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India to 1001 ce

The Glory of the Guptas

A shoka died in 231 bce and the Mauryan Empire began to break up and finally collapsed in 184 bce . For the next five hundred years, India was split into a number of small kingdoms and republics. Then, in about 320 ce , the second great Indian empire emerged in the Ganges Valley and Magadha—that of the Guptas. The first Gupta king, Chandra Gupta I, established himself by marrying into a respected royal family. Chandra Gupta I was succeeded by his son, Samudra Gupta. He was an active military campaigner, extending the empire during the forty years of his reign. In about 380 ce , Samudra was succeeded by his son, Chandra Gupta II, the greatest of the Gupta kings.

T his map shows the probable extent of the Gupta Empire under King Chandra Gupta II.

A carving of Vishnu sleeping on the coils of the many-headed serpent, Ananta. It comes from one of the earliest known Gupta temples in Central India and dates from about 425 ce .

S hiva the destroyer, one of the three major gods of Hinduism.

The Golden Age The time of the Gupta Empire (c.320-550 ce ) is often called the Classical Age of India. Under the patronage of the Guptas, literature, art, architecture and science flourished. Hinduism became the major religion of the empire, rather than Buddhism. Many temples were built with donations from wealthy families. Colleges were established for religious and formal education. Trade brought continuing prosperity. Textile making was one of the most important industries of the time, and large quantities of silk, cotton, muslin and linen were produced for export. The Classical Age reached its peak during the reign of Chandra Gupta II (380-415 ce ). The great Sanskrit poet, Kalidasa, is thought to have lived and written his poems and plays at Chandra Gupta’s court. Kalidasa was described as one of the “nine gems” of the court. Sanskrit was encouraged as the language of the court and of the aristocracy. In the plays of the time, upper-class characters spoke Sanskrit, while lower-class characters and all women spoke Prakrit, the common language!