The Gupta Period: Trade, Art & Culture, Economic Development | IBPS PO Prelims & Mains Preparation - Bank Exams PDF Download

The Gupta Period

The Gupta periodin Indian history is termed as the Golden Age of India. During the Gupta dynasty, industry and trade were generally prosperous. 

• The Gupta Empire was a prehistoric Indian empire from the early fourth century CEto the late sixth century CE. The Indian subcontinent was mostly covered during its height, between 319 and 467 CE. 
• Founded by Sri Gupta, It extends through the reigns of Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II, Vikramaditya, Kumaragupta, and Skandagupta. The Gupta dynastycontinued its existenceafter the death of Skandagupta.
• Peace and order helped the expansion of trade and commerceboth on land and overseas. Foreign trade was in balance. The decline of Roman trade was the most significant change in international trade 

• An idea of the economic life of the people of the Gupta times can be taken from Fa-Hien, who visited different parts of the Gupta empire. Among other things, he informs us that Magadha was full of cities and its rich people supported Buddhism and gave charities.

History of Gupta Period 

• At the start of the fourth century A.D., there was no dominant empire in India.
• The Satavahanas and Kushans, who had become major powers in the Deccan and North India after the fall of the Mauryan Empire, both declined by the middle of the third century A.D.
• During this time, several smaller powers filled the political landscape, and new ruling families began to rise.
• Amidst this situation, the Guptas, a family with unclear origins, started to form an empire in the early fourth century A.D.
• The early history and ancestry of the Gupta family is not well known, leading to various theories about their background. Historians have suggested different origins for the Guptas, including Vaishya, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and the Ikshvaku clan.
• By the end of the third century A.D., the original Gupta kingdom included Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. However, Uttar Pradesh appears to have been more significant for the Guptas, as many early Gupta coins and inscriptions were primarily discovered in that region.
• According to inscriptions, Sri Gupta was recognized as the founder of the Gupta dynasty, and he was succeeded by Ghatotkacha. The first independent ruler of the Guptas was Chandragupta.

Capital of Gupta Empire

• The capital of the Gupta Empire was Pataliputra, located in what we now call Patna, Bihar.
• During the Gupta period, theGupta Empireserved as a key center for politics, economics, and culture.
• Pataliputra was situated at the meeting point of the Ganges and Son rivers, making it an important location for administration and trade.
• The city's position contributed to the growth and prosperity of the Gupta Empire.
• Pataliputra also played a significant role in supporting education and artistic achievements, which thrived under Gupta leadership.

Founder of Gupta Empire

• Chandragupta I was the founder of the Gupta Empire, becoming ruler around 320 CE.
• He started the Gupta dynasty and created the groundwork for a golden age in Indian history.
• His rule initiated major improvements in different areas such as science, art, and literature.
• This period set the stage for the empire's growth and success under the leadership of his successors.

Rulers of Gupta Empire

• The Gupta Empire was led by strong and important kings who created a time of great success in Indian history.
• The rulers of the Gupta Empire were recognized for their good leadership, military strength, and support of arts and sciences.
• During their rule, there was a time of great economic growth, cultural progress, and political stability, which set the stage for the thriving society of the Gupta Empire.
• The achievements of the Gupta Empire played a key role in shaping the cultural and intellectual environment of that era.

Chandragupta I (C. 319-335 AD)

• Chandragupta-I was the son of Ghatotkacha and is recognized as the true founder of the Gupta Empire.
• He married a princess from the Lichchhavi family named Kumara Devi.
• After declaring his independence in Magadha, he expanded his kingdom with help from his marriage alliance with the Lichchhavis.
• There is a lack of clear evidence to identify the exact borders of his kingdom. However, it is believed that it included parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Bengal.
• Chandragupta-I is credited with starting a new era around 319 to 320 A.D., which marked the beginning of his reign. This period is referred to as the Gupta Samvat or Gupta era.
• Under his son Samudragupta, the kingdom expanded further, transforming into a larger empire.

