The Gupta Empire of Ancient India

The Gupta Dynasty was a dynasty of Ancient India lasting from about 320 CE to 550 CE which is by many historians considered the cultural Golden Age of ancient Indian civilization.

During the Gupta Period India saw an unprecedented explosion in art and scholarship, comparable in a number of ways to the heights achieved by the Greeks in Ancient Greece during the period of Classical Greece. During this period we see an explosion in science, astronomy and mathematics, music and dance, literature, architecture, and sculpture, and in religious thought too.

The Rise of the Gupta Empire

The Gupta Empire rose under the leadership and guidance of rulers from a single family, who somehow were able to inspire and energize the country to reach new cultural heights.

The Gupta family ruled from northern India. Though their original homeland is presently unknown, they made their home and seat of the Gupta Empire within the kingdom of Magadha in the Ganges Valley.

The Gupta family were wealthy, which indicates the possibility that they were of the wealthy, noble, ruling elite thus were Indo-Aryan peoples of more direct descent from the earlier Persian / Indo-Iranian / Indo-European populations who had migrated into this region more than 1,000 years before. Though this is not certain. Some believe they were a family of wealthy, savvy merchants who rose to power and not originally (ethnically) of the Brahmin class.

The Gupta Dynasty ruled the Gupta Empire from the capital city Pataliputra of Magadha. They were called emperors, though the Gupta Empire itself was not as rigidly dominated from a central authority as other empires throughout history. Not nearly as centralized, militaristic, and culturally uniform as the Roman Empire for example, or the British Empire.

In their capital of Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley they had complete control. However, even within the Ganges valley cities and villages had autonomy, choosing their own leaders, and governing their people as they saw fit. [1.1]

Towns, cities, and kingdoms further from the Ganges Valley were completely free from any central authority or dominant culture, and were independent as long as they paid tribute to the Guptas.

The Gupta Dynasty

The first king of the Gupta Empire was the Maharaja (“Great King”) Sri Gupta. (“Sri” is an honorific prefix indicating respect.) However, while he may have been the namesake for the ruling dynasty, neither he nor his successor reached the same level of power and imminence as their descendant.

Chandragupta I is therefore often considered as the true founder of the Gupta Empire. The Gupta Empire is therefore marked as beginning with his rise to power in about 320 BCE, though he only reigned for about 15 years until 335 BCE (or for 30 years if the actual date for the end of his rule is closer to 350 CE).

Chandragupta I is remembered in Indian History of the Maharajadhiraja (“King of Great Kings”), which is a title reminiscent of one used in the Middle East by the Akkadians, Assyrians, and Persians millennia early, “King of Kings”. He solidified his empire, and expanded its dominion through marriage, entwining his families bloodline with those of the ruling caste of neighboring kingdoms.

In total there were some 17 kings of the Gupta family who ruled the Gupta Empire. However, not all were truly great kings and rulers. The most noteworthy might have been Chandragupta I, his successor Samudragupta, along with Chandragupta II. The complete list is as follows:

1. Sri Gupta (c. late 3rd century)
2. Ghatotkacha (c. late 3rd century – 319)
3. Chandragupta I (c. 319 – 335/350)
4. Kacha (early 4th century?)
5. Samudragupta (c. 335/350 – 375)
6. (Ramagupta) (late 4th century?)
7. Chandragupta II (380 – 413/415)
8. Kumaragupta I (415 – 455)
9. Skandagupta (455 – 467)
10. Purugupta (467 – 473)
11. Kumaragupta II (473 – 476)
12. Budhagupta (476 – 495)
13. Narasimhagupta (495 – ?)
14. (Bhanugupta) (circa 510)
15. Vainyagupta (circa 507)
16. Kumaragupta III (circa 530)
17. Vishnugupta (540 – 550)

Culture of the Gupta Empire

Through the Gupta Period we see the rise of a number of illustrious artists and academics still known today, such as the poet and playwright Kalidasa, the astronomer and mathematician Vatsyayana, the polymath Aryabhata, and the writer of the famous Kama Sutra, the philosopher Varahamihira.

