Achievements of the Gupta
The Next Great Indian Empire
Something to think about…
When is a civilization more
successful? In times of war or
in times of peace?
The Indian Subcontinent
 Surrounded by water on 3 sides
 Bordered in north by Himalaya
Mountains & Hindu Kush
 Various river valleys offering fertile soil
 Indus
 Brahmaputra
 Ganges
 Deccan Plateau limits farming potential
in central area
 Ghats mountain chains form V along
coasts
 Thar Desert creates barrier in northwest
Earliest Settlements
 Ancient Peoples settled along rivers in northwestern region above
the Thar Desert
 Rivers were used for travel, trade, and farming
 Walled settlements formed as early as 2500 BC
 Mohenjodaro in Indus River Valley and Harappan in Sarasvati
 Citadel and city living area
 Streets lined with houses
 Developed storage facilities for trade
 Systems of weights and measurements
 Great public baths with drains
 Statues, beads, seals, toys, games represent developed culture
 Believed to be destroyed by massive flooding
A Regional Religion: Hinduism
 Shaped Indian life since before recorded history
 Caste System
 Brahmins – priests and religious scholars
 Kshatriyas – rulers and warriors
 Vaishyas – herders and merchants
 Shudras - servants
 Untouchables – held jobs considered dirty or lowly
 Dharma – law, obligation, duty
 Ramayana – story of Rama who lives life of dharma
 Vedas – collections of works written in Sanskrit
 Brahman – supreme power that exists in many forms
 Karma – good or evil that comes back around to you in next life
 Samsara – cycle of birth, death, rebirth
A New Belief: Buddhism
 Based on the teachings of Buddha (Awakened One)
 Comes about by Prince Siddhartha’s Path to Enlightenment
 Ascetic life – giving up worldly pleasures
 Giving alms – charity to the poor
 Finding Nirvana – ideal state of peace through truth
 Eightfold Path: Right…Understanding, purpose, speech, action,
living, effort, mindfulness, concentration
 Four Noble Truths
 Suffering is present in all things, and nothing lasts forever
 Suffering is caused by cravings (desires and wants)
 The way to end suffering is to end all cravings
 The way to give up cravings is to live according to Eightfold Path
Vedic and Epic Ages
 Most of preclassical Indian history comes from oral history
from the Aryans.
 Later this history is written in SANSKRIT; first literary
language of the new culture.
 Veda- “knowledge” hence Vedic Age
 Rig Veda first epic consisting of 1028 hymns dedicated to the Aryan
gods written by the priests
 1500-500 BCE
 Epic Age- later part of Vedic 1000-500 BCE
 Mahabharata, India’s greatest epic poem
 Ramayana, dealing with mythical and real battles
 Upanishads, epic poems with mystical religious flavor
After the Vedic and Epic Ages…
 600-500 BCE- 16 major regional states exist in
Northern India, and warfare between them is not
uncommon
 Magahda, regional state, establishes dominance over a
considerable area
 327 BCE, Alexander the Great, conquers Greece,
Middle East, and Northern India
In response….
 Young Soldier- Chandragupta seizes power along the
Ganges River.
 Becomes first of Mauryan dynasty of Indian Rulers.
 This is the first dynasty to unite much of India
 Rise of Buddhism under Mauryas
 Chandragupta passes rule to his son, who later passes
it to his son, Ashoka.
First Unification: Mauryan Empire
 Founded by King Ashoka of Maurya family
 Based rule on Buddhist principals
 Unified region
 Established rule through passing edicts
 Encouraged all people to follow Buddhist path
Ashoka
 Chandragupta’s grandson
 269-232 BCE
 Gained control of all but Southern tip of India through
intense fighting
 Described as Bloodthirsty yet compassionate….
Thoughts?
 Ultimately converts to Buddhism and spreads
throughout India
 Dharma- law of moral consequences
Post Ashoka
 Buddhism lives on, his political legacy/empire does
not
 Empire begins to fall apart
 Enter the Kushans- invaders from northwest
 Greatest King- Kanishka
Era of War
 Fall of Mauryan led to India breaking into different
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kingdoms
Kingdoms fought for land and power
Chandrgupta conquered and united the kingdoms in 320
AD through warfare and marriage
Set up a central government
Established provinces with independence
Encouraged growth in arts and science
Kushans Fall- Enter Gupta
 New line of Kings after Kushans
 Establish large Empire- 320 C.E.
Golden Age of India: Gupta
 Line of rulers from 320 B.C.E. to 550 C.E.
 Time of prosperity and achievement
 Achievements allowed due to times of peace
 Significant contributions in Literature
 Palm-Leaf Books to record Gupta history
and beliefs
Class Activity Directions
 Visit the 8 centers on Gupta
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Achievements
Record the significant
information onto a “palm leaf ”
Illustrate the significant
meaning on the palm
Complete the center activity
tasks to experience the Gupta
ways of life
Attach your palm-leaf booklet
in order of significant
contributions
What were the achievements of the Gupta?
