DECLINE
The line of succession after Skanda Gupta is uncertain. Puru Gupta, a son of Kumara Gupta by the chief queen, ruled for some time and was succeeded by his son Budha Gupta whose earliest known date is AD 477 and the latest AD 495. But a king named Kumara Gupta II is known to have reigned in AD 474. This indicates internal dissension which continued after the end of Budha Gupta's reign.
At the close of the fifth century AD fresh Huna inroads occurred, and this time were even more difficult to repel. The empire was disunited, and no strong man of the calibre of Skanda Gupta came forward to drive out the invaders For some 30 years, from AD 500 onwards, western India was in the hands of the Huna kings, two of whom, Toramana and his son Mihirakula, were apparently mighty monarchs and had advanced up to Gwalior and Eran (Madhya Pradesh). Mihirakula is remembered by Hiuen Tsang as a
fierce persecutor of Buddhism, and in Kashmir, one of the centres of his power, memories of his sadistic tyranny were still alive in the twelfth century, when they were recorded by the historian Kalhana.
At this grave crisis rose a great warrior named Yasodharman (AD 530-540) whose family ruled as feudatories of the Guptas in Malwa. He not only defeated Mihirakula and stopped the advance of the Hunas, but also destroyed the Gupta empire. His official record engraved in duplicate on two pillars at Mandasor, claims that his suzerainty was acknowledged over the vast area bounded by the Himalayas, the Brahmaputra, the Mahendra mountains in the Ganjam district, and the Arabian Sea, and that he was lord of territories not possessed by the Hunas and even by the Guptas. This may be a boast, but undoubtedly the Gupta empire was practically destroyed by the victories of Yasodharman. But Yasodharman's large kingdom did not survive his death. Though Mihirakula apparently retained his hold on Kashmir and parts of the North-West, Huna power never again seriously threatened India, and the Hunas soon lost their individuality.
Though shorn of power and prestige, traces of the Gupta empire still remained. Narasimha Gupta survived Yasodharman and probably drove out the Hunas from the Ganga valley. However, no trace of Gupta rule exists after AD 550.
The break-up of the Gupta empire was followed by the rise of a number of independent states. Magadha was ruled by a line of kings with names ending with Gupta. They are called the Later Guptas in order to distinguish them from the Imperial Guptas. The Later Guptas ruled in Magadha till the eighth century.
Friday, November 27, 2009
KUMARA GUPTA I AND SKANDA GUPTA
KUMARA GUPTA I AND SKANDA GUPTA
Dhruvadevi's son Kumara Gupta I Mahendraditya succeeded his father around AD 415. He kept the empire intact, which now extended from north Bengal to Kathiawar and from the Himalayas to the Narmada. He performed the Asvamedha sacrifice. A number of inscriptions shed light on Kumara Gupta's efficient administration and the deep love that the people had for him. But in the last years of Kumara Gupta I, the peace and prosperity of the empire was disturbed due to internal dissensions and external invasions. Among the chief enemies were the new invaders called the Hunas.
The Hunas were a Central Asian people known to Byzantine writers as Hephthalites or White Huns, and they are today considered a branch of the great group of TurkoMongol peoples, who were. threatening Europe at about the same time; certain modern scholars, however, claim that they were in no way related to the Huns of Attila, but were of Iranian stock. The Hunas had OCcupied Bactria some time before, and now, like the earlier Greeks, Shakas and Kushans, they crossed the mountains and attacked the plains of India.
During the war with the Hunas, Kumara Gupta died, and Skanda Gupta (454-467) assumed power, though not born of the chief queen and therefore not the regular heir to the throne. He succeeded in re-establishing the Gupta empire, and by the end of 455 it was again at peace. But after his death the great days of the Guptas were over. The empire continued but central control weakened, and local governors became feudatory kings with hereditary rights. To the west of Varanasi the Gupta emperors now exercised little more than titular control.
In his religious outlook, Skanda Gupta was a Vaishnava, but followed the tolerant policy of his predecessors.
Dhruvadevi's son Kumara Gupta I Mahendraditya succeeded his father around AD 415. He kept the empire intact, which now extended from north Bengal to Kathiawar and from the Himalayas to the Narmada. He performed the Asvamedha sacrifice. A number of inscriptions shed light on Kumara Gupta's efficient administration and the deep love that the people had for him. But in the last years of Kumara Gupta I, the peace and prosperity of the empire was disturbed due to internal dissensions and external invasions. Among the chief enemies were the new invaders called the Hunas.
The Hunas were a Central Asian people known to Byzantine writers as Hephthalites or White Huns, and they are today considered a branch of the great group of TurkoMongol peoples, who were. threatening Europe at about the same time; certain modern scholars, however, claim that they were in no way related to the Huns of Attila, but were of Iranian stock. The Hunas had OCcupied Bactria some time before, and now, like the earlier Greeks, Shakas and Kushans, they crossed the mountains and attacked the plains of India.
