The Age of the Guptas
ICSE Class 9 · History & Civics · Chapter 11
What this chapter covers
- The Gupta Age: time, place and importance
- Sources: the account of Fa-hien
- Sources: the Allahabad Pillar Inscription
- The Gupta kings in chronological order
- Gupta administration: the king and the central government
- Gupta administration: provinces, districts, villages and towns
- Contribution to education: Nalanda University
- Contribution to science: Aryabhatta
- Contribution to medicine: Sushrutha
- Contribution to culture: the works of Kalidasa
- Contribution to culture: the Deogarh temple
Key points
- The Gupta Empire ruled northern India from about 320 to 550 CE; the Gupta era began in 319–320 CE.
- The period is called the Golden Age for its achievements in literature, science, learning and art, though these benefited mainly the upper classes.
- Fa-hien, a Chinese monk, visited India under Chandragupta II (c. 399–412 CE) and described mild government, light punishments, charity and the hard life of the Chandalas.
- The Allahabad Pillar Inscription, a prashasti by Harishena in Sanskrit, records Samudragupta's conquests and his different policies towards defeated kings.
- The kings in order: Sri Gupta, Ghatotkacha, Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta I, Skandagupta, then the later Guptas.
- The king held titles such as Maharajadhiraja and was helped by a mantriparishad and officials such as the Mahasandhivigrahika and the kumaramatyas.
- The empire was divided into bhuktis (under uparikas), vishayas (under vishayapatis) and gramas (under gramikas); district councils included merchants and artisans.
- Land revenue (bhaga) was usually one-sixth of the produce; agrahara grants and feudatories (samantas) weakened central control over time.
- Nalanda, founded by Kumaragupta I, was a residential centre of learning with free education, strict admission and the Dharmaganja library.
- Aryabhatta's Aryabhatiya (499 CE) gave π ≈ 3.1416, explained eclipses by shadows and stated that the Earth rotates on its axis.
- The Sushruta Samhita describes over 300 operations and about 120 instruments, including plastic surgery of the nose and cataract surgery.
- Kalidasa wrote the plays Abhijnanashakuntalam, Malavikagnimitram and Vikramorvashiyam, the epics Raghuvamsha and Kumarasambhava, and the lyrics Meghaduta and Ritusamhara.
- The Dashavatara temple at Deogarh, dedicated to Vishnu, is an early stone temple with a shikhara, a panchayatana plan and panels of Vishnu's legends.
Questions answered
Name the two sources of Gupta history listed in your syllabus and classify each as literary or archaeological.
The account of Fa-hien is a literary source; the Allahabad Pillar Inscription is an archaeological source.
Who was Fa-hien? Why did he come to India, and during whose reign?
Fa-hien was a Chinese Buddhist monk who came to India in the reign of Chandragupta II, around 399 to 412 CE, to collect copies of the Vinaya Pitaka and visit places linked with the Buddha.
State two limitations of Fa-hien's account as a source.
He wrote mainly about Buddhism and monasteries, not about politics, and he does not even name the ruling king; he saw only the places on his route and may have given too rosy a picture as a grateful guest.
What is a prashasti? Who composed the Allahabad Pillar Inscription?
A prashasti is an inscription written in praise of a king. The Allahabad Pillar Inscription was composed by Harishena, Samudragupta's court poet and minister of peace and war.
Why is the Allahabad pillar said to carry writing from three different ages?
It was set up by Ashoka and carries his edicts; Samudragupta's prashasti was added in the fourth century CE; and the Mughal emperor Jahangir added an inscription in the seventeenth century.
Why did V. A. Smith call Samudragupta the "Napoleon of India"?
Because, like Napoleon, he won a long series of military campaigns, conquering the kings of Aryavarta and bringing the kings of the south, the frontier kingdoms and the tribal republics under his authority.
Name the Gupta kings from Chandragupta I to Skandagupta in chronological order.
Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya), Kumaragupta I, Skandagupta.
How did the marriage alliances of Chandragupta I and Chandragupta II strengthen the Gupta Empire?
Chandragupta I's marriage to the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi gave him prestige and support in the Ganga valley; Chandragupta II's daughter Prabhavatigupta married the Vakataka king Rudrasena II, making the Vakataka kingdom of the Deccan a friendly ally on the southern border.
Past board exam questions
ICSE 2019 sample paper · 2 marks
Mention any two works of Kalidasa.
Show answer
Abhijnana Shakuntalam and Meghaduta (others: Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, Malavikagnimitram, Ritusamhara).