Classical
age of Gupta
This
period, witnessing a Hindu religious
and intellectual resurgence, is known as the classical or "Golden Age of India". Indian civilisation, administration, culture,
and religion (Hinduism and Buddhism) spread to Asia, maritime business links
with the South east Asia, Middle East and the Mediterranean
were excellent. The
establishment of Indianised kingdoms in Southeast Asia were so vast and deep
that the region is still vibrant as Greater India.
The Tripartite struggle among the Pala Empire, Rashtrakuta Empire,
and Gurjara-Pratihara Empire marked the
centuries from 7th to 11th and was centred around Kanauj
for quite some time. From
the middle of the fifth century, Chalukya, Chola, Pallava, Chera, Pandyan, and Western
Chalukya Empires.
The Chola dynasty conquered
southern India, Southeast Asia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, and Bengal in the 11th century. The development of mathematics and astronomy in
the Arab world was largely due to contact with India during
these centuries. Bengal
empire, Vijayanagara, Gajapati, Ahom, and Rajput states, reigned during this time till 15th century which saw
the advent of Sikhism and a unique experiment of Khalsa. During the following century was the rise of
Chhatrapati Shivaji and the Maratha empire. In the 16th century, Mughal Empire conquered most of the Indian subcontinent.
Mughals suffered a gradual decline in 18th century, and the Marathas, Sikhs, Mysoreans and Nawabs of
Bengal started exercising control over large regions of the
Indian subcontinent.
From
the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, large regions of India were
gradually annexed by the East India Company but thorough dissatisfaction with company rule in India led to the Indian Rebellion of 1857, which rocked parts of north and central India, and
led to the dissolution of the company. India was afterwards ruled directly by
the British Crown,
in the British Raj. ***
Reword later
Ajatashatru
defeated his neighbours including the king of Kosala; his brothers, he then went to Kashi, He is said to
be the inventor of two weapons used in war
called rathamusala (Scythed chariot)
and mahshilakantaka (engine for ejecting big stones). King Chetaka
was a devout follower of Lord Mahavira.
When Ajatashatru was
moving towards defeat he practised penance for three days. He is the inventor
of two weapons used in war called rathamusala (Scythed chariot)
and mahshilakantaka (engine for ejecting big stones).
Various
dynasties of the south including
the Satavahana had
been feudatories of the Mauryan Empire. These kingdoms are mentioned in
Ashoka's edicts (256 BCE) and were considered part of the outer circle of the
imperium--subject to the rule of the Mauryan Emperor, although doubtless
enjoying a considerable degree of autonomy under their local rulers… the
distant governments, including areas in the south, broke away from imperial
rule and reasserted their independence.
Brihadratha son
of "Satadhanvan" (IAST: Brihadratha Maurya) was the last ruler of
the Maurya Empire. He ruled from 187 to 180 BCE. He was also loyal to
Buddhism. Pushyamitra Shunga (IAST: Puṣyamitra Śuṅga) (c. 185 – c. 149 BCE)
was the founder and first ruler of the Shunga Empire in East India. He was a follower of Hinduism. Pushyamitra is recorded to have performed
numerous Ashvamedha campaigns
to legitimize his right to rule. The Kanva
dynasty or Kanvayana replaced the Shunga
dynasty in parts of eastern
and central India, and ruled
from 75 BCE to 30 BCE. The Kanva ruler allowed the kings of the Shunga dynasty
to continue to rule in obscurity in a corner of their former dominions. There
were four Kanva rulers. According to the Puranas, their dynasty was brought to
an end by the Satavahanas.
The last king of Kanva dynasty was killed by Balipuccha, who founded the Andhra
dynasty. The defeat of
the Kanva dynasty by the Satavahana dynasty was a localised event in Central
India. The Allahabad Pillar inscription uses the title Maharaja (
"Great King") for Gupta and his
son Ghatotkacha,
as opposed to the title Maharajadhiraja ("king of great kings") for later
ruler Chandragupta I.
The sovereign kings of several contemporary or near-contemporary dynasties,
including the Vakatakas, used the
title Maharaja. The structure seems to be like many great kings
autonomously working in their region in the shadow of a king of the kings. The
7th century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, in his description of the itinerary of the earlier
Korean traveler Hwui-lun alias Prajnavarma, mentions that in ancient times,
king Che-li-ki-to (室利笈多) built a temple
near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mṛgaśikhāvana)
for Chinese pilgrims. The king endowed the temple with the revenue of 24
villages for its maintenance. Gupta (Gupta script: 
Gu-pta, fl. late 3rd century CE) was the founder
of the Gupta dynasty of
northern India. He is identified with king Che-li-ki-to (believed to be the Chinese
transcription of "Shri-Gupta. The
earliest description of him occurs in his grandson Samudragupta's Allahabad
Pillar inscription,
and is repeated verbatim in several later records of the dynasty. Chandragupta
I (Gupta script: 
Cha-ndra-gu-pta, r. c. 319-335 or 319-350 CE)
was a king of the Gupta dynasty, who ruled in northern India. His
title Maharajadhiraja ("king of great kings") suggests that
he was the first emperor of the dynasty. his marriage to the Lichchhavi princess Kumaradevi helped him extend his
political power. Their son Samudragupta further expanded the Gupta empire. Samudragupta
performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice
to prove his imperial sovereignty, and according to his coins, remained
undefeated. His gold coins and inscriptions suggest that he was an
accomplished poet, and also played music. His expansionist policy was continued
by his son Chandragupta
II. King was supposed
to be bahuguni…an administrator plus poet or artists..Ravana to Chandragupta.