Samudragupta (335-380 AD)

• Samudragupta, the son of Chandragupta-I, significantly increased the size of the Gupta kingdom.
• His court poet, Harishena, created a remarkable account of Samudragupta's military successes.
• In an extensive inscription discovered in Allahabad, the poet outlines the various peoples and regions that Samudragupta defeated.
• Harishena also called him Kaviraj, indicating that he was both a supporter of poetry and a poet himself.
• Samudragupta took on the title of Vikramanka.
• He performed the Ashvamedha Yajna, the first one conducted after Pushyamitra Shunga.
• The places and regions conquered by Samudragupta can be classified into five main groups.
• Samudragupta's fame and influence extended beyond India. A Chinese source notes that he allowed the king of Ceylon, Meghavarman, to build a Buddhist monastery at Bodhgaya.
• As per the inscription at Allahabad, Samudragupta was never defeated, earning him the nickname the Napoleon of India.
• Samudragupta unified most of India under his rule, and his power was recognized over a much larger area.
• Samudragupta established the military groundwork of the Gupta empire, and his successors built upon these foundations.
• Prithivyah Pratham Veer was a title held by Samudragupta.

Chandragupta II (C. 380 – C. 415 CE)

• The reign of Chandragupta II marked the peak of the Gupta Empire. He expanded the empire through marriages, alliances, and conquests.
• Gupta inscriptions refer to Chandragupta II as the successor of Samudragupta.
• However, some sources, such as literary texts and certain copper coins, suggest that Ramagupta, another son of Samudragupta, was the actual successor. The drama Devichandraguptam by Visakhadatta states that Chandragupta II killed his elder brother Ramagupta to take the throne.
• Chandragupta II formed alliances with the Nagas by marrying Princess Kuberanaga. Their daughter, Prabhavati, later married Rudrasena II of the Vakataka dynasty, allowing Chandragupta II to have indirect control over the Vakataka kingdom in central India.

The Story of Devi Chandragupatam

• In the drama, it is told that Ramagupta was losing a battle against the Sakas and, to save his kingdom, he agreed to give his wife to the Saka king.
• Chandragupta II disguised himself as Queen Dhruvadevi and went to the Saka camp to protest. He defeated the Saka king, but this led to conflict with his brother, whom he then killed, marrying Dhruvadevi.
• Other texts, such as Harsacharita and Kavyamimansa, also reference this story.
• Copper coins with the name Ramagupta have been discovered, and inscriptions on some Jaina images from Vidisa mention Maharaja Ramagupta.
• Dhruvadevi is identified as the mother of Govindagupta (son of Chandragupta II) in a seal from Vaisali.
• Due to his control over the Vakataka kingdom, Chandragupta II conquered western Malwa and Gujarat, which had been under Saka rule for around four centuries.
• The defeat of the Sakas was a significant achievement of Chandragupta II. He defeated Rudrasena III, the Saka chieftain, and took over his realm.
• This conquest gave Chandragupta II access to the western coastline, known for its trade, boosting the prosperity of Malwa and its key city, Ujjain, which became his second capital.
• Chandragupta II is recognized as King Chandra, whose achievements are recorded on the Mehrauli Iron Pillar located in the Qutab Minar complex in Delhi.
• The inscription states that Chandra crossed the Sindhu region of the seven rivers and defeated the Valhikas, believed to be from Bactria.
• Some scholars link Chandragupta II to the hero in Kalidasa’s poem Raghuvamasa, due to similar heroic feats.
• The Mehrauli inscription also mentions Chandragupta II defeating enemies from Bengal.

Iron Pillar

• Chandragupta II took on the title of Vikramaditya, a title first used by a ruler in Ujjain around 58 B.C. to signify victory over the Sakas.
• The Chinese traveler Fa-Hien visited India between 399 and 414 and wrote extensively about the people and their lives during Chandragupta II's rule.
• He described the regions he visited and their social and administrative conditions but did not mention the king's name directly, praising the King of Madhya-desa, the area governed by the Gupta king at the time.
• Many scholars, known as the Navratnas or nine gems, gathered at Chandragupta II's court in Ujjain.
• Chandragupta II was the first ruler to adopt the title Param Bhagvat.

