The Guptas And Vardhanas

The Guptas began their reign from the place Prayaga.

The Gupta dynasty began in 275 C.E. from the place Prayaga in present-day Uttar Pradesh. Shri Gupta was the first ruler of the dynasty.

Chandragupta I was called a firsthistorical person of Guptas.

The title of first historical person of Guptas tells that he rose as a first strong king of the Gupta dynasty and Gupta era started from his reign.

One of the great dramas of Kalidasa is Abhijnana Shakuntala.

Kalidasa is a famous Sanskrit poet and dramatist who belonged to the reign of Chandragupta II. Abhijnana Shakuntala is the most popular and great drama of him.

Vishakadatta’s literary work is Mudrarakshasa.

Mudrarakshasa is a Sanskrit play which tells about the rise of king Chandragupta Maurya written by Vishakadatta, a Sanskrit poet and playwright.

The literary work written by Sudraka is Mricchakatika.

Mricchakatika is a Sanskrit drama which has ten acts written by Sudraka, a king and playwrighter.

The founder of Vardhana dynasty was Pushyabhuti.

Pushyabhuti was the first ruler of the Vardhana dynasty who began its reign in the 6^th century.

Chandragupta II, also known as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, succeeded Samudragupta. He ruled between 380 and 415 C.E. and his age is known for literature and art. Kalidasa, the famous Sanskrit poet, and playwright, belonged to his reign. His remarkable victory was against Sakas and expanded his kingdom to Western India. He became very influential by establishing relationships in royal families of that era.

The Gupta Empire was attacked by Huns many times. The army of Gupta was not very large and did not has required weapons. The king vassals who provided military support in exchange for something like land were required to protect the Empire. So, the army was dependent on them and they became powerful. All these drawbacks were the reason for decline of the Gupta Empire.

Varahamihira, Sushruta, Charaka, Bhaskara, and Aryabhata were the great scientists during Gupta Dynasty.

1. Charaka was a medical scientist who wrote Charaka Samhita in the field of medicine.

2. Sushruta was a surgeon who made his contribution by writing Sushruta Samhita.

3. Varahamihira, Bhaskara and Aryabhata were a scholar in the field of astrology, astronomy, and mathematics respectively.

The kingdom of Vardhana was divided into many provinces. The major part of income for the administration was a land tax. Council of ministers was formed to assist the king. There were also many other officials which were called by different names like Mahasandhivigraha (the negotiator), Mahabaladhikruta (military general), Bhogapati (tax official) and Doota.

Kalidasa was famous Sanskrit poet and dramatist of the reign of Chandragupta II. He has influenced the people by his poems and plays. Meghadoota is one of the most popular poems written by him. Other poems include the names of Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava and Ritu Samhara. His best-known drama in the world is Abhijnana Shakuntala which is based on Mahabharata.

1. Aryabhata: He was a mathematician and astronomer of the Gupta’s Empire. At the age of 23 years, he wrote a book called “Aryabhatia”. His various and uniquely defined systems and notations made significant participation in the history of mathematics.

2. Varahamihira: He was an astronomer, astrologer, and mathematician. He wrote many books. One of them was on the subject of astronomy called Panchasiddhantika. It is considered as Bible of the Astronomy. He also wrote Bruhat Samhita, Bruhat Jataka and Laghu Jataka.

3. Sushruta: He was a scholar in surgery. He wrote Sushruta Samhita which is well known for a book of surgery in ester times. He is also known as “father of surgery” in famous literature. He used to record the surgery techniques and then applied them on soldiers.

4. Charaka: He was a medical scientist. He is regarded as “Indian father of Medicine”. He wrote Charaka Samhita in the field of medicine. In ancient times, he is well known for his significant contribution in Ayurveda.