The Gupta dynasty was one of the main dynasties of ancient India. This era is also considered to be a golden age of our India. This dynasty was founded by Mr. Gupta. The Gupta dynasty came into existence in India in 275 AD. This Gupta dynasty ruled India until about 510 AD.
Initially, the Gupta dynasty ruled only till Magadha. Later, the kings of the Gupta dynasty got the whole of North India under their rule and defeated the king of Kanjeevaram in the south direction and subjugated them as well.
Many great kings ruled in the Gupta dynasty. Emperor Chandragupta II (380-415 AD) was also the king of this dynasty. He is also famous by the names 'Shakari' and 'Vikramaditya'. Apart from Narsinghagupta Baladitya (463-473 AD), all Gupta dynasty kings also followed the Vedic religion. King Baladitya adopted Buddhism.
After the fall of the Maurya dynasty, political unity in India was almost coming to an end. Many kings attempted to bring about this unity, but after the post-Mauryan period, three great dynasties emerged in the third century AD in which Bakatakas in South India, Naga Shakti in the region of Central India and Gupta dynasty in the eastern region played a major role.
After the end of the Maurya dynasty, the entire credit for restoring political unity goes to the Gupta dynasty. The early kingdom of the Gupta dynasty was spread over modern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Writer Kashiprasad Jaiswal has written about the Gupta dynasty that - “The Guptas were Jats, who came from Punjab.
Establishment of Gupta dynasty
The Guptas were born at the end of the third century in Kaushambi, near Prayag. Sri Gupt Raja had built a temple for Chinese travelers at a place called Gaya, which was mentioned by Chinese traveler Etsing from about 67 years to 695 years after 500 years.
It has been said in the Puranas that the empire of the early Gupta kings extended to Ganga, Prayag, Saket and Magadha. The famous historian K.K. P. Jaiswal states that the small kingdom under the Gupta Bharshivas was the ruler of Prayag. Chinese traveler Etsing Ke says that he had built a temple in the deer Shikhavan of Magadha. And he had to donate 24 villages in the temple expenses.
After Shri Gupta, his son Ghatotkacha assumed the throne and ruled the Gupta Empire from 280 AD to 320 AD. Sometimes, it has also been called the first ruler of the Guptas.
Chandra Gupta :
History of Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta became the first king in 320 CE after his father Ghatotkacha. He was the first independent ruler in the Chandragupta Gupta lineage. He assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja. Later the Lichchhavis annexed their empire. Its reign was from 320 AD to 335 AD.
According to Hemchandra Rai Chaudhary, Chandra Gupta, like his great old ruler Bimbisara, married the princess of Lichchhavi to Kumaradevi and then later established the Magadha II empire. He followed the practice of coins made as king and queen to commemorate his marriage.
It is thus clear that by establishing relations with the Lichchhavis, Chandragupta I made his kingdom rich politically and economically. According to Rai Chaudhary, Chandragupta I conquered and merged the Maharajas of Kaushambi and Kaushal into his kingdom and established the capital of that kingdom at Pataliputra. Chandragupta received the title of Maharajadhiraja.
Samudragupt
History of Samudragupta
In 335 AD, Chandragupta I was succeeded by his son Samudragupta. Samudragupta's mother was Kumaradevi, the princess of Lichchavi. Samudragupta was a great king with extraordinary military abilities. According to Vinsett Smith, he was called Napoleon, his most important expedition being the southpaw.
Samudragupta was a good king as well as a good poet and musician. He died in 380 AD, after which his son Chandgupta became the second king. He was a great scholar, he has also been called our Indian History Kaviraj. He was also a musician and had a passion for playing Veena. He appointed the famous Buddhist scholar Vasubandhu as his minister.
Harishen was also the minister of Samudragupta and so was the court poet. Information about the ascension, conquest, empire expansion of Samudragupta is received by Harishan. According to Vedic religion, they have been called Dharma and Prachair Bandh i.e. the rampart of religion.
The empire of Samudragupta spread a vast empire that started from the Himalayas on the north, to the Vindhya Mountains in the south and to the Bay of Bengal in the east and to the eastern Malwa in the west. The whole of North India was included in their empire except Kashmir, West Rajputana, West Punjab, Sindh and Gujarat.
Ramgupta:
Samudragupta had two sons - first Ramgupta and second Chandragupta. Ramgupta was older, so after the death of his father, he assumed the throne, but Samudra Gupta wanted Chandragupta to take over his kingdom after him, but this did not happen. Ramgupta became a weak and cowardly king.
