UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT, KOLKATA

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 UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT, KOLKATA

Pre Gupta Period

Indo Greeks:
The First King was Dematrius I
The most famous king was Menander, also known as Milinda. He was
converted to Buddhism by Nagasena. The conversation between two has
been described in the Pali text “Milinda Panho”.
They are first to issue gold coins.
The Shakas:
The Greeks were followed by the Shakas, who controlled a large part of
India.
The most famous Shaka ruler in India was Rudradaman I . His achievements
were highlighted in his Junagarh Inscription. It is the first major inscription
written in Sanskrit. 2
 UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING & MANAGEMENT, KOLKATA

Pre Gupta Period

The Kushans:
Came from North Central Asia.
Kujal Kadphises was the founder of Kushan in India. He was followed by
Vim Kadphises who issued gold coins in large numbers.
Most famous of Kushan - Kanishka
He started an era in 78 AD, which is now known as Saka Samvat and is used
by the Government of India.
He extended his whole hearted patronage to Buddhism. In his time fourth
Buddhist council was held in Kashmir.
He had two capitals - 1) Purushpur (Peswar) 2) Mathura

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Pre Gupta Period

He Patronized --
Ashwaghosha: He is writer of “Buddhacharita” (Ramayana of Buddhism)
Nagarjuna: Wrote “Madhyamikasutra” . In this book, Nagarjuna hints the
concept of relativity. He is considerd as “Indian Einstein”. He travelled to
China to preach Buddhism.
Vasumitra: Chairman of 4th Buddhist council.
Charak: Famous physician

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Gupta Period

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Origin of Gupta Empire

The founder of the Gupta dynasty is Sri Gupta.
The Gupta Empire rose to prominence in 320 AD and spread to large parts
of northern India, central and small parts of southern India.
Ghatotkacha was the son of Sri Gupta

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Gupta Empire

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Chandragupta I
Was the son of Ghatotkacha.
Acquired the strategically important Magadha kingdom on marriage to a
Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi.
He extended his kingdom through conquests. His territory extended from the
Ganges River to Prayaga by 321 AD.
He issued coins in the joint names of his queen and himself.
He assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja (great king of kings).
He was successful in building a small principality into a great kingdom.
He is considered the first great king of the Gupta Empire.

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Samudragupta 
Son of Chandragupta I and Kumaradevi.
Was a military genius and was successful in adding many territories into the Gupta Empire.
The Allahabad inscription describes his bravery as composed by his court poet, Harisena. There it is
said that he defeated nine kings of the Ganges Valley, twelve kings from the southern region, and
eighteen forest tribes.
His region extended from the Himalayas in the north to the Krishna and Godavari Rivers in the
south; and from Balkh (Afghanistan) in the west to Brahmaputra River in the east.
He was also called “Indian Napoleon” by art historian Vincent Smith.
He also performed Ashvamedha sacrifice. Hence, one of his coins refers to him as “the restorer of
Ashvamedha.”
He was also called “Kaviraja” since he composed verses.

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Chandragupta II
Samudragupta was succeeded by Ramgupta, but his younger brother Chandragupta killed him and
married his queen Dhruvadevi.
First capital Patliputra and Second capital was Ujjaini.
The Iron pillar inscriptions near Qutub Minar in Delhi mentions about him.
He was a brilliant conqueror and an able administrator as well.
Like his father, he was a Vaishnavite but was tolerant of other religions.
His other names (as mentioned in coins) include Vikrama, Devagupta, Devaraja, Simhavikrama,
Vikramaditya Sakari, etc.

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His court had nine jewels or Navaratnas, nine people eminent in various fields of art,
literature and science. This included the great Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, Harisena, Amarasimha
(lexicographer) and Dhanvantari (physician).
Fa-Hien, a Buddhist from China visited India during his reign. He records the prosperity of the
Gupta Empire

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Kumara Gupta I
During his reign, Hunas invaded India.
He founded Nalanda University.
 He also performed an asvamedha sacrifice.
He adopted the title “Mahendraditya”
He was the worshipper of Lord Kartikeya.

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Skandagupta
Kumargupta I was followed by Skandagupta.
He faced Huns effectively.
He restored Sudarshana lake.
Bhitari pillar inscriptions (UP) of Skandagupta mentions the conflict between
Skandagupta and the Pushyamitras as well as Hunas.

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Fall of Gupta Empire

The Weak successors of Skandagupta couldnot check the growing Huna power.
Feudatories rose in Bihar, Bengal , MP, Vallabhi etc.
Last King - Vishnugupta

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Gupta Empire – The Golden Age of India

The Gupta age in ancient India has been called the ‘Golden Age of India’ because of the many achievements
in the field of arts, science, and literature that Indians made under the Guptas. The prosperity under the
Guptas initiated a period of splendid accomplishments in arts and sciences. 

Gupta Empire Literature:

Sanskrit literature flourished under the Guptas. Kalidasa, the great poet, and playwright was in the court of
Chandragupta Vikramaditya. He composed great epics such as Abhijnanashaakuntalam, Kumarasambhavam,
Malavikagnimitram, Ritusamharam, Meghadootam, Vikramorvashiyam, and Raghuvamsham.
The celebrated Sanskrit drama Mṛcchakatika was composed during this time. It is attributed to Shudraka.
Poet Harisena also adorned the court of Chandragupta Vikramaditya and Samudragupta. He wrote the
Allahabad Prashasti (inscription).
Vishnu Sharma of Panchatantra fame lived during this era.
Amarasimha (grammarian and poet) composed a lexicon of Sanskrit, Amarakosha.
Vishakhadatta composed Mudrarakshasa. Other grammarians who contributed to the Sanskrit language
include Vararuchi and Bhartrihari.

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Legacy of Gupta Empire – Sciences

In the fields of science, mathematics and astronomy also, the Gupta age saw a lot
of interesting advancements.
Aryabhatta, the great Indian mathematician and astronomer wrote Surya Siddhanta
and Aryabhattiya. Aryabhatta is believed to have conceptualised ‘zero’. He also gave
the value of Pi. He postulated that the earth is not flat and it rotated around its own
axis and also that it revolved around the sun. He also gave the distance between
earth and sun which is remarkably close to the actual value. He wrote on geometry,
astronomy, mathematics and trigonometry.
The Indian number system with a base of 10 which is the present numeral system
evolved from scholars of this era.

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Varahamihira wrote Brihatsamhita. He was an astronomer and an astrologer.

Dhanvantari, the great physician is supposed to have lived during this time.
Sushruta, composed the Sushrutasamhita around 600 AD. He has detailed surgical
procedures in this work.
The Nalanda University, a centre of Buddhist and other learning attracted students from
abroad. The Guptas patronised this ancient seat of learning.

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Legacy of Gupta Empire – Art & Architecture

Many magnificent temples, palaces, paintings and sculptures were created.
Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh UP is one of the earliest surviving Hindu temples. It is a
fine example of Gupta architecture.
Mural paintings of Ajanta depicting the life of the Buddha as told in the Jataka tales were
created in this period. Places like Ajanta, Ellora, Mathura, Sarnath; and Anuradhapura and
Sigiriya in Sri Lanka bear examples of Gupta art and architecture.
The Bronze Buddha which is 7.5 feet high and found at Sultanganj is a product of the
Gupta age.
The iron pillar at Mehrauli, Delhi is a marvelous creation of this period. It is a 7 m long
pillar and it is made up of a composition of metals such that it is rust-free. This is a
testimony to the metallurgical skills of Indians of that time.

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Thank
You

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