Bihar during the Gupta Period

After the decline of the Mauryan period, India could not come under the rule of any one dynasty for a long time. The Gupta rulers fulfilled this deficiency and brought almost the whole of India under one political system and made all-round development in the fields of science, mathematics, commerce, astronomy, literature, religion and philosophy. As a result, the Gupta period was called the golden period in the history of India.

• The Gupta Empire emerged at Kaushambi near Prayag in the late 3^rd century. The initial area of control of the Gupta dynasty was in modern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The Guptas were feudatories of the Kushans.
• The Gupta dynasty is credited with restoring the political unity, destroyed after the fall of the Maurya dynasty.
• The foundation of the Gupta Empire was laid in the second half of the third century and it flourished in the first half of the fourth century. The details of the rulers of this dynasty are as follows-
• Srigupta: According to Prayag Prashasti, the Gupta dynasty was founded by Srigupta in 275 AD. Srigupta ruled older Ayodhya and the Sarnath region to its east from 240 AD to 280 AD. After Srigupta, his son Ghatotkacha ruled from 280 AD to 319 AD.
• Ghatotkacha (280 to 319 AD): Ghatotkacha was the son of Srigupta. He remained the ruler of the Gupta Empire from 280 AD to 319 AD. He assumed the title of Maharaja. Ghatotkacha has been described as the first king of the Gupta dynasty in the Poona and Riddhapur copper plate inscriptions of Prabhavati Gupta.
• Chandragupta I (319 AD to 335 AD): Chandragupta was the first independent ruler in the Gupta dynasty.
• Information about the expansion of the kingdom under Chandragupta I, can be had from Puranas and Prayag Prashasti.
• By establishing a marriage relationship with Kumar Devi, Chandragupta I obtained the Vaishali kingdom.
• Chandragupta I conquered the kingdoms of Kaushambi and Kaushal and merged them with his kingdom and established the capital of the empire at
• Chandragupta I was the first to issue gold coins in the Gupta dynasty. The pictures of Chandragupta and Kumaradevi (king-queen) can be found on one side of these coins, while on the other side there is the figure of Lakshmi.

Samudragupta (335 AD to 375 AD)

• Samudragupta was born from the womb of Licchavi princess Kumaradevi. He was called as
• Samudragupta’s reign is considered to be the heyday of the Gupta Empire politically.
• Harisena was the minister and court poet of Samudragupta.
• From the Prayag Prashasti composed by Harishena, information is obtained regarding Samudragupta’s accession, victory and expansion of the empire.
• Samudragupta assumed the title of
• Looking at Samudragupta’s continuous conquests, A. Smith has given him the title of ‘Napoleon of India. He defeated 9 kings of North India (Aryavarta) and 12 rulers of Dakshinapatha.
• After his victories, Samudragupta performed Ashwamedha Yajna, whose information is available from his coins and later records.
• Samudragupta was a scholar of high standing, a generous patron of learning and a man of exceptional military ability. He has also been called Kaviraj.
• Samudragupta was a great musician who was fond of playing the Veena.
• On one coin, he is shown playing the veena.
• He appointed the famous Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu as his minister.
• Samudragupta’s name Chandraprakash is found in the Kavyalankar Sutra.
• Samudragupta built a vast empire that extended from the Himalayas in the north to the Vindhya Mountains in the south and from the Bay of Bengal in the east to Eastern Malwa in the west.

Chandragupta II ‘Vikramaditya’ (380-412 AD)

• After Samudragupta, the name of Chandragupta Il is mentioned in the Gupta genealogy, although the existence of a weak ruler named Ramagupta is also known between these two rulers.
• Other names of Chandragupta II are Dev, Devagupta, Devraj, Devashree etc.
• He assumed the titles Vikramaditya, Vikramanka, Param Bhagwat etc.
• He established matrimonial relations with the Naga, Vakataka and Kadamba dynasties.
• Chandragupta II married the Naga princess Kuber Nag, from whom a girl child, Prabhavati Gupta, was born.
• Chandragupta II assumed the title of Vikramaditya after his victory over Shakraj Rudrasingh III in 389 AD and issued silver coins.
• Chandragupta Il has been called Shakari in Devichandraguptam (Vishakhadatta) and Harshacharit. He has been called so because of his victory over doubts.
• In order to get the support of the Vakatakas, Chandragupta married his daughter Prabhavati Gupta to the Vakataka king Rudrasena II.
• He conquered Gujarat and Kathiawar with the help of Prabhavati Gupta.
• It was during the time of Chandragupta II that a Chinese traveler named Fahien (399 AD to 414 AD) came to India.
• A beautiful description of Gupta Indian culture is found in Fahien’s travelogue Fo-Kyo-Ki.
• After the death of Samudragupta, many republics had declared their independence. Thereafter, these republics were re-conquered by Chandragupta II and brought under the Gupta Empire.

