Introduction

By the fourth century A.D., political and military turmoil destroyed the Kushan empire in the north and many kingdoms in the south India. At this juncture, India was invaded by a series of foreigners and barbarians or Mlechchhas from the north western frontier region and central Asia. It signaled the emergence of a leader, a Magadha ruler, Chandragupta I. Chandragupta successfully combated the foreign invasion and laid foundation of the great Gupta dynasty, the emperors of which ruled for the next 300 years, bringing the most prosperous era in Indian history.

Chandragupta I (305-325 AD)

who strengthened his kingdom by matrimonial alliance with the powerful family of Lichchavi who were rulers of Mithila.
His marriage to Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi, brought an enormous power, resources and prestige.
He took advantage of the situation and occupied whole of fertile Gangetic valley.
Chandragupta I eventually assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja (emperor) in formal coronation.

SAMUDRAGUPTA (335-380 AD)

Samudragupta was perhaps the greatest king of Gupta dynasty.
His name appear in Javanese text `Tantrikamandaka', and Chinese writer, Wang-hiuen-tse refers that a ambassador was sent to his court by King Meghvarma of Shri Lanka. Most detailed and authentic record of his reign is preserved in the rock pillar of the Allahabad, composed by Harisena.
Samudragupta enlarged the Gupta Kingdom by winning a series of battles till he was a master of northern India.
he defeated the kings of Vindhyan region (central India) and Deccan. His mighty empire bordered with Kushan of Western province (modern Afganistan and Pakistan) and Vakatakas in Deccan (modern southern Maharashtra).
The republics, which flickered on the ruins of the Maurya empire were finally destroyed by Samudragupta
The places and the countries conquered by Samudragupta can be divided into five groups.
Group one includes princes of the Ganga-Yamuna doab who were defeated and whose kingdoms were incorporated into the Gupta empire
Group two includes the rulers of the eastern Himalayan states and some frontier states such as princes of Nepal, Assam, Bengal, etc
Group three includes the forest kingdoms situated in the Vindhya region and known as Atavika Rajyas
Group four includes twelve rulers of the eastern Deccan and south India
Group five includes the names of the Shakas and Kushans, some of them ruling in Afghanistan
SAMUDRAGUPTA - because of his bravery and generalship he is called the Napoleon of India

Samudragupta was a staunch Hindu and after all his military triumphs, he performed the Ashwamedha Yagna (Horse sacrifice ceremony) which is evident on some of his coins. Ashwamedha Yagna gave him the coveted title of Maharajadhiraj, the supreme king of kings.
His greatest achievement can be described as the political unification of most of the northern India.

Chandragupta II or VIKRAMADITYA(A.D. 380-413)

It is very apt to say, like father like son. Samudragupta's son, Chandragupta II tried to be better than his father.
More stories/legends are associated with him than any other ruler of India. It was during his (and his son Kumargupta) reign, India was at the pinnacle of prosperity and opulence.
Although named after his grandfather Chandragupta, he took a title of Vikramaditya, which became a synonym for sovereign of tremendous power and wealth.
This title was later taken up by scores of other sovereign rulers of India.

Vikramaditya succeeded his father Samudragupta and carried on the policy of `world conquest' of his predecessors.
Political marriages occupied a prominent place in foreign policy of Gupta emperors.
He married princess Kubernaga, daughter of Naga Chieftains and later gave his daughter Prabhavati in marriage to Rudrasena of powerful family of Vakatakas of the Deccan (modern Maharashtra state).
His most significant and well celebrated military achievement being total destruction of Kshatrapas, the Shaka (Scythian) rulers of Malawa and Saurashtra, the western India (modern Gujrath and neighbouring states).
He scored a fantastic victory over the Kshatrapa rulers and incorporated these provinces into his increasing empire.
The cool courage he showed in fight with Shakas and killing their king in their own city entitled him the epithets Shakari (destroyer of Shakas) or Sahasanka.