Kumaragupta I (415 – 455 AD)

• Chandragupta-II was succeeded by his son Kumaragupta, who is also known as Mahendraditya.
• The Damodarpur Copper Plate inscriptions from 433 A.D. and 447 A.D. refer to him as Maharajadhiraja and indicate that he appointed a governor (called Uparika) for the region of Pundravardhana, which was the largest administrative area in the empire.
• The last known evidence of Kumaragupta's reign comes from a silver coin dated 455 A.D. (or year 136 of the Gupta Era).
• His inscriptions are found over a large area, showing that he ruled regions including Magadha and Bengal in the east and Gujarat in the west.
• It is believed that during the final year of his rule, the Gupta Empire faced a foreign attack, specifically a Hun invasion, which was stopped by his son Skandagupta.
• Kumaragupta maintained good relations with the Vakatakas, which were strengthened by earlier marriage alliances.
• He was also the founder of Nalanda University in Bihar.

Skandagupta (455 – 467 AD)

• Skandagupta was the last strong ruler of the Gupta Empire, succeeding Kumaragupta-I.
• He took on important titles such as Vikramaditya, Devaraj, and Sakapan.
• One of Skandagupta’s biggest accomplishments was defeating the Pushyamitras and pushing back the Huns, who had been a threat to the Gupta Empire since the time of his father.
• The wars during his reign negatively impacted the empire’s economy.
• Skandagupta's gold coins show that he minted fewer types compared to earlier kings.
• He seems to be the last Gupta king to produce silver coins in western India.
• The Junagadh inscription from his reign reveals details about public projects he initiated.
• During his time, heavy rains caused the Sudarsana lake, originally constructed in the Mauryan period, to overflow, and his governor Pamadatta managed its repair.
• This shows that the government was involved in maintaining public works.
• The last known date associated with Skandagupta is from 467 A.D., found on his silver coins.

Later Guptas

• There is some confusion about the order of the successors of Skandagupta.
• By the end of Skandagupta's reign, the Gupta Empire was already starting to split into smaller parts.
• An inscription from western Malwa, dated to the last year of Skandagupta, mentions other rulers and not him, starting with Chandragupta-II.
• Some known successors of Skandagupta include:
  • Budhagupta
  • Vainyagupta
  • Bhanugupta
  • Narasimhagupta Baladitya
  • Kumaragupta-II
  • Vismigupta
• It is unlikely that all these rulers controlled a large empire, unlike Chandragupta-II and Kumaragupta-I who had a much bigger realm.
• The Gupta dynasty continued to rule until around 550 A.D., but by that time, their influence had greatly diminished.

Trade and Agriculture - Background

In ancient India. The guptas issued the largest number of gold coins which were called dinars in their inscriptions. Regular in size and weight, they appear in many types and subtypes.

• They portray Gupta kings, indicating the latter's love for war and art. Although ingold content these coins are not as pure as Kushanones.
• They not only served to pay the officers in the army and administration but also to meet the needs of the sale and purchase of land.
• After the conquest of Gujarat, the Guptas issued a good number of silver coins mainly for local exchange, in which silver occupied an important position under the Western Kshatrapas.
• In contrast to those of the Kushans, the Gupta copper coins are very few. This would suggest that the use of money did not touch the common people so much as it did under the Kushans.
  