The Gupta period was an era of cultural bloom or development. Religion, art, literature and science of science progressed well in this era. Therefore, many scholars have considered the Gupta period to be the period of Hindu-Renaissance or Golden Age. In this article, we will guide the readers why the Gupta period is considered the golden age of ancient India.
Gupta and Religious Perspectives
The Gupta period was the era of revival of Brahmanadharma from a religious point of view. At this time, the prestige of Brahmanadharma was established, temples and idols were built and the dharna of avatarism emerged. Ten incarnations of Vishnu were considered - Matsya, Kurmi, Varah, Narasimha, Vamana, Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Kalki. The foundation of mythological religion or neo-Hinduism was laid in this era.
Religion in Gupta Period
Yajna, Balipratha and the spirit of devotion also became powerful. At this time Vaishnavadharma became the most prominent under Brahmanism. Most of the Gupta emperors adopted this religion and gave it their patronage. He assumed the title of Parambhagavata and carved the figure of Garuda, Conch, Chakra, Mace and Lakshmi on his coins. The propagation of Vaishnavadharma spread to South-East Asia, India, Cambodia, Malaya and Indonesia, in addition to all of India. Idols of Vishnu and Narayana, Garudadhvaja and temples were built. Vishnu is called Madhusudan in a Gupta inscription (Gangadhar inscription).
In addition to Brahmanism, Buddhism and Jainism were also propagated during the Gupta period, which is indicative of the religious tolerance of the Gupta rulers. Buddhism also developed at this time, although its stage was not as advanced as before. Two reasons were primarily responsible for this. Previously, the form of Buddhism had changed so much that it became analogous to Brahmanism. Secondly, Buddhism did not get state patronage like Brahmanadharma.
Development in the field of art
Art of Gupta Period
Apart from architecture, sculpture and painting, various other arts also flourished during the Gupta period. Art was mainly influenced by religion at this time. Temple construction is the most important in the field of architecture. Grand temples were built for various deities. Many technical and construction-related features such as sanctum sanctorum, hallway, synagogue, porch, porch with courtyard, flat and summit roof can be seen in these temples.
Sculpture also progressed during the Gupta period. Gupta period sculpture is moral and ethical. There is liveliness and originality in it. Most of the Murtiyas were made up of deities, Buddha and Tirthakaras. Special progress was made in the field of painting. The use of colors, lines, expressions and expressions were done in a very effective manner. The best specimens of Gupta painting have been found in the Ajanta and tiger caves. In Ajanta caves, where the richness of the upper class is depicted, the pictures of tigers give a glimpse of the human's life. Other various arts, music, dance, drama, acting-like fine arts also progressed well.
List of titles held by Gupta kings
Gupta Education and Literature
Literature of Gupta period
The Gupta period was also an era of development of education and literature. There are 14 types of genres mentioned in the Gupta period records, which were taught. Pataliputra, Vallabhi, Ujjaini, Kashi and Mathura were the major educational centers of this time. Nalanda Mahavihara was also established during this period, which later developed into a world-renowned educational center.
The Gupta period is extremely important from the point of view of development of Sanskrit-language and literature. Sanskrit became the dominant language of the aristocracy. It started behaving in currency and records. Religious texts, dramas and commendations were composed in Sanskrit itself. Many Puranas were composed in this yesterday. The final compilation of Mahabharata and Ramayana was also done during this period.
Science and technology in the Gupta period
Scientist of gupta period
Various branches of science and technology also developed during the Gupta period. Most progress in the field of science was made in mathematics and astrology. Aryabhata is considered to be the most important scientist of the Gupta era - mathematician and astrology. He proved in his book Aryabhatiya that the earth is round, rotating on its axis, that is why an eclipse seems to occur. Varahamihira gave important theories in the field of astrology. He composed the Panchasiddhantika, the Brīhatsāhita, the Brahajjatak and the minor. Important things of astrology were written in them. Kalyanavarman wrote a summary on the resultant astrology
Nagarjuna was a renowned knowledgeer of chemistry and metallurgy. He invented 'Ras-Chikitsa' and told that the chemical use of minerals like gold, silver, etc. can cure diseases. Para was also invented at this time. The most famous of Ayurveda was Dhanvantari, the courtier of Chandragupta II. The best specimen of Gupta period metals presents the iron pillar of Mehrauli and the grand statue of the Buddha made from Sultangunj.
On the basis of the above mentioned cultural achievements, many scholars have considered the Gupta period as the golden age of Indian history, the period of Hindu-Renaissance and the era of revival of nationality. Historians influenced by nationalist ideology attempted to portray the Gupta era as the Golden Age, when the Gupta kings re-established political unity in India, defeated foreigners,
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