Download The Gupta Dynasty was an ancient Indian empire that is

The Gupta Dynasty was an ancient Indian empire that is renowned for
supporting art, literature, architecture, and science.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Discuss the advancements in art and science during the Gupta period, and the subsequent decline
of the post-Gupta period.
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
The period of Gupta rule is known as the Golden Age of India, as it was a time marked by peace,
prosperity, and the flourishing of arts and sciences.
The Gupta dynasty patronized Hindu as well as Buddhist and Jain art and culture.
The Ajanta cave paintings as well as Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh were created in the Gupta
period.
The concept of zero, the game of chess, and the Kama-Sutra were all developed during the Gupta
period.
Some of the great artists and thinkers that flourished in the time of Chandragupta II include
Kalidasa, one of the greatest authors of Sanskrit poetry and drama, and Aryabhatta, a brilliant
and influential mathematician and astronomer.
TERM [ edit ]
jataka tales
(Sanskrit ज) A voluminous body of folklore-like literature native to India and concerning the
previous births (jāti) of the Buddha.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [edit ]
The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire that covered much of the Indian
subcontinent and was run by the Gupta Dynasty from approximately 320 to 550 CE. After the
fall of the Mauryan Empire in the
2nd century BCE, India had remained
divided in a number of disparate
kingdoms. During the late 3rd century CE
the Gupta family gained control of the
kingship of Magadha (modern-day eastern
India and Bengal). The period of Gupta
rule is known as the Golden Age of India,
as it was a time marked by unprecedented
prosperity and the flourishing of the arts
and sciences in India.
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The rulers of the Gupta Empire were staunch supporters of the arts, science, literature, and
architecture. In addition to patronizing the art of the Hindu religion, which the majority of
the rulers subscribed to, the Guptas were known also for their support of Buddhist and Jain
art and culture. In particular, Gupta period Buddhist art was quite influential in most of East
and Southeast Asia. The Ajanta caves, Buddhist rock-cut architecture dating from the
2nd century BCE to 600 CE, contain wall paintings that were created during the Gupta period.
The paintings depict the Jataka tales and are considered to be masterpieces of
Buddhist religious art . In addition, the Gupta Empire supported the Buddhist Universities of
Nalanda and Vikramasila. Great works of Hindu art and architecture from the period include
the Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh .
Dashavatara temple
The 6th century late Gupta period Dashavatara temple, Deogarh.
Ajanta Cave Painting
A wall painting from the Ajanta Caves, painted during the Gupta dynasty c. 6th century CE.
The most notable rulers of the Gupta period were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta the Great,
and Chandragupta II the Great. Chandragupta included in his court the Navaratna, or Nine
Jewels, a group of nine exceptional scholars and poets. The Gupta period produced such
masters of literature as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, Vishnu Sharma, and Vatsyayana.
The earliest available Indian Epics, or Puranas, are also thought to have been written around
this period.
In addition to the arts, the various sciences also made great advancements during the Gupta
period. Aryabhata, a scholar of the time, postulated the notion that the earth was three
dimensional and moved around the sun. He is also believed to be the first mathematician to
come up with the concept of zero. Additionally, the game of chess developed during the
Gupta period and was known as caturanga, which translates into "four divisions" (of the
military). The Kama-Sutra, an ancient Gupta text written in Sanskrit by the Indian scholar
Vatsyayana, remains to this day the standard work on human sexual behavior.
The Gupta Empire quickly declined under the successors of Chandragupta II. By the middle
of the 5th century a new enemy to the empire had appeared, nomadic-pastoralist warriors
from the Eurasian steppe. These invaders were called Huna or Huns by the Indians, and
today are commonly called Hephalites or White Huns (to distinguish them from the other
Huns, who were attacking the Roman Empire around the same time). In the year 480 CE, the
Huns launched an invasion of India. By the year 500 CE, the Huns had overrun the Gupta
Empire. Though the Huns were eventually driven out of India, the Gupta Empire would never
recover. Buddhism started to fade out of the picture, however, and was replaced by growing
Hinduism, which is reflected in this time period. The subcontinent once again became a
patchwork of independent states. However, the Gupta Empire and the Golden Age of India
would not be forgotten.