Its
primary objective was to record the installation of a Vishnu idol in a temple), but it suggests that Samudragupta
had subdued several kings by this time… a person whose "fame was tasted by
the waters of the four oceans". The Allahabad Pillar inscription suggests
that Samudragupta's aim was the unification of the earth (dharani-bandha),
which suggests that he may have aspired to become a Chakravartin.
Chandragupta
II (Gupta script: Cha-ndra-gu-pta, r. c. 380 – c. 415
CE), also known by his title Vikramaditya, historical evidence suggests
that he defeated the Western Kshatrapas,
and extended the Gupta empire from the Indus River in the west to the Bengal region in the east, and from the Himalayan
foothills in the north to the Narmada River in the south. His daughter Prabhavatigupta was a queen of the southern Vakataka kingdom, and he may have had influence in the
Vakataka territory during her regency.
The
Gupta empire reached its zenith during the rule of Chandragupta. Chinese
pilgrim Faxian, who visited
India during his reign, suggests that he ruled over a peaceful and prosperous kingdom.
The ), with provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain.
A
passage in the Vishnu Purana suggests
that major parts of the eastern coast of India - Kosala, Odra, Tamralipta, and Puri - were ruled by the Devarakshitas around
the same time as the Guptas. "Deva-rakshita" (IAST: Devarakṣita) seems to be another name for
Chandragupta II. The iron pillar is said to have been set up by king Chandra in
honour of Vishnu, on a hill named Vishnu-pada, but the king seems to have died
shortly before the inscription was engraved, as the inscription states that
"the king has quit the earth and gone to the other world". A similar
Vishnu-dhvaja (flagpole in
honour of Vishnu) was set up the Gupta emperor Skandagupta (a grandson of Chandragupta) after the death of
his father Kumaragupta I. Jyotirvidabharana (22.10), a treatise
attributed to Kalidasa, states that
nine famous scholars known as the Navaratnas ("nine
gems") attended the court of the legendary Vikramaditya. Besides Kalidasa
himself, these included Amarasimha, Dhanvantari, Ghatakarapara, Kshapanaka, Shanku, Varahamihira, Vararuchi, and Vetala Bhatta. One of the earliest dated Gupta statues, a Bodhisattva derived from the Kushan style of Mathura art, inscribed "year 64" of the Gupta era, 384 CE, Many gold and silver coins of
Chandragupta, as well the inscriptions issued by him and his successors,
describe him as a parama-bhagvata, that is, a devotee of the god Vishnu. One of his gold coins, discovered at Bayana, calls him chakra-vikramah, literally,
"[one who is] powerful [due to his possession of the] discus", and shows
him receiving a discus from Vishnu. An Udayagiri inscription records the construction of a Vaishnava cave temple by Chandragupta's
feudatory Maharaja Sanakanika, in year 82 of the Gupta era (c. 401-402 CE) Chandragupta was also
tolerant of other faiths. The Udayagiri inscription of Chandragupta's foreign
minister Virasena records the construction of a temple dedicated to the god
Shambhu (Shiva). An inscription found at Sanchi near Udayagiri records donations to the local
Buddhist monastery by his military officer Amrakardava, in year 93 of the Gupta era (c.
412-413 CE). Kumaragupta I (Gupta script: 
Ku-ma-ra-gu-pta, r. c. 415-455 CE) was an
emperor of the Gupta Empire of
present-day India and Bangladesh. Kumaragupta performed an Ashvamedha sacrifice, which was usually performed to prove
imperial sovereignty.. he may have subdued the Aulikaras of central India and the Traikutakas of
western India. The Bhitari pillar inscription states that his successor Skandagupta restored the fallen fortunes of the Gupta
family, which has led to suggestions that during his last years, Epigraphic
evidence suggests that Kumaradeva ruled his empire through governors
(Uparikas), who bore the title Maharaja ("great king"), and
administered various provinces (Bhuktis). The districts (vishayas) of the
provinces were administered by district magistrates (Vishyapatis), who were
supported by an advisory council comprising: the town president or mayor
(Nagara-Shreshtin), the representative of the merchant guild (Sarthavaha), the
chief of the artisan guild (Prathama-Kulika), the chief of the guild of
writers or scribes (Prathama-Kayastha). Swordsman type: A new type introduced
by Kumaragupta. Bears an image of the king holding the sword, with a garuda emblem, and the legend Gamavajitya
sucharitaih Kumaragupto divam jayati ("Having conquered the earth,
Kumaragupta wins the heaven by his meritorious deeds").
****
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