 Territorial gain –
 Universities –
 Literature –
 Painting –
 Sculpture –
 Metalwork –
 Mathematics –
 Roads –
What were the greatest achievements of the Gupta?
Which achievements impacted future societies?
Which achievements are isolated to the Gupta?
How would the world look without the Guptan contributions?
Political Structure and Territorial Growth
The Gupta emperors set up an efficient system of
administration both at the center and in the
provinces. The central government consisted of the
king and a council of ministers which included civil
and military officers such as the commander in
chief of the army, the generals in command of
elephantry, cavalry and infantry. The Gupta
Empire was divided into a number of provinces
known as the Desas and were led by governors.
The province was divided into bhuktis which were
further subdivided into districts called Vishyas. The
lowest unit of administration was the village called
Grama. It seems that the Gupta rulers did not
interfere with the autonomy of the village
community. Town administration was carried out
by a Pusapala who generally belong to the class of
high officers called Kumaramatyas. The Shrenis or
guilds of traders and artisans also participated in
the management of urban administration.
Universities
The Guptas built many colleges and
universities throughout the empire.
Some universities were Hindu, and some
were Buddhist. The schools were open
primarily to males, but teachers’
daughters were allowed to attend. Hindu
universities provided the upper classes
with religious training. Students
attended classes in religion, mathematics,
astronomy, chemistry, and Sanskrit. They
could also attend classes of the arts. The
most famous school was at Nalanda. It
had 8 colleges and 3 libraries. It also had
a monastery and a hospital. Students of
medicine learned the practices of the day
and were trained to question patients
about their physical problems. They
learns how to make cures from roots ,
leaves, and minerals. They also used
animal claws to stitch up wounds and
were especially skilled at surgery.
Literature
Gupta writers created a variety of
literary works. They wrote poetry,
fables, folktales, and plays on political
subjects. Scholars also wrote about
Hindu law and religion. Some of the
greatest Sanskrit literature came
from this time, describing Hindu
legends. The sacred stories had been
orally passed down for generations.
The Mahabharata (Great Work) was a
great poem composed over hundreds
of years to relate the Hindu values on
good versus evil. Many of the
writings from the Gupta empire
went beyond their borders to be told
in other lands, including the story of
Aladdin and his magic lamp.
Painting
The Gupta Empire is famous for its
beautiful paintings. For noble families,
painting was an important part of life
and no home was complete without a
painting board or easel. Popular
subjects included the gods with scenes
to tell the religious stories. Nobles
hired artists to capture the images of
their families onto long scrolls. In
addition to private paintings, murals
were painted to cover the walls of the
30 caves that was an ancient Buddhist
monastery. Paints made from minerals
and class created bold colors for
definition. Buddha’s life and times were
depicted on the walls as well as images
of kings, queens, musicians, dancers,
animals, and hunters.
Sculpture
In the Gupta Empire, a
great area of achievement
in the arts was sculpture.
Using stone, wood,
bronze, and terra-cotta
clay, the Gupta created
pieces to portray the
Hindu gods, Buddha, and
many other figures.
Sculptures were freestanding or were carved
into walls of caves or
temples. Human form
was always displayed
gracefully with beautiful
detail in appearance and
expression.
Metalwork
Metalwork was one of the
most detailed and skillful
achievements of the Gupta.
Since Gupta kings
controlled large mines of
gold, copper, and iron, they
had the materials to create
coins and other metal
products. Most of these
items would be engraved to
honor the kings or the gods
for blessings in art, politics,
and war. Metalworking
skills were also used to
create great pillars which
are still standing today
without rust or extreme
wear.
Mathematics
With the advances in mathematics
made by earlier Indian peoples, the
Gupta went further to create a
number system using zero. Their
works allowed for understanding of
decimals and fractions, and set the
stage for more complete math
systems developed in the Arab
world. In addition to using
mathematics as a counting system,
Aryabhata combined math with
astronomy to calculate the number
of days in a year and the size of the
Earth. Lastly, the Guptas used
math to develop a more complex
building style with symmetry and
design.
Roads
To encourage trade throughout the
Empire, the Gupta rules had built an
entire system of roads. Engineers worked
to clear land, fill in holes and remedy
imperfections, and then smoothed the
land to create a level path. The handpacked dirt roads were designed for safety
and comfort. Alongside the roads were
canals or ditches into which monsoon
rains could drain to prevent flooding the
roads. Signs along the roadways informed
travelers on their whereabouts and
provided directions with marked
distances. Rest houses allowed travelers a
stopping point where they could sleep,
restock food and water, and relax from
their trip. These roads greatly benefited
trade in the empire allowing goods to be
transported quickly to other regions,
including connecting the Empire to China
and the Mediterranean regions.