  
  
• Compared to the earlier period we notice a decline in long-distance trade. Till 550AD India carried on some trade with the eastern Roman Empire to which it exported silk.
• Around AD 550 the people of the Eastern Roman Empire learned from the Chinese the art of growing silk, which adversely affected the export of India. Even before the middle of the 6th century, the demand for Indian silk abroad had slackened.
• In the middle of the 5th century, a guide of silk weavers left their original home in western India in the country of Lata in Gujarat and migrated to Mundus Mandasor, where they gave up their original occupation and took to other professions.
• The striking development of the Gupta period, especially in Madhya Pradesh, was the emergence of priestly landlords at the cost of local peasants. Land grants made to the priest certainly bought many virgin areas under cultivation.
• But these beneficiaries were imposed from above on the local tribal peasants, who were reduced to a lower status. In central and western India the peasants were also subjected to forced labor.
• On the other hand, a good deal of virgin land was brought under cultivation and better knowledge of agriculture seems to have been introduced by the Brahmana beneficiaries in the tribal area of central India.

Trade & Commerce during The Gupta Period

Both internal and foreign trade flourished during this period. Trade was carried on both by land and sea. The main articles of internal trade were cloth, food grains, spices, salt, bullion, and precious stones.

• The trade was carried on by road and through rivers. Important cities and ports of the Gupta period were Broach, Ujjayini, Visa, Prayag, Banaras, Gaya, Pataliputra, Vaishali, Tamralipti, Kausambhi, Mathura, Peshawar, etc which were well connected by public highways and the state arranged all facilities and security for the travellers and traders. 

• A brisk trade was carried on with countries of Southeast Asia, China, and Rome in the west. India exported pearls, precious stones, cloth, perfumes, spices, indigo, drugs, coconuts, and ivory articles while its main items of import were gold, silver, tin, lead, silk, and horses. 
• As trade and industry developed, there were many economic activities within the Gupta empire. The traders and merchants played a huge role in the economy of the country. 
• The sources of Gupta’s period mentioned the existence of guilds. A guild is a community of traders, merchants, workers, and artisans. Each guild has its laws and its chief who would look after the activities of the groups of traders, merchants, workers, and artisans.
• This long-run efficient rule of the Guptas not only touched upon but also brought out many changes in the political, social as well and cultural spheres.  

Agriculture and Agrarian Structure during The Gupta Period

Agriculturethrived during the Gupta period as a result of the establishment of irrigation works.

• Aside from the state and individual cultivators, Brahmins, Buddhists, and Jain sanghas cultivated wastelands when they were given to them as religious endowments.
• Cultivators were asked to protect their crops from damage, and those who damaged the crops were punished. Crops and fields were also fenced.
• Rice, wheat, barley, peas, lentils, pulses, sugarcane, and oil seeds were among the crops grown during the Gupta era.
• According to Kalidasa, the south was famous for pepper and cardamom. Varahamihiraprovides detailed advice on fruit tree planting.
• According to the Paharpur copper plate inscription, the king was the sole owner of the land. Even when he granted land, he reserved his rights to it.
• The record keepers and influential men in the area marked out and measured the location and boundaries of individual plots.
• According to the Paharpurplates, an officer known as ustapala kept records of all land transactions in the district, and the village accountant kept records of land in the village.

Art and Crafts during The Gupta Period

The Pre-Gupta and Gupta period was the most flourishing period in the history of India. 

• We do not come across so many kinds of artisans in the earlier texts as are mentioned in the writings of this period. 
• The Digha Nikaya, which belongs to pre-Maurya times, mentioned about two dozen occupations, but the Milinda Panho, which belongs to this period, enumerates as many as 75 occupations. 
• Eight crafts were associated with the working of gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, brass, iron, and precious stones or jewels. 
• Technological knowledge about the work of iron had made great progress. Iron artefacts have been discovered in greater numbers in the Kushan and Satavahana layers at various excavated sites. 
• However, the Telangana region of Andhra seems to have made special progress in iron manufacture. 
• Cloth making, silk weaving, and the making of arms and luxury articles also made progress. Mathura was a great center for the manufacture of a special type of cloth which was called sataka. 

