Category 8 · Ancient History

Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms

14 micro topics in Ancient History for UPSC Prelims, in book order: Rise of the Gupta Empire – Chandragupta I and Samudragupta; Chandragupta II and the Fall of the Gupta Empire; and 12 more.

8.1

Rise of the Gupta Empire – Chandragupta I and Samudragupta

The Guptas, possibly of vaishya origin, rose in UP and Bihar on the ruins of Kushan power around AD 275. Chandragupta I (AD 319 to 334) married a Lichchhavi princess and began the Gupta era in…
8.2

Chandragupta II and the Fall of the Gupta Empire

Chandragupta II (AD 380 to 412) took the empire to its height through the Vakataka marriage alliance of his daughter Prabhavati and the conquest of Mathura, western Malwa and Gujarat from the Shakas, took the title…
8.3

Gupta Administration

Gupta kings took titles like maharajadhiraja and paramabhattaraka, ruled directly only over the core (north Bengal, Bihar, UP, parts of MP) through bhuktis under uparikas, vishayas under vishayapatis and villages with headmen, relied on kumaramatyas, and…
8.4

Trade, Agrarian Economy and Land Grants in the Gupta Age

The Guptas issued the largest number of gold dinaras in ancient India but fewer copper coins, and long-distance trade declined, especially after silk-making spread to Byzantium about AD 550. Agriculture grew through irrigation and tax-free grants…
8.5

Social Developments in the Gupta Age

Brahmana supremacy rose with land grants (privileges listed in the Narada Smriti), castes multiplied through assimilation of foreigners (including Hunas) and tribes, shudras gained access to epics and Puranas and the worship of Krishna while untouchables…
8.6

Bhagavatism, Buddhