The Age of Empires: Guptas – Online Test 6th Social Science Lesson 17 Questions in English

By the end of the 3rd century, the powerful empires established by the Kushanas in the north and Satavahanas in the south had lost their greatness and strength.

Sri Gupta is considered to be the founder of the Gupta dynasty. He is believed to have reigned over parts of present-day Bengal and Bihar.

Sri Gupta was succeeded by his son Ghatotkacha. Both are mentioned as Maharajas in inscriptions.

Sri Gupta is believed to have reigned over parts of present-day Bengal and Bihar. He was the first Gupta ruler to be featured on coins.

Chandragupta I married Kumaradevi of the famous and powerful Lichchhavi family. Having gained the support of this family, Chandragupta could eliminate various small states in northern India and crown himself the monarch of a larger kingdom.

The gold coins attributed to Chandragupta bear the images of Chandragupta, Kumaradevi and the legend ‘Lichchhavayah’.

Lichchhavi was an old gana–sanga and its territory lay between the Ganges and the Nepal Terai.

Samudragupta, son of Chandragupta I, was the greatest ruler of the dynasty. Allahabad Pillar inscription is the main source of information for Samudragupta’s reign.

The Prayog Prashasti, composed by Samudragupta’s court poet Harisena was engraved on Allahabad Pillar. This Allahabad Pillar inscription is the main source of information for Samudragupta’s reign.

Prashasti is a Sanskrit word, meaning commendation or ‘in praise of’. Court poets flattered their kings listing out their achievements. These accounts were later engraved on pillars so that the people could read them.

Samudragupta was a great general and when he became emperor, he carried on a vigorous campaign all over the country and even in the south. In the southern Pallava kingdom, the king who was defeated by Samudragupta was Vishnugopa.

Samudragupta conquered nine kingdoms in northern India. He reduced 12 rulers of the southern India to the status of feudatories and forced them to pay tribute.

Samudragupta received homage from the rulers of East Bengal, Assam, Nepal, the eastern part of Punjab and various tribes of Rajasthan.

Samudragupta was a devotee of Vishnu. He revived the Vedic practice of performing horse sacrifice to commemorate victories in wars.

Samudragupta issued gold coins and in one of them, he is portrayed playing harp (veenai). Samudragupta was a devotee of Vishnu. He revived the Vedic practice of performing horse sacrifice to commemorate victories in wars.

Samudragupta was not only a great conqueror but a lover of poetry and music and for this, he earned the title ‘Kaviraja’.

Chandragupta II was the son of Samudragupta. He was also known as Vikramaditya. He conquered western Malwa and Gujarat by defeating the Saka rulers.

Chandragupta II maintained friendly relationship with the rulers of southern India. The iron pillar near Qutub Minar is believed to have been built by Vikramaditya.

Fahien, a Buddhist scholar from China, visited India during Vikramaditya reign. He maintained friendly relationship with the rulers of southern India.

Vikramaditya is said to have assembled the greatest writers and artists (Navaratna [Nine Jewels]) in his court. Kalidasa is said to be one among them.

Kalidasa - Sanskrit poet, Harisena - Sanskrit poet, Amarasimha – Lexicographer, Dhanvantri – Physician.

The surnames of Chandragupta II were Vikramaditya, Narendrachandra, Simhachandra, Narendrasimha, Vikrama Devaraja, Devagupta and Devasri.

Chandragupta II was succeeded by his son Kumaragupta I, who built the famous Nalanda University.

Kumaragupta’s successor Skandagupta had to face a new threat in the form of the invasion of Huns. He defeated them and drove them away.

Kumaragupta’s successor Skandagupta had to face a new threat in the form of the invasion of Huns. He defeated them and drove them away. But after twelve years, they came again and broke the back of the Gupta Empire. The last of the great Guptas was Baladitya, assumed to have been Narasimha Gupta I.

According to Fahien, the people of Magadha were happy and prosperous, that justice was mildly administered and there was no death penalty. Gaya was desolated. Kapilavasthu had become a jungle, but at Pataliputra people were rich and prosperous.

Baladitya was himself attracted towards Buddhism. He was paying tribute to Mihirakula but was distressed by his hostility towards Buddhism.

After Baladitya, the great Gupta Empire faded away. The last recognised king of the Gupta Empire was Vishnugupta.

The divine theory of kingship (the concept that king is the representative of God on earth and so he is answerable only to God and not to anyone else) was practised by the Gupta rulers. The Gupta king was assisted by a council of mantris (ministers).

A large number of officials were employed by the Gupta rulers to carry on the day-to-day administration of the country. High-ranking officials were called dandanayakas and mahadandanayakas.

The Gupta Empire was divided into provinces known as deshas or bhuktis. They were administered by the governors, designated as Uparikas.

The province was divided into districts such as vishyas and they were controlled by the officers known as vishyapatis. At the village level, there were functionaries such as gramika and gramadhyaksha.

The extensive empire of Gupta shows the important role of military organisation. The system of espionage included spies known as dutakas.

Nitisara, authored by Kamandaka, emphasises the importance of the royal treasury and mentions various sources of revenue.

The military campaigns of kings like Samudragupta were financed through revenue surpluses. Land tax was the main revenue to the government. The condition of peasants was pathetic.

Kshetra - cultivable land, Khila - waste land, Aprahata - jungle or forest land, Vasti - habitable land, Gapata Saraha - pastoral land.