Vikramaditya's reign was perhaps THE most prosperous and progressive reign in the ENTIRE Indian history.
The contemporary Chinese traveller and Buddhist monk Fa-hein was struck with the prosperity of subject during Gupta rule.
He has admired the royal palaces and houses for dispensing charity medicine.
He speaks highly of system of Government.

Nine Gems or Navaratnas
• A circle of famous nine persons known as Nine Gems or Navaratnas were present in the court of Vikramaditya.
The group comprised of
• Kalidasa
• Vetala Bhatta
• Varahamihira
• Vararuchi
• Amarasimha
• Dhanvantari
• Kshapanak
• Shanku
• Ghatakarpura

KumarGupta or MAHENDRADITYA - I (415-455 A. D.)

Vikramaditya was succeeded by his able son Kumargupta I.
He maintained his hold over the vast empire of his forebears, which covered most of India except southern four states of India.
Later he too performed the Ashwamedha Yagna and proclaimed himself to be Chakrawarti, king of all kings.
Kumargupta also was a great patron of art and culture;
evidence exist that he endowed a college of fine arts at great ancient university at Nalanda, which flourished during 5th to 12th century AD.
Numismatic evidence suggests that during his reign the Gupta empire was at its zenith.
His reign also saw tremendous creativity and thus a lot of variety in Gupta coinage.

Skanda Gupta (455-467 A. D.)

Skandagupta took over the Gupta empire and soon had to face with the formidable enemy, the Huns (Hepthalites).
He successfully repelled their early invasions and proved to be able king and administrator in time of crisis.
Skandagupta in Junagadh rock inscription is described as `embraced by the goddess of wealth and splendor who is chosen by Shri-Lakshmi, a goddess of wealth'.
This theme is reflected upon his coins of King and Shri-Lakshmi type.
Though he was not the rightful heir, he was the hero of the nation having defeated the enemies by his process as indicated by the Bhitari stone inscription. He succeeded in re-establishing the Gupta empire

Later Guptas:

In spite of heroic efforts of SkandaGupta, Gupta empire did not survive long the shock it received from invasion of the Huns and internal uprising of Pushyamitras. Although there was some sort of unity till reign of the last king Budhagupta in the 6th century AD. Later Gupta rulers ruled Bengal (modern West Bengal state and Bangladesh) till 9th century AD.

Fall of the Gupta Empire

The successors of Chandragupta II had to face an invasion by the Hunas from Central Asia in the second half of the fifth century A D.
Although in the beginning the Gupta king Skandagupta tried effectively to stem the march of the Hunas into India, his successors proved too weak and could not cope with the Huna invaders
By 485 A D. the Hunas occupied eastern Malwa and a good portion of Central India. Thus, the Huna attacks caused a major blow to the Gupta authority particularly in northern and western regions of the empire.
The policy adopted by the Guptas in the conquered areas was to restore the authority of local chiefs or kings once they had accepted Gupta suzerainty. In fact, no efforts were made to impose a strict and effective control over these regions. Hence it was natural that whenever there was a crisis of succession or a weak monarchy within the Gupta empire these local chiefs would re-establish their independent authority.

