Science and Technology in the Gupta Age

At a Glance

• Mathematician Aryabhata, Pataliputra
• Key idea Zero and decimal system
• Astronomy texts Romaka Siddhanta, Brihat Samhita
• Metallurgy Mehrauli iron pillar
• Medicine Navanitakam, Hastyayurveda
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Ancient History: Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms

Where Does It Fit?

This is the ninth topic of the category on the Gupta age. The previous topic covered literature, and this one covers science and technology. The next topic covers the spread of civilisation in eastern India. Previous topic: Gupta Literature.

What Did Aryabhata and Other Astronomers Achieve?

In short: mathematics and astronomy reached a high level, with zero and decimal ideas in use.

In mathematics, the fifth century saw a work called the Aryabhatiya by Aryabhata of Pataliputra. He was well versed in many kinds of calculation and displayed awareness of both the zero system and the decimal system. A Gupta inscription of AD 448 from Allahabad district suggests that the decimal system was known in India at the beginning of the fifth century. The invention of zero and the decimal system are credited to the thinkers of this age. Another account places Aryabhata in the late fifth and early sixth century. In the Surya Siddhanta tradition he examined the true cause of solar eclipses, calculated the size of the earth close to the modern estimate, and was the first astronomer to find that the earth rotates on its axis. The Aryabhatiya deals with arithmetic, geometry and algebra. In astronomy a book called the Romaka Siddhanta was compiled, whose title shows influence of Greek and Roman ideas, in line with the Greek-influenced astronomy described in Cultural Consequences of Central Asian Contact. Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita (sixth century) is an encyclopaedia of astronomy, physical geography, botany and natural history, and his other works are the Panchasiddhantika and the Brihat Jataka. Brahmagupta (late sixth and early seventh century) wrote the Brahmasphuta Siddhanta and Khandakhadyaka on mathematics and astronomy.

What Happened in Medicine and Chemistry?

Indian medicine and botany owed little to the Greeks, and the earlier works of Charaka and Sushruta dealt with them. In the Gupta period, metallic preparations for medicine and references by Varahamihira and others to the use of mercury and iron show progress in chemistry. The Navanitakam was a medical work, a manual of recipes, formulations and prescriptions. The Hastyayurveda, a veterinary science by Palakapya, attests to advances in medical science. Dhanvantari, the physician, is named among the luminaries of the court of Chandragupta II. The Charakasamhita contains many plants and herbs from which drugs were made, and the processes of pounding and mixing show developed chemical knowledge.

What Do Metallurgy and Craft Technology Show?

Gupta craftsmen distinguished themselves in work with iron and bronze. Bronze images of the Buddha were produced on a considerable scale because smiths knew advanced metal technology. The best example of iron work is the Mehrauli iron pillar in Delhi. Made in the fourth century AD, it has gathered no rust in fifteen centuries, a great tribute to the craftsmen’s skill, although the arid conditions of Delhi may also have helped its preservation. It was impossible to make such a pillar in any iron foundry in the West until about a century ago, and it is a pity that later Indian craftsmen could not develop this knowledge further. The large-scale casting of statues, such as the copper Buddha of Sultanganj, shows the same skill, as in Gupta Art and Architecture. Mining and metallurgy also flourished, with iron ore from Bihar and copper from Rajasthan, as in Trade, Agrarian Economy and Land Grants in the Gupta Age.

As an analytical point, Gupta science combined original work in mathematics with absorbed foreign ideas in astronomy and rich craft technology; its patrons were courts and temples, and the texts were written in Sanskrit verse. The later link to cultural contacts abroad is in Cultural Interaction of India with Asian Countries and Legacy of Ancient India in Science and Civilisation.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Contributions Prelims favourite
• Legacy Zero and decimal
• Metallurgy Iron pillar

What Came Next?

The next topic describes the spread of civilisation in eastern India. Next topic: Spread of Civilisation in Eastern India.

Key People and Terms

• Aryabhatiya Text of Aryabhata
• Zero Number concept
• Decimal system Base-ten numeration
• Romaka Siddhanta Greek-influenced astronomy text
• Brihat Samhita Encyclopaedia of Varahamihira
• Hastyayurveda Veterinary science of elephants

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about science in the Gupta age. These points add depth.

• Mathematics Zero, decimal
• Astronomy Native and foreign
• Metallurgy Iron pillar