During the war with the Hunas, Kumara Gupta died, and Skanda Gupta (454-467) assumed power, though not born of the chief queen and therefore not the regular heir to the throne. He succeeded in re-establishing the Gupta empire, and by the end of 455 it was again at peace. But after his death the great days of the Guptas were over. The empire continued but central control weakened, and local governors became feudatory kings with hereditary rights. To the west of Varanasi the Gupta emperors now exercised little more than titular control.
In his religious outlook, Skanda Gupta was a Vaishnava, but followed the tolerant policy of his predecessors.
CHANDRA GUPTA II
CHANDRA GUPTA II
Samudra Gupta was succeeded by Chandra Gupta II around AD 375. However, some historians put Rama Gupta between Samudra Gupta and Chandra Gupta II. In the play Devichandraguptam of Visakhadatta, Rama Gupta is the elder brother of Chandra Gupta II. Finding his position precarious, :{{ama Gupta agrees to surrender Queen Dhruvadevi to a Shaka ruler. Chandra Gupta II objects to it and saves the honour of the family by killing the Shaka chief and rescuing Dhruvadevi. He later on marries her. However, the Gupta records do not refer to Rama Gupta.
Political marriages occupied a prominent place in the
foreign policy of the Guptas. Chandra Gupta II followed
the same policy when he conciliated the Naga chieftains of the upper and central provinces by accepting the hand of the princess Kubernaga and allied himself with the powerful family of the Vakatakas of the Deccan by marrying his daughter Prabhavati with Rudrasena II. Then Chandra Gupta II invaded the Shaka kingdom of Gujarat and Kathiawar, killed the Shaka chief Rudrasimha III and annexed the kingdom about AD 409. This helped him to extend the empire up to the shores of the Arabian Sea in the west which facilitated direct cultural and commercial relations with the western world. This contributed to the prosperity of Malwa, and its chief city Ujjain which was probably made the second capital by Chandra Gupta II.
The Mehrauli iron pillar inscription near Qutab Minar enumerates the exploits of a king called Chandra. If this king were Chandra Gupta II, he might have established Gupta authority in north-western India and in Bengal. Chandra Gupta II adopted the title of Vikramaditya. The court of Chandra Gupta II at Ujjain was adorned by many scholars like Kalidasa and Amarsimha. During his reign the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien (399-414) visited India.
Samudra Gupta was succeeded by Chandra Gupta II around AD 375. However, some historians put Rama Gupta between Samudra Gupta and Chandra Gupta II. In the play Devichandraguptam of Visakhadatta, Rama Gupta is the elder brother of Chandra Gupta II. Finding his position precarious, :{{ama Gupta agrees to surrender Queen Dhruvadevi to a Shaka ruler. Chandra Gupta II objects to it and saves the honour of the family by killing the Shaka chief and rescuing Dhruvadevi. He later on marries her. However, the Gupta records do not refer to Rama Gupta.
Political marriages occupied a prominent place in the
foreign policy of the Guptas. Chandra Gupta II followed
the same policy when he conciliated the Naga chieftains of the upper and central provinces by accepting the hand of the princess Kubernaga and allied himself with the powerful family of the Vakatakas of the Deccan by marrying his daughter Prabhavati with Rudrasena II. Then Chandra Gupta II invaded the Shaka kingdom of Gujarat and Kathiawar, killed the Shaka chief Rudrasimha III and annexed the kingdom about AD 409. This helped him to extend the empire up to the shores of the Arabian Sea in the west which facilitated direct cultural and commercial relations with the western world. This contributed to the prosperity of Malwa, and its chief city Ujjain which was probably made the second capital by Chandra Gupta II.
The Mehrauli iron pillar inscription near Qutab Minar enumerates the exploits of a king called Chandra. If this king were Chandra Gupta II, he might have established Gupta authority in north-western India and in Bengal. Chandra Gupta II adopted the title of Vikramaditya. The court of Chandra Gupta II at Ujjain was adorned by many scholars like Kalidasa and Amarsimha. During his reign the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien (399-414) visited India.
SAMUDRA GUPTA (AD 335-380)
SAMUDRA GUPTA (AD 335-380)
It would seem that there was some trouble over succession to the throne after Chandra Gupta I, and the coins of an obscure prince Kacha suggest 'that Samudra Gupta had a rival whom he finally overcame. Samudra Gupta has been called the 'Indian Napoleon' by V.A. Smith because of his extensive military conquests about which we know from the eulogic inscription (Prayag Prasasti), composed by his minister and court-poet Harisena, on an old Asokan pillar at Allahabad. According to the inscription, all his life was spent in military campaigns. He subjugated five kingdoms in lower Bengal, upper Assam, Nepal and the, territories farther west, as well as a number of republican clans including the Malavas, the Yaudheyas, the Arjunayanas, the Abhiras in Punjab and Rajasthan, and several minor ones in Madhya Pradesh. They paid homage and taxes to the Gupta emperor but enjoyed internal autonomy.
