GUPTA AND
HARSHA PERIOD
Rise and Growth of Gupta Empire

275 CE 319–20 CE 335–80 CE

The Gupta era
The dynasty of the Samudragupta,
started by the 1st
Guptas gained the son and
important Gupta
power and successor of
emperor
founded Chandragupta I
Chandragupta I
by Sri Gupta.
(319–34).

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 1

 550 CE 5th Century 380–412 CE
Guptas lost Huna invasion Chandragupta II
Bihar and UP and end of
Skandagupta’s
reign

KHYBAR PASS

PLATEAU OF
TIBET
om
l.c
ai
gm
@
25
24
hi
os

DECCAN
kj
hi
us

PLATEAU
ka

ARABIAN
BAY OF BENGAL
WE

SEA
STE
RN
GHA
TS

Empire of Chandragupta I

Added by SamudraGupta

Added by Chandragupta II

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 2

 Background
The Gupta empire arose on the ruins of the The Guptas enjoyed certain material
Kushan empire. The Guptas were possibly advantages. The centre of their opera-
feudatories of the Kushans in UP. The origi- tions lay in the fertile land of Madhyadesh
nal kingdom of the Guptas comprised UP covering Bihar and UP. They were able to
and Bihar at the end of the third century. exploit the iron ores of central India and
south Bihar.
Note: Early Gupta coins and inscriptions Also, they took advantage of their proximi-
are largely found in UP. ty to the areas in north India that conduct-
ed the silk trade with the eastern Roman
empire, also known as the Byzantine
empire.

Chandragupta I (AD 319–34)

He was the first important king of the Gupta dynasty. He married a Lichchhavi princess, in all
probability from Nepal, which strengthened his position.
The Guptas were probably vaishyas, and hence marriage into a
kshatriya family lent them prestige.

Note: He assumed the title of ‘Maharajadhiraja' and started the Gupta Era.

Samudragupta (AD 335–80)

om
l.c
ai

He was Chandragupta’s son and successor. His court poet Harishena wrote a glowing
gm
@

account of the military exploits of his patron.

25
24

The inscription is engraved at Allahabad on the same pillar

hi
os

that carries the inscriptions of Ashoka.

kj
hi

Meghavarman, the ruler of Sri Lanka, is believed to have sent a missionary to

us
ka

Samudragupta for permission to build a Buddhist temple at Gaya.

Note: Called ‘Napoleon of India’ by V.A. Smith

Chandragupta II (AD 380–412)

The reign of Chandragupta II saw the high watermark of the Gupta empire. He extended the
limits of the empire by marriage alliance and conquest. He married his daughter Prabhavati to a
Vakataka prince. The prince died, and Prabhavati became the virtual ruler.
Chandragupta II adopted the title of Vikramaditya. During his reign, the Chinese pilgri
Fa-hsien (AD 399–414) visited India and wrote an elaborate account of the life of its people.

Note: The court of Chandragupta II at Ujjain was adorned by numerous

scholars (navratnas) like Kalidasa, Amarsinha, Harisena, Varahmihira, Vararuchi,
Vetalbhatta,Sanku, Dhanvanti and Kahapanaka.

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 3

 The successors of Chandragupta II had to face an invasion by
Hunas from Central Asia, which ultimately led to downfall of
the empire.
NOTE
Kumaragupta I founded Nalanda University.

Vishnugupta was last known ruler of Gupta dynasty.

Life in Gupta Age

System of Administration Trends in Trade and Social Developments
the Agrarian Economy

Fa-Hien visited different Large-scale land grants

om

Kingdom parts of the Gupta to the brahmanas sug-

l.c
ai

empire. He found that gest that the brahmana

gm

Magadha was full of supremacy increased in

@
25

cities and its rich people Gupta times. The brah-

24

Provinces/
hi

believed in and support- manas presented the

os
kj

Bhuktis
hi

ed it with charitable Gupta kings as possess-

us
ka

Governor-uparika offerings. ing god-like attributes.

In ancient India, the
Vishyas
Guptas issued the larg-
vishyapathi est number of gold
coins, which were called
dinaras in their inscrip-
Districts tions. Although in gold
content the Gupta coins
are not as pure as the
Kushan ones, they not
Village only served to pay the
Village head man
officers in the army and
administration but also
All this helped to legiti-
mize the position of the
Gupta princes, who
became great support-
ers of the brahmanical
order.
The castes proliferated
into numerous
sub-castes as a result
of two factors. First, a
large number of foreign-
ers had been assimilat

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 4

 The king maintained a
standing army, supple-
mented by forces sup-
plied by his feudatories.
Horse chariots receded
into the background, and
cavalry came to the fore.
Horse archery became
an important element
in military tactics.
During the Gupta period
land taxes increased in
number, and those on
trade and commerce
decreased. In central and
western India, the villag-
ers were also subjected
to forced labour called
vishti.
The judicial system was
far more developed under
the Guptas than in earlier
times; for the first time
civil and criminal laws
were clearly demarcated.
Note: The guilds of arti-
sans, merchants, and
others were governed by
their own laws.
Religious functionaries
were granted land,
free of tax, for posterity,
and they were
authorized to collect
from the peasants
all the taxes that once
went directly to the
emperor. The beneficia-
ries were also empow-
ered to punish
criminals.
www.visionias.in
to meet the needs of the
sale and purchase of
land. After the conquest
of Gujarat, the Guptas
issued a large number
of silver coins mainly for
local exchange. In con-
trast to those of the
Kushans, the Gupta
copper coins are very
few in number.
In comparison to the
earlier period we notice
a decline in long-dis-
tance trade. Till AD 550
India carried on some
trade with the eastern
Roman or Byzantine
empire, to which it
exported silk. Around
AD 550, the people of
the eastern Roman
empire learnt from the
Chinese the art of grow-
om
ing silk, which adversely
l.c
affected India’s export
ai
gm
trade.
@
25
24
hi
The striking develop-
os
kj
ment of the Gupta
hi
us
period, especially in
ka
eastern and central MP,
was the emergence of
priestly landlords at the
cost of local peasants.
Land grants made to the
priests brought many
virgin areas under culti-
vation, but these benefi-
ciaries were imposed
from above on local
tribal peasants who
were reduced to a
lower status.
Vision IAS
ed into Indian society,
and each group of
foreigners was consid-
ered a kind of caste.
Second, the absorption
of many tribal people
into brahmanical society
through the process of
land grants. The tribal
chiefs were assigned a
respectable origin, but
most of their ordinary
kinsmen were assigned
a low origin.
The position of shudras
improved during this
period. They were now
permitted to listen to
recitations of the
Ramayana, the
Mahabharata, and the
Puranas.
The number of untouch-
ables increased, espe-
cially the chandalas.
In the Gupta period, like
the shudras, women
were also allowed to
listen to the Ramayana,
the Mahabharata, and
the Puranas, and were
advised to worship Krish-
na. However, women of
the higher orders did not
have access to indepen-
dent sources of liveli-
hood in pre-Gupta and
Gupta times. The first
example of the immola-
tion of a widow after the
death of her husband
occurred during the
Gupta period in AD 510.
5
 Buddhism ceased to be
as important during the
Gupta period as it had
been in the days of
Ashoka and Kanishka.
However, some stupas
and viharas were con-
structed, and Nalanda
became a centre of
Buddhist education.

Bhagavatism originated
in post-Maurya times
and centred around the
worship of Vishnu. It
overshadowed Mahaya-
na Buddhism by Gupta
times. Idol worship in
the temples became a
common feature of
Hinduism from the
Gupta period onwards
and many festivals also
began to be celebrated.
The Gupta kings
om

followed a policy of
l.c

tolerance towards differ-

ai
gm

ent religious sects.

@
25
24
hi
os
kj
hi
us
ka

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 6

 Art and Science during the Gupta times
Art
Both Samudragupta and Chandragupta II were
patrons of art and literature.
Buddhism gave great impetus to art in Maurya and
post-Maurya times - creation of massive stone
pillars, the raising of high stupas or relic towers etc.
During the Gupta period a life-size copper image of
the Buddha of more than 6 feet was made.
The finest specimens of Buddhist art in Gupta times
are the Ajanta paintings.
As the Guptas supported Brahmanism, images of
Vishnu, Shiva, and some other Hindu gods were
fashioned for the first time during their period.
om

The Gupta period was poor in terms of architecture.

l.c
ai

There were a few temples made of brick in UP and a

gm
@

stone temple. The Buddhist university at Nalanda was

25
24

set up in the fifth century, and its earliest structure,

hi
os

made of brick, relates to this period.