GUPTA - Points to remember

existed of lesser kings with considerable authority within the empire.
The Mantri (Chief-minister) stood at the head of civil administration.
Among other high imperial officers were included the Mahabaladikrta (commander­ in-chief), the Mahadandanayaka (general) and the Mahapratihara (chief of the palace guards).
A high ranking official, heard for the first time in the Gupta records was the Sandhivigrahika (the foreign minister).
Fa-hien came during the time of Chandragupta II.
The first Huna invasion took place during the reign of Kumaragupta.
The first historical evidence of Sati comes from Eran inscription (510 A.D). (Bhanu Gupta Inscription)
Dharma, Arth and Kama are collectively called Trivarga.
Kalidasa was a worshipper of Lord Shiva.
The greatest astronomer of the Gupta age was Brahmagupta.
The greatest mathematician of the Gupta age was Aryabhatta.
Aryabhatta belonged to Pataliputra.
The period also saw the compilation of various Smritis or the law-books written in verse. The Smritis of Yajnavalkya, Narada, Katyayana and Brihaspati were written during this period.
The most important works of Kalidasa were the Abhijnanashakuntalam (considered to be one of the best hundred literary works in the world) Ritusamhara, Malavikagnimitra, Kumarasambhava, Meghadoota, Raghuvamsha and Vikrama Urvashiyam. Shudraka wrote the drama Mrichchhakatika or the little Clay cart.
The Gupta period also saw the development of Sanskrit grammar based on Panini and Patanjali.
A Buddhist scholar from Bengal , Chandragomia, composed a book on grammar, named Chandravyakaranarn.
Aryabhata was the first astronomer to pose the more fundamental problems of astronomy
He calculated n to 3.1416 and the length of the solar year to 365.3586805 days, both remarkably close to recent estimates
He believed that the earth was sphere and rotated on its axis and that the shadow of the earth falling on the moon caused eclipses.
He is also the author of Aryabhattiyam, which deals with algebra, arithmetics and geometry.
Varahamihira, who lived towards the end of the fifth century wrote several treatises on astronomy and horoscope.
Hastayurveda or the veterinary science, authored by Palakalpya attests to the advances made in medical science during the Gupta period.
A link between the central and the provincial administration under the Guptas is furnished by the class of officers called Kumaramatyas and Ayuktas .
Land revenue was the main source of the state's income besides the fines. In Samudragupta's time we hear of an officer Gopasramin working as Akshapataladhikrita whose duty was to enter numerous matters in the accounts registers, recover royal dues, to check embezzlement and recover fines.
The lowest unit of administration was the village. In eastern India, the Vishayas were divided into Vithis, which again was divided into villages. The Gramapati or Gramadhyaksha was the village head-man
No land transactions could be affected without their consent. The village disputes were also settled by these bodies with the help of Grama-viiddhas or Mahattaras (village elders).
Among the various industries that flourished in the Gupta period, mining and metallurgy certainly occupied the top positions.
The Amarakosha gives a comprehensive 'list of metals. Of all the metals, iron was the most useful, and blacksmiths were only next to the peasants in the rural community.
The most eloquent evidence of the high stage of development which metallurgy had attained in the Gupta period is the Mehrauli iron pillar of King Chandra, usually identified as Chandragupta II.
Narada and Brihaspati laid down many regulations to govern the trade practices of the time.
Land grants to the Brahmanas on a large scale suggest that the Brahmana supremacy continued in Gupta times.
The Varna system seems to have been considerably modified owing to the proliferation of castes.
The Khastriya caste swelled up with the influx of the Hunas and subsequently of the Gurjars who joined their ranks as Rajputs.
Fa-Hien informs us that the Chandala, entering the gate of a city or market place, would strike a piece of wood to give prior notice of his arrival so that men could avoid him.

Prosperous town dwellers seem to have lived in comfort and ease. The Kamasutra describes the life of a well-to-do citizen as one devoted to the pleasures and refinements of life.
Contrary to Fa-Hien ' s statement that vegetarianism was customary in India, meat
was commonly eaten. Drinking of wine and the chewing of betel-leaf was a regular practice.

Nine Gems or Navaratnas

• A circle of famous nine persons known as Nine Gems or Navaratnas were present in the court of Vikramaditya.
The group comprised of
• Kalidasa
• Vetala Bhatta
• Varahamihira
• Vararuchi
• Amarasimha
• Dhanvantari
• Kshapanak
• Shanku
• Ghatakarpura

Gupta Dynasty rulers

Sri Gupta (240 – 280)
Ghatotkacha (280 – 319)
Chandragupta I (320 – 335)
Samudragupta (335 – 380)
Chandragupta II (380 – 413/415)
Kumaragupta I (415 – 455)
Skandagupta (455 - 467)
Purugupta (467 – 473)
Kumaragupta II (473 - 476)
Budhagupta (476 – 495)
Narasimhagupta (495 – ?)