Gupta Emperors were themselves the devotees of Brahmanical Hinduism.
Naturally, therefore, they became the patrons of their own faith. They
encouraged all branches of Hinduism, such as, Vedism, Vaishnavism, Saivism,
and Saktaism.
As for Vaishnavism, the Guptas were the worshippers of Vishnu, and Lakshmi.
They also adopted as their emblem the vahana of Vishnu, that is, Garuda. They
styled themselves as Paramabhagabatas.
The Gupta period also saw the worship of Kartikeya as the God of War. The
Guptas, being brave fighters, paid much devotion to this God for their victory
in battles.
The famous Smritis of Yajnavalkya, Narada, Katyayana and Brihaspati were
composed during this period. Early in the period, Sabarasvamin wrote his
famous Bhashya on the Mimamsa Sutras, making Mimamsa a complete system
of philosophy.

Administration
In Gupta Empire, the king was directed in his administration by a community
and group consisting of a chief minister and a Senapati. There were various
names of Empire "Rajya", Rashtra", "Desha", "Mandala", "Prithvi" and "Avani".
The Empire was divided into provinces called as Bhukti, Bhoga and pradesha.
Provinces further divided into "Vishayas" and came under the control of
persons called "Vishaya Patis"
Vishaya" further divided into "Nagaras" and "Nagares" were divided into
villages.
A group or collection of villages was called "Pethaka" and "Santaka". Smaller
units of a village were "Agrahara" and "Patta".
A Sandivigraha was the minister for foreign affairs. They were mentioned in
the Gupta inscriptions.
Bhuktis was the name of Provinces in the Gupta Empire. Uparikas was the
name of provincial governors.
The king maintained a deep contact with the provincial administration. By a
group of officials called Kumaramatyas and Ayuktas.
The officers who are looking after the city administration called Nagara
Sreshtis.
Land revenue was only one of the primary sources of the income. It helped in
increasing production and security to the cultivators.
Fahiyan, the famous Chinese pilgrim came to India at the period of
Chandragupta II.
Fahiyan said that no restrictions were applied on kingdom’s people and they
were free to go anywhere and do anything they want and they used to collect
their huge amount of free and open life’s enjoyment.

Question of the day:

The Gupta king who was good player of Veena?
(A) Chandra Gupta
(B) Samudra Gupta
(C) Vikarmaditya
(D) Kumara Gupta
Ans:B
Ramayana and Mahabharata were composed during the period of
A. Guptas
B. Mauryas
 C. Kushans
D. Harsha
Ans:A
The Nalanda University was founded by which Gupta ruler?
A. Samudragupta
B. Kumargupta I
C. Skandgupta
D. Chandragupta I
Ans:B