Among the Gupta Empire’s most staggering contributions to the modern world is that they invented the decimal system that we still use today in science and mathematics, found in the Metric System. As well as the Hindu-Arabic numerical symbols that we still use today, and musical forms that now comprise modern Classical Indian Music which had great influence on the western world through musician such as the Beatles (through Ravi Shankar of course.

Scholarship, Literature, Invention and the Arts

The wealthy ruling elite seemed to have a propensity for the arts, for literature and scholarship, dance and music. They poured their wealth into the cultivation of artists and scholars which directly allowed thought and creativity to flourish. Not unlike the Medici family in Florence who were, in their own way, directly responsible for the Renaissance, through the support and attention they gave to young artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci.

The ancient Indo-European language of Sanskrit flourished during Gupta reign. Universities and schools were established, such as Nalanda University (pictured left) which was both a Buddhist monastery and a university in possession of an extensive library. This degree of unity of scholarship and religion is similar to Christian monasteries, especially in Ireland during the Middle Ages. Their Christian missionaries were some of the most well-educated, brilliantly creative, illumined scholars of Europe during that period. We see much the same in this period of Ancient India.

At school mathematics was learned. Language was refined and developed with more advanced grammar, medicine and philosophy were also taught, alongside the most important study of sacred literature of the Hindus which had only recently been committed to the written word.

(No doubt this event remained a point of contention still for, just like the Celtic traditions, the Hindu scriptures were previously considered too sacred to be written down, and were passed down through the ages via oral transmission as a result of decades of rigorous training and memorization.)

We also see incredible innovation within music and dance, complex forms being developed which became the foundation for classical Indian music and dance alive still in India today.

The sculpture during this period also set a new height for representation in stone, with figures from both Hindu and Buddhist thought, history, tradition, and legend being brought to life in stone.

Religion of the Gupta Empire

The main religion practiced by the Gupta Empire was Hinduism. However, both Buddhism and Hinduism coexisted together in apparent harmony.

We also have the famous Puranas which are believed to have been composed around this time. Puranic literature encompasses everything from ideas on cosmogony and cosmology, and the genealogies of gods, goddesses, kings, heroes, sages, and demigods.

The Puranas are also a record of the legends of ancient India, including folk tales, and the record of the work of these ancient scholars, covering subjects such as medicine, grammar, theology, astronomy and philosophy.

Furthermore, some of the most sacred texts of Ancient India, the Ramayana and Mahabharata (along with the Bhagavad Gita which is part of the Mahabharata) are believed to have been codified during the reign of the Gupta Empire, reaching their modern form.

During this time the vegetarianism and an avoidance of alcohol was an emerging practice. [1.1] The importance of Idols in the context of Hindu worship came into prominence. They are used as focal points of religious devotion, symbols of the divine, which were sung to, presented with offerings of food and drink, as well as bathed. This is similar to the religious practices of the cultures of Ancient Mesopotamia.

Influence & Legacy

The academic, cultural, religious, political, and artistic achievements of the Gupta Empire had a powerful influence on the Indian subcontinent. This influence even spread beyond her borders throughout Southeast Asia, as the imminence of this culture was obvious, not to be denied.

From about 450 CE a small amount of pressure was put on the Gupta Empire by the Huns of the Eurasian Steppe to the North, who finally overtook the Gupta Empire by about 543 CE.

Further Reading

1. Popular Reading
   1. Gupta Dynasty | Volume 8, p.426, The World Book Encyclopedia | J. F. Richards | 1985
   2. Gupta Empire | Wikipedia | Accessed 10 April 2020 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gupta_Empire>
   3. Gupta Empire | Written by Dola RC | Ancient History Encyclopedia | Accessed 10 Apr 2020 <https://www.ancient.eu/Gupta_Empire/>
2. Scholarly Reading