• The inscriptions of the period mention weavers, goldsmiths, dyers, workers in metal and ivory, jewellers, sculptors, smiths, and perfumers as constructors of caves and donors of pillars, tablets, etc. to the Buddhist monks.
• Coin-minting was an important craft, and the period is noted for numerous types of coins made of gold, silver, copper, bronze, lead, and tin. 
• The craftsman also made fake Roman coins. Various coin moulds belonging to the period have been found both in north India and in Deccan. 
• A coin mould from the Satavahana level shows that through it half a dozen coins could be turned out at a time. 
• These urban handicrafts were supplemented by the manufacture of beautiful pieces of terracotta, which are found in profuse qualities. 
• Terracottas were meant mostly for use by the upper classes in towns. With the decline of town in Gupta, and especially in post-Gupta times, such terracottas almost went out of fashion.

• One inscription states that an oil-pressers guild (Tailikanikaya) received two amounts of money 

Classification of Land

• In the Gupta period, land surveyis evident from the Poonaplates of Prabhavati Gupta.
• Kshetra: A special type of land capable of producing all kinds of crops.
• Khila: Land that has not been cultivated for three years.
• Aprahata: Defined as ‘unclaimed jungle land’.
• Vasti: Habitable land 
• GapathaSarah: Pastoral land.

Land Tenure

• Bhumichhidranyaya: Rights of ownership are acquired by a man making barren land cultivable. It is free from tax.
• Aprada Dharma: Right to enjoy a property but no right to make a further gift.
• Nivi Dharma Aksayena: A perpetual endowment which a donee could not alienate but could make use of the income accruing from it eternally.
• Nivi Dharma: Land endowment in perpetuity.
• The huge sacrificial fees (dakshina) paid after the completion of various Vedic rites by Queen Naganika point to a high degree of economic prosperity which must have depended on maritime commerce. 
• The type of Andhra coins with the figure of a shion the obverse and the account preserved in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, all testify to the maritime commerce of the day. 

Economic Development Through Trade & Commerce

The most important economic development of the period was the thriving trade between India and the eastern Roman empire. 

• In the beginning, a good deal of this trade was carried on by land, but the movement of the Sakas, Parthians and Kushans from the first century B.C. disrupted trade by land route. 
• Although the Parthians of Iran imported iron and steel from India they presented great obstacles to India’s trade with the land further west of Iran. 
• But from the first century, A.D. trade was carried on mainly by sea. It seems that around the beginning of the Christian era, the monsoons were discovered. So the sailors now could sail in much less time directly from the eastern coast of the Arabian Sea to its western coast. 
• They could call easily the various parts such as Broach and Soparasituated on the western coast of India, and Arikamedu and Tamralipti situated on its eastern coast. 
• Of all these ports Broach seems to have been the most important and flourishing. 
• The Sakasand the Kushansused two routes from the north-western frontier to the western sea coast. Both these routes converged at Taxila and were connected with the SilkRoutepassing through central Asia. 
• The first route directly ran from the north to the south connecting Taxilawith the lower Indus basin from where it passed on to Broach. The second route, called the Uttarapatha, was in more frequent use.
• In the early centuries before and after the Christian era the Kushan Empire touched the fringes of the Roman Empire in the west and the ‘celestial empire’ in the east. Indians acted as the chief intermediaries in the silk trade, besides exporting muslin and spices. 
• Their favourable balance of trade, which Pliny mentions, resulted in the creation of a gold standard in India. 
• Wina Kadphises and his successors issued gold coins, which were in point of shape, size, weight, and material content exactly similar to Roman Solidus and Denarius. 
• People on the Coromandel coast were engaged in trade with south-east Asia. The Jataka texts, the Niddesa, the Milinda Panho, the Kathasaritsagara and epigraphic evidence from south-east Asia, point to an increasing Indian mercantile enterprise and subsequent political domination in the region. 
• The unrest caused by the extensive race movements from the 2nd century B.C. in Central Asia rendered the old silk route unsafe and the Chinese silk trade with the West was carried on through Indian intermediaries. 
• According to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Indian exports generally consisted of precious and semi-precious stones, (diamonds, pearls, sapphires, onyx sardonyx, agate, carnelian), ivory cotton cloth called Monakhe and Sagnatogene, muslin and mallow cloth, Chinese silk cloth, spices and medical products like pepper, ward, spikenard, costus, long pepper and malabathrum. 
• The articles of import at the port of Barygaza included Italian and Arabian wines, copper, tin and lead, coral, topaz, flint glass, storax, antimony, gold and silver coins, singing boys, and beautiful maidens were also brought specially for the king. 
  