Samudra ,Gupta also advanced through the forest tract of Madhya Pradesh to the coast of Orissa and then proceeded upto Kanchi, the capital of Pallavas. The inscription at Eran (Madhya Pradesh) is also a useful source of information about his campaigns.
It would appear that Samudra Gupta directly ruled over a vast territory in north India, extending roughly from the Brahmaputra to the Chambal, surrounded by a number of tributary states immediately to the north, east- and west. The Shakas and Kushans who ruled in Punjab and Gujarat, though independent, had to be 8ubmissive to him. Beyond the Vindhya range he exercised some sort of suzerainty over at least twelve states in the Deccan and South India. Harisena describes Samudra Gupta as the hero of a hundred battles.
Some of the coins of Samudra Gupta represent him as playing on the vina. He also performed Asvamedha sacrifice. Though a follower of the brahmanical religion, he was tolerant of other faiths-he granted permission to the Buddhist king of Ceylon, Meghavarman, to build a monastery at Bodh Gaya. He assumed the tiles of Vikramanka and Kaviraja.
It would seem that there was some trouble over succession to the throne after Chandra Gupta I, and the coins of an obscure prince Kacha suggest 'that Samudra Gupta had a rival whom he finally overcame. Samudra Gupta has been called the 'Indian Napoleon' by V.A. Smith because of his extensive military conquests about which we know from the eulogic inscription (Prayag Prasasti), composed by his minister and court-poet Harisena, on an old Asokan pillar at Allahabad. According to the inscription, all his life was spent in military campaigns. He subjugated five kingdoms in lower Bengal, upper Assam, Nepal and the, territories farther west, as well as a number of republican clans including the Malavas, the Yaudheyas, the Arjunayanas, the Abhiras in Punjab and Rajasthan, and several minor ones in Madhya Pradesh. They paid homage and taxes to the Gupta emperor but enjoyed internal autonomy.
Samudra ,Gupta also advanced through the forest tract of Madhya Pradesh to the coast of Orissa and then proceeded upto Kanchi, the capital of Pallavas. The inscription at Eran (Madhya Pradesh) is also a useful source of information about his campaigns.
It would appear that Samudra Gupta directly ruled over a vast territory in north India, extending roughly from the Brahmaputra to the Chambal, surrounded by a number of tributary states immediately to the north, east- and west. The Shakas and Kushans who ruled in Punjab and Gujarat, though independent, had to be 8ubmissive to him. Beyond the Vindhya range he exercised some sort of suzerainty over at least twelve states in the Deccan and South India. Harisena describes Samudra Gupta as the hero of a hundred battles.
Some of the coins of Samudra Gupta represent him as playing on the vina. He also performed Asvamedha sacrifice. Though a follower of the brahmanical religion, he was tolerant of other faiths-he granted permission to the Buddhist king of Ceylon, Meghavarman, to build a monastery at Bodh Gaya. He assumed the tiles of Vikramanka and Kaviraja.
CHANDRA GUPTA
CHANDRA GUPTA
Ghatotkacha was succeeded by his son Chandra Gupta I (in about AD 320), who assumed the title of Mnharajadhiraja. Like Bimbisara he strengthened his position by matrimonial alliance with the Lichchavis-then controlling portions of Bihar and Nepal. The Lichchavi princess Kumaradevi must have brought to the Guptas enormous accession of power and prestige, as the Guptas were probably vaishyas and the Lichchavis were a very old family of kshatriyas. Much prominence has been given to the Lichchavi princess in the genealogies of later Gupta kings, and special coins were minted to commemorate her marriage to Chandra Gupta I who possessed fairly large domains including the regions of Magadha and Kosala. Chandra Gupta I started the Gupta era in AD 320, which marked the date of his accession. An important act of this king was the holding of an assembly of councillors and members of the royal family at which Prince Samudra Gupta was formally nominated successor in about AD 335.
Ghatotkacha was succeeded by his son Chandra Gupta I (in about AD 320), who assumed the title of Mnharajadhiraja. Like Bimbisara he strengthened his position by matrimonial alliance with the Lichchavis-then controlling portions of Bihar and Nepal. The Lichchavi princess Kumaradevi must have brought to the Guptas enormous accession of power and prestige, as the Guptas were probably vaishyas and the Lichchavis were a very old family of kshatriyas. Much prominence has been given to the Lichchavi princess in the genealogies of later Gupta kings, and special coins were minted to commemorate her marriage to Chandra Gupta I who possessed fairly large domains including the regions of Magadha and Kosala. Chandra Gupta I started the Gupta era in AD 320, which marked the date of his accession. An important act of this king was the holding of an assembly of councillors and members of the royal family at which Prince Samudra Gupta was formally nominated successor in about AD 335.
The Gupta Age
The Kushan power in north India came to an end around AD 230 and then a good part of central India fell under the rule of the Murundas, who were possibly the kinsmen of the Kushans. The Murundas continued to rule till AD 250. In about AD 275, the Gupta dynasty came to power. Their origin is obscure. The first two kings of this dynasty-Sri Gupta and Ghatotkacha-were satisfied with the title Maharaja.
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