Gupta Literature

At a Glance

• Court language Sanskrit
• Poet-dramatist Kalidasa
• Epics Ramayana and Mahabharata almost complete
• Lexicon Amarakosha
• Drama feature Comedies; Prakrit for women and shudras
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms

Where Does It Fit?

This is the eighth topic of the category on the Gupta age. The previous topic covered art and architecture, and this one covers literature. The next topic covers science and technology. Previous topic: Gupta Art and Architecture.

What Marked Secular Literature and Drama?

In short: ornate court poetry and comedies in Sanskrit and Prakrit mark the secular literature of the age.

The Gupta period is remarkable for secular literature, with a good deal of ornate court poetry. Bhasa, important in the early phase, wrote thirteen plays in Sanskrit with a substantial amount of Prakrit. He wrote a drama later refashioned by Shudraka as the Mrichchhakatika, the Little Clay Cart, about the love between a poor brahmana trader and a courtesan, considered one of the best works of ancient drama. In his plays Bhasa uses the word yavanika for the curtain, suggesting Greek contact. What made the period famous is the work of Kalidasa, who lived in the second half of the fourth and the first half of the fifth century. The greatest poet of classical Sanskrit, he wrote the Abhijnanashakuntalam, which tells the love story of King Dushyanta and Shakuntala, whose son Bharata became a famous ruler. It was one of the earliest Indian works translated into European languages, the other being the Bhagavadgita. Kalidasa’s other dramas are the Malavikagnimitra and Vikramorvashiyam. Vishakhadatta wrote the Mudrarakshasa and the Devichandraguptam. Samudragupta himself was known as Kaviraja. The plays have two common features: all are comedies, with no tragedies, and characters of higher and lower classes speak different languages, with women and shudras using Prakrit and the higher classes Sanskrit. The yavanika is discussed in Cultural Consequences of Central Asian Contact.

What Happened to Religious and Legal Literature?

Religious literature also increased, and most works had a strong religious bias. The Ramayana and the Mahabharata were almost completed by the fourth century AD. Though compiled by brahmanas, the epics and Puranas represent the kshatriya tradition, are full of myths, legends and exaggeration, and reflect social development more than political history. The Ramayana idealises the family, where the son obeys the father and the wife is faithful, and shows Rama as righteousness defeating Ravana as evil. The Mahabharata is a conflict between the Kauravas and Pandavas which shows that kingship knows no kinship, and the Bhagavadgita within it teaches that a person should carry out the duties of caste and rank without desire for reward. The Puranas follow the epics, and the earlier ones were finally compiled in Gupta times. They contain myths, legends and sermons for the education of common people. Eighteen major Puranas are listed, such as the Vishnu, Matsya and Bhagavata Puranas. The period saw the compilation of Smritis, lawbooks in verse with social and religious norms; commentaries on them began after the Gupta period. The period was the last phase of the Smriti literature. Their religious background is in Bhagavatism, Buddhism and Religion in the Gupta Age.

What About Grammar, Prakrit and Other Traditions?

Sanskrit grammar developed on the work of Panini and Patanjali, and the period is memorable for the Amarakosha of Amarasimha, a luminary at the court of Chandragupta II, a lexicon still learnt by heart by traditional students. Sanskrit was the court language of the Guptas, and verse gained more emphasis than prose, in an ornate style that differed from older simple Sanskrit. A Buddhist scholar of Bengal, Chandragomin, composed a grammar. Buddhist authors such as Aryadeva and Asanga were notable, Vasubandhu wrote the first regular Buddhist work on logic, and his disciple Dignaga wrote learned works. Jaina writers recast the epics, Vimala produced a Jaina Ramayana, and Siddhasena Divakara laid the foundation of Jaina logic. Prakrit forms continued: Shauraseni near Mathura, Ardhamagadhi in Awadh and Bundelkhand, and Magadhi in Bihar. As an analytical point, the period’s literature shows a shift from the Prakrit-using state of Ashoka and the Satavahanas to a Sanskrit court culture, while Prakrit survived as the speech of women and lower classes in drama. The Sanskrit inscriptions are in Cultural Consequences of Central Asian Contact.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Authors and works Prelims matching
• Language shift Prakrit to Sanskrit
• Epics Compilation stage

What Came Next?

The next topic describes science and technology in the Gupta age. Next topic: Science and Technology in the Gupta Age.

Key People and Terms

• Kavya Ornate poetry
• Yavanika Curtain in drama
• Amarakosha Lexicon of Amarasimha
• Smriti Lawbook in verse
• Purana Legends and sermons
• Kaviraja King of poets

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about the nature of Gupta literature. These points add depth.

• Secular Poetry and drama
• Religious Epics, Puranas
• Language Sanskrit and Prakrit