Note: In addition to the Navratnas of Chandragupta II, one can find the mention of Emperor Akbar’s Navratna and Shivaji’s Ashtapradhan and Krishnadev Rai’s Ashtadiggaj. In the present context, what happens inside the ‘Kitchen Cabinet’ or ‘Cabinet Government’, is like the Navratnas of that time.

• As a result of his victories, Chandragupta Il established a vast empire.
• His empire extended from Gujarat in the west to Bengal in the east and from the Himalayas in the north to the Narmada River in the south.
• During the reign of Chandragupta II, his first capital was Patliputra and second capital was
• The period of Chandragupta II is called the golden age of art and literature. There was a group of Navratnas in his court, which included experts in various disciplines.

Kumaragupta I (415-454 AD)

• After Chandragupta II, his son Kumaragupta I ascended the throne.
• He was the eldest son born to Chandragupta II’s wife Dhruva Devi, while Govindgupta was his younger brother.
• The description of Kumaragupta’s reign comes from his Mandsaur inscription (Madhya Pradesh) which was composed by It is also called the Victory Pillar of Yashodharman.
• The reign of Kumaragupta I was a period of peace and order.
• The progress of the empire was at its peak. The Gupta army badly defeated Pushyamitras.
• Kumaragupta completely protected his vast empire which extended from the Himalayas in the north to the Narmada in the south and from the Bay of Bengal in the east to the Arabian Sea in the west.
• It is known from the inscriptions or seals of Kumaragupta I that he had assumed titles like Mahendra Kumar, Srimahendra and
• Nalanda University had a huge library whose main parts were Ratnaranjak, Ratnasagar, Ratnodadhi. It is also called the Oxford of Mahayana Buddhism.
• Nalanda University was first identified/discovered by
• Chinese traveler Etsing came to Nalanda in 673 AD. According to him, the University of Nalanda had its own seal, which was inscribed in Pali language as ‘Sri Nalanda Mahavihara Aryabhikshu Sanghasthaya’.

Skandagupta (455 AD-467 AD)

• The Gupta ruler Kumaragupta I died in 455 AD at the time of the invasion of Shungavanshis/Pushyamitras.
• After his death, his son Skandagupta ascended the throne.
• Skandagupta first conquered his enemies Shungas and Hunas and drove the invading Central Asian Hunas out of the country.
• Skandagupta was a very philanthropist, patriot and popular ruler. He ruled for 12 years. Skandagupta also assumed the titles Vikramaditya, Kramaditya etc.
• According to the Junagarh inscription of Skandagupta, the Hunas have been called
• Skandagupta saved his culture from destruction by protecting it from the invasion of Hunas.
• In the last days of his reign, Skandagupta shifted his capital to Ayodhya from the point of view of administrative convenience.
• Bhanugupta was the last ruler of the Gupta dynasty. The first evidence of Sati practice during his reign comes from the Eran inscription (510 AD – Sagar, Madhya Pradesh). In this there is mention of Senapati named Gopraj’s wife performing sati.
• The Gupta Empire declined by the middle of the 6th century. Kumaragupta III was the last ruler of the Gupta dynasty, after which the complete decline of the Gupta Empire began.
• The rate of land revenue was generally 1/4 to 1/6 of the produce in the Gupta period.
• Bhagavata or Vaishnavism dharm reached its zenith during the reign of the Gupta kings.
• Panchatantra composed by Vishnu Sharma is a Gupta period composition.
• Aryabhatta, Varahmihir and Brahmagupta, the famous astronomers and mathematicians of the Gupta period, were residents of
• Slavery existed in the Gupta period. Narad has mentioned 15 types of slaves.
• The largest territorial unit of the Gupta Empire was the Desh, whose head was called a
• It is known from the description of Fahien that in the Gupta society there was an untouchable class different from the Shudras. They have been called Antyaj and Chandal.

Development of Art in Gupta period

• The Gupta period reached its zenith of excellence in the field of art.
• The temples of this period are the best examples of architecture. Shikharyukt temples (Devgarh, Jhansi) are prominent in this.
• The temple of Pavaya, the temple of Shiva at Nagod (Koh), the temple of Shankargarh (Jabalpur) etc. are also attractive temples of the Gupta period.
• In the Gupta period, painting also reached the zenith of its splendor, glory and
• Ajanta Paintings: Ajanta caves are located in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra.
• Out of total 29 caves, cave number 16, 17 and 19 belong to the Gupta period.
• Cave number 16 has a picture of a dying princess.
• Jataka Kathas are mentioned in cave number 17. It depicts Buddha begging foralms from Yashodhara and Yashodhara handing over Rahula to Buddha.
• There is also a picture of the court of Sinhala in this cave.
• The Mahabodhi Temple of Bodh Gaya and the Maniyar Math of Rajagriha were built during the Gupta period.