kj
hi

Literature
us

Bhasa was an important poet in the early phase of the

ka

Gupta period. He was the author of a drama called

Dradiracharudatta, which was later refashioned as
Mrichchhakatika or the Little Clay Cart by Shudraka.
Kalidasa lived in the 4th-5th century. He was the great-
est poet of classical Sanskrit literature and wrote Abhi-
jnanashakuntalam which is very highly regarded in
world literature.
The two great epics, namely the Ramayana and the
Mahabharata, were almost completed by the fourth
century AD.
The Gupta period also saw the development of Sanskrit
grammar based on the work of Panini and Patanjali.
This period is particularly memorable for the compila-
tion of Amarakosha by Amarasimha, who was a lumi-
nary in the court of Chandragupta II.
www.visionias.in Vision IAS 7
 Science and Technology
In mathematics, in the fifth century, a work called
Aryabhatiya was written by Aryabhata who belonged
to Pataliputra.
A Gupta inscription of AD 448 from Allahabad district
suggests that the decimal system was known in India
at the beginning of the fifth century.
In the field of astronomy, a book called Romaka
Sidhanta was compiled, its title indicating that it was
influenced by Greek and Roman ideas.
Bronze images of the Buddha began to be produced
on a considerable scale because of the knowledge the
smiths had of advanced metal technology.
With regard to iron objects, the best example is the
iron pillar found at Mehrauli in Delhi. Manufactured in
the fourth century AD. The pillar has not gathered any
rust over the subsequent fifteen centuries which is a
great tribute to the technological skill of the crafts-
men.

Spread of Civilization in Eastern India

om

Orissa, and Eastern

l.c

Bengal Assam
ai
gm

and Southern MP
@
25
24

Kalinga, or coastal Orissa The area situated Kamarupa, coterminous

hi
os

south of the Mahanadi, between the Ganges and with the Brahmaputra
kj
hi
us

rose to importance under the Brahmaputra now basin running from east
ka

Ashoka, though a strong covering Bangladesh to west, shot into promi-

state had been founded in emerged as a settled nence in the seventh
that area in the first and fairly Sanskrit-edu- century. In the fourth
century BC. cated region in the fifth century Samudragupta
and sixth centuries. The received tributes from
In the 4th century Kosala Gupta governors, who Davaka and Kamarupa.
and Mahakantara were seem to have become The rulers who submit-
conquered by independent after about ted to Samudragupta
Samudragupta, and AD 550, occupied north may have been chiefs
covered parts of northern Bengal; some part of it living on the tributes
and western Orissa. From may also have been collected from the tribal
the 2nd half of the 4th seized by the rulers of peasantry.
century to the 6th century, Kamarupa. By AD 600
several states were the area came to be

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 8

 formed in Orissa, and at known as Gauda and By the beginning of the
least five of them can be functioned as an inde- sixth century, the use of
clearly identified. The pendent state ruled by Sanskrit and the art of
most important of those Shashanka, Harsha’s writing are clearly in
was the state of the adversary. evidence. The Kamarupa
Matharas, also known kings adopted the title
as Pitribhaktas, who at For a century from AD varman, which obtained
the peak of their power 432 we notice a series not only in northern,
dominated the area of land sale documents central, and western
between the Mahanadi recorded on copper- India but also in Bengal,
and the Krishna. plates. The land sale Orissa, Andhra, Karnata-
documents not only ka, and Tamil Nadu. This
The induction of the indicate the existence of title, which means
brahmanas through land different social groups armour and symbolizes
grants brought new and local functionaries a warrior, was given to
lands under cultivation but also shed valuable the kshatriyas by Manu.
and introduced better light on the expansion of
methods of agriculture. agriculture. In the seventh century
Formerly the year was Bhaskaravarman
divided into three units, A fiscal and administra- emerged as the head of
each of four months, and tive unit called a state which controlled
time was reckoned on Dandabhukti was a substantial part of the
the basis of three sea- formed in the border Brahmaputra basin and
sons. Under the Matha- areas between Bengal some areas beyond it.
ras, in the mid-fifth and Orissa. Danda Buddhism also acquired
om

century, people began means punishment, and a foothold, and the

l.c
ai

the practise of dividing bhukti enjoyment. The Chinese traveller Hieun

gm
@

the year into twelve unit was apparently to Tsang visited this state.
25
24

lunar months. This pacify and suppress the

hi
os

implied a sound idea of tribal inhabitants of that The decline and fall of
kj
hi

weather conditions region and may have the Gupta empire there-
us
ka

which was useful for promoted Sanskrit and fore coincided with con-
agricultural operations. other elements of siderable progress in
culture in the tribal the outlying regions.
In coastal Orissa, writ- areas. Many obscure areas,
ing had certainly been which were possibly
known since the third The two centuries from ruled by tribal chiefs and
century BC, and inscrip- about the middle of the were thinly settled,
tions up to the fifth appear to have came into limelight.
mid-fourth century AD been very momentous in
were written in Prakrit, the history of Bengal.
but from about AD 350 They saw the progress
onwards Sanskrit began of Brahmanism and the
to be used. coming of Buddhism.
The statues of the

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 9

 Buddha are virtually
non-existent in early
centuries, after which
they are found in
Bodh-Gaya, Sanchi,
Mathura, and Gandhara.
In the fifth century, how-
ever, statues were set
up at several places in
Bengal.