Conditions caused by the wars with the Hunas and others

Chandragupta II was the first Gupta kingwho mintedsilvercoinsafter defeating the Saka satraps of Ujjain. The barter system also existed side by side with currency.

• Industries as before were organized under guilds. The Vaisaliseals refer to the guilds(naigama, sreni) of bankers (sresthis), traders (Sarthavaha) and artisans (kulika). 

• Specific mention has been made of the guild of oil pressers(tailika), silk weavers (pattavaya-sreni) etc. Each guild had a president called Prathawa or Pravana.
• Something like a modern chamber of commerce or cartel also existed. There are references to Sresthi-Kaulika-Nigama. These guilds undertook banking operations and accepted donations to be held in perpetuity (ajasrikam) on certain conditions which were registered (nibaddha). 
  
  Question for The Gupta Period: Trade, Art & Culture, Economic Development

  Try yourself:Who of the following Gupta kings was first to issue silver coins?

  • A.

    Chandragupta I        
  • B.

    Samudragupta
  • C.

    Chandragupta II   
  • D.

    Kumargupta

  Explanation

  The correct answer is Option C. 

  • Chandragupta II, the Gupta king was first to issue silver coins. The large number of beautiful gold coins issued by the Gupta dynasty is a testament to the imperial grandeur of that age.
  • Chandragupta II also started producing silver coins in the Saka tradition.
  • The conquest is indicated by the issue of the new Gupta silver coinage modeled on the previous Saka coinage showing the King's head, Greek script, and dates as on Saka coins.

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• A guild of the town of Ajapuraka thus received a permanent endowment (aksayanivi). 
• Banking operation was undertaken by temple committees as well, such as the Panchamandaliof the Kakanidabota-mahavihara. The importance of the industrial and mercantile communities in the body politic can be seen in the advisory council of the District Magistrate (Visayapati). 
• The guild had their property and trusts, settled disputes of their members, and issued their hundis and probably even coins. 
• Some guilds even kept their soldiers which forced the Gupta rulers to frame certain laws to limit their powers.
• Prices in the Gupta period were not always stable and they also varied from place to place. Similarly, land measures, weights, and measures were also different at different places. 
• The internal trade was carried on by roads and rivers and foreign trade was carried on by sea and land. 
• We have numerous references to sea trade in the period, but the sea routes were not safe for the merchants. We learn from Fa-Hein that the Central Asian route from China to India was full of perils. 
• Indian ports maintained regular maritime relations with Sri Lanka, Persia, Arabia, Ethiopia, the Byzantine Empire, China, and the islands of the Indian Ocean. 
• India’s commercial relations with China also flourished and trade was conducted through the land and the sea routes. 
• The volume of external trade between India with China greatly increased during the Gupta period. The Chinese silk, which was known as chinanshuka, had a good market in India. 
• However, India’s trade with the West somewhat declined due to the decline of the Roman empire. However, it was revived again under the Byzantine emperors.

Conclusion

During the Gupta period, Indian ports maintained relations with Sri Lanka, Persia, Arabia, Ethiopia, the Byzantine Empire, China, and the Indian Ocean islands. Sri Lanka was an important port in both the island's foreign trade and inter-oceanic commerce between the East and the West. During the Gupta era, India's external trade with China increased significantly. Chinasunka, a Chinese silk, was popular in India.

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