The contribution of the traders for the development of Gupta’s economy was very impressive. There were two types of traders, namely Sresti and Sarthavaha.

Nalanda University fl ourished under the patronage of the Gupta Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries and later under emperor Harsha of Kanauj. Hiuen Tsang spent many years studying Buddhism in the University.

Nalanda University flourished under the patronage of the Gupta Empire in the 5th and 6th centuries and later under emperor Harsha of Kanauj. Eight Mahapatashalas and three large libraries were situated on the campus.

Nalanda was ravaged and destroyed by Mamluks (Turkish Muslims) under Bhaktiyar Khalji. Chandragupta II was succeeded by his son Kumaragupta I, who built the famous Nalanda University.

At Nalanda, Buddhism was the main subject of study. Other subjects like Yoga, Vedic literature and Medicine were also taught. Hiuen Tsang spent many years studying Buddhism in the University. Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Huns were the nomadic tribes, who, under their great Attila, were terrorising Rome and Constantinople. Associated with these tribes were the White Huns who came to India through Central Asia. They undertook regular invasions and were giving trouble to all Indian frontier states.

The Guptas developed roadways connecting different parts of the country. Pataliputra, Ujjain, Benaras, Mathura were the famous trade centres. Ports in western (Kalyan, Mangalore, Malabar) and eastern (Tamralipti in Bengal) coasts of India facilitated trade.

Samudragupta introduced the Gupta monetary system. Kushana coins provided inspiration to Samudragupta.

The Gupta gold coins were known as Dinara. Guptas issued many gold coins but comparatively fewer silver and copper coins. However, the post-Gupta period saw a fall in the circulation of gold coins, indicating the decline in the prosperity of the empire.

Mining and metallurgy were the most flourishing industries during the Gupta period. The most important evidence of development in metallurgy was the Mehrauli Iron Pillar installed by King Chandragupta in Delhi. This monolithic iron pillar has lasted through the centuries without rusting.

The society that adhered to four varna system was patriarchal. According to laws of Manu, which was in force, women should be under the protection of their father, husband or eldest son.

Polygamy was widely prevalent during Gupta reign. The kings and feudatory lords often had more than one wife. Inscriptions refer to Kubernaga and Dhrubaswamini as the queens of Chandragupta II. Sati was practised during the Gupta rule.

Slavery was not institutionalised in India, as in the West. But there are references to the existence of various categories of slaves during the Gupta age.

There was revival of Vedic religion and Vedic rites. Samudragupta and Kumaragupta I performed Asvamedha Yagna (a horse sacrifice ritual).

We notice the beginning of image worship and the emergence of two sects, namely Vaishnavism and Saivism, during the Gupta period. Buddhism also continued to flourish though it split into two sects, namely Hinayana and Mahayana. The Guptas were the first to construct temples, which evolved from the earlier tradition of rock-cut shrines.

The most notable rock-cut caves are found at Ajanta and Ellora (Maharashtra), Bagh (Madhya Pradesh) and Udaygiri (Odisha). The structural temples built during this period resemble the characteristic features of the Dravidian style.

Though the language spoken by the people was Prakrit, the Guptas made Sanskrit the official language and all their epigraphic records are in Sanskrit. The Gupta period also saw the development of Sanskrit grammar based on the grammar of Panini and Patanjali who wrote Ashtadhyayi and Mahabhashya respectively.

Kalidasa’s famous dramas were Sakunthala, Malavikagnimitra and Vikramaoorvashiyam. Other significant works of Kalidasa were Meghaduta, Raghuvamsa, Kumarasambava and Ritusamhara.

Invention of zero and the consequent evolution of the decimal system were the legacy of Guptas to the modern world.

Aryabhatta, in his book Surya Siddhanta, explained the true causes of solar and lunar eclipses. He was the first Indian astronomer to declare that the earth revolves around its own axis.

Aryabhatta, Varahamihira and Brahmagupta were foremost astronomers and mathematicians of Gupta time.

Charaka was a medical scientist. Susruta was the first Indian to explain the process of surgery.

Dhanvantri was a famous scholar in the field of medicine. He was a specialist in Ayurveda. Charaka was a medical scientist. Susruta was the first Indian to explain the process of surgery.

Harsha of Vardhana dynasty ruled North India from 606 to 647 A.D (CE).

Chinese Buddhist monk Fahien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II.

The Allahabad Pillar inscription is the main source of information for Samudragupta’s reign.

Srimeghavarman, the Buddhist king of Ceylon, was a contemporary of Samudragupta.

Samudragupta conquered western Malwa and Gujarat by defeating the Saka rulers.

The notables of the Kanauj kingdom invited Harsha to take its crown. After becoming the ruler of the both Thaneswar and Kanauj, Harsha shifted his capital from Thaneswar to Kanauj.

Bhaga, Hiranya and Bali were the three kinds of tax collected during Harsha’s reign.

Harsha was the worshipper of Shiva in the beginning, but he embraced Buddhism under the influence of his sister Rajyashri and the Buddhist monk and traveler Hiuen Tsang. He belonged to Mahayana school of thought.

Hiuen Tsang, the ‘prince of pilgrims’, visited India during Harsha’s reign. His Si-Yu-Ki provides detailed information about the social, economic, religious and cultural conditions of India during Harsha’s time.

Harsha, himself a poet and dramatist, gathered around him a best of poets and artists. Harsha’s popular works are Ratnavali, Nagananda and Priyadharshika.