Harsha and His Times

Rise of Harshavardhana Administration Religious Outlook

om

The Guptas, with their Harshavardhana’s reign Harsha followed a toler-

l.c

seat of power in UP and is an example of transi- ant religious policy. A

ai
gm

Bihar, ruled over north tion from ancient to Shaiva in his early
@
25

and western India for medieval times. Harsha years, he gradually

24
hi

about 160 years until the governed his empire on became a great patron
os
kj

mid-sixth century. Then the same lines as did of Buddhism. As a

hi
us

north India again split up the Guptas, but his devout Buddhist he con-
ka

into several kingdoms, administration had vened a grand assembly

the Hunas and other become feudal and at Kanauj to widely publi-
feudal dynasties. Gradual- decentralized. cize the doctrines of
ly one of these dynasties Mahayana, and later an
ruling at Thanesar in Every feudatory contrib- assembly at Prayag.
Haryana extended its uted his quota of foot
authority over all the soldiers and horses, and Harsha is remembered
other feudatories. The thus enormously added not only for his patron-
ruler who brought this to the imperial army. age and learning but
about was Harshavardha- also for the authorship
na (AD 606–47). Hsuan Tsang spent of three plays: Priyadar-
many years in Harsha’s shika, Ratnavali, and
Harsha made Kanauj his court and travelled Nagananda.
seat of power, and from widely in India. Under

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 10

 there he extended his his influence Harsha
authority in all direc- became a great support-
tions. Kanauj’s emer- er of Buddhism and
gence as a centre of made generous endow-
political power from the ments to it.
reign of Harsha onwards
typifies the coming of the Hiuan Tsang informs us
feudal age in north India that Harsha’s revenues
just as Pataliputra large- were divided into four
ly represents the parts. One part was
pre-feudal order. earmarked for the expen-
diture of the king, a
The early history of second for scholars, a
Harsha’s reign is recon- third for the endowment
structed from a study by of officials and public
Banabhatta, who was his servants, and a fourth
court poet and wrote a for religious purposes.
book called Harshachari- He also tells us that
ta. This can be supple- ministers and high
mented by the account of officers of the state
the Chinese pilgrim were endowed with land.
Hiuan Tsang, who visited The feudal practice of
India in the seventh cen- rewarding and paying
tury and stayed in the officers with grants of
country for about fifteen land seems to have
years. begun under Harsha.
om
l.c

This explains why we do

ai
gm

Rajasthan, Punjab, UP, not have very many

@
25

Bihar, and Orissa were coins issued by this

24

under his direct control,

hi

king.
os
kj

but his sphere of influ-

hi
us

ence spread over a much In Harsha’s empire, law

ka

wider area. It appears and order was not well

that the peripheral maintained. Hiuan Tsang
states acknowledged his was robbed of his
sovereignty. belongings, although he
reports that according
Harsha’s southward to the laws of the land,
march was stopped at severe punishments
the Narmada river by the were inflicted for crime.
Chalukya king Pulakesh-
in, who ruled over a
great part of modern
Karnataka and Maharash-
tra with his capital at
Badami.

www.visionias.in Vision IAS 11

 Empire under Harsha, AD 646

Capital city during Harsha’s rule

Purushopura Sin
KASHMRA dh
u

Taksasila
ta
as
UDYANA Vit
ati Sindhu
Inn

Indraprastha
u
dh
Ga

Sin Mathura
ng

Ayodhya Kapilavastu
a

a
ity
La uh
Kanauj
GURJARA Kashi Kusinagam Kamarup
Kosambi
Pataliputra PUNDARA VARDHANA
PRATIHARAS Prayaga
Rajagriha Nalanda
BUNDELKHAND KAIANGALA SUVARNA
VALABHI Bodh gaya KARNA SAMATATA
Ujjayini Vidisha
Dwarka ara
nag Tamralipti
Giri Narma
da
Ma
RASHTRAKUTAS han
adi
Prabhasa Ajanta
om

(Somnath) Godavari
Kalinganagara
l.c
ai

KALINGA
gm
@

BANGOPASAGAR
25

Vijayabati
24

Vatapi
hi
os
kj

ARAB Kris
hna
hi
us
ka

SAGAR

FOR DETAILED ENQUIRY, PLEASE CALL:

12
Vision IAS
www.visionias.in GUWAHATI