Gupta Period is known as the golden era of India. India witnessed many dynasties but not all of them were as successful as Gupta’s. After much disintegration in India’s politics, the Gupta dynasty in India rose in 320 CE. Gupta Empire was not larger than Maurya Empire but it was successful to keep North India united for a longer time.
Here are the 13 most interesting facts about the Gupta dynasty
- Gupta empire timeline is 320 CE . Very little information is available related to the initial family members of Gupta dynasty. The ancestry of Gupta’s started from Shri Gupta. He was succeeded by Ghatotkacha, his son.
- Earlier Gupta’s were landowner and they had political control in the region of present East Utter Pradesh and Magadha. Chandragupta-I was the first famous ruler of the Gupta Dynasty.
- Chandragupta-I enjoyed material advantages. He married the princess of Lichchhavi and gained prestige. He received Patliputra as dowry. He ruled Magadha and few parts of eastern Uttar Pradesh (mainly Prayaga). He was the real founder of the Gupta He also took the title of Maharajadhiraja.
- Samudragupta the successor of Chandragupta-I was the brilliant leader. He is also called the Napoleon of India. Samudragupta expended the borders of his kingdom. Samudragupta has the largest army of that time. He, himself was a great warrior. It is said that his body was covered with marks of wounds. Harishena, Vasubandhu, and Asanga were the famous scholars in the court of Samudragupta.
- Samudragupta made 7 different types of Gold and Silver coins that were used as currency. During Gupta Empire, a huge number of gold coins were made.
- Ramagupta was the successor of Samudragupta but he was not as good as his father. So Ramagupta was deposed by his brother Chandragupta-II. Chandragupta-II also followed his grandfather and used marriage alliance to expand his kingdom.
- During the Gupta dynasty, India had trade relations with China, and with the Roman.
- The emperors of the Gupta dynasty founded free hospitals for their citizens.
- Sanskrit was on its peak under the Gupta Empire. It was the official language (the language of court) at that time. Takshila and Nalanda both of the universities were established during the Gupta Empire, under the rule of Kumaragupta-I. At that time Ramayana and Mahabharata became very popular. Many Purans and Smiritis were also created under the rule of Gupta rulers.
- During the rule of the Gupta dynasty, many temples were made. Dashavatara Temple of Deogarh, Vishnu Temple of Tigawa, and Temple of Sarnath were just a few examples. Architecture and sculpture development was on the peak at that time, temples of that time are the example of this. In Gupta era, first timebricks were used in the construction of Temple.
- Kalidasa, Vatsyayana, Harisena, Aryabhata, Brahmagupta, Vishnu Sharma, Bharavi all these scholars born in the Gupta era. Many well-known books like Kamasutra, Panchatantra, were written at this time. Aryabhata also discovered zero and wrote his famous book Aryabhatiya in the Gupta
- The condition of women in society was not very good at that time. The first incident of Sati happened in the Gupta Era.
- Gupta Empire ended in 550 CE because of weak leadership of the Gupta rulers and invasion of Huns.
We have summarized the main incidents of Gupta Era in these 13 points. The Gupta Era is known as a golden period in Indian history because Astronomy, Mathematics, Literature, Ayurveda, and every type of arts flourished during that time. The Gupta ruler not only expanded their kingdom but also gave shelter to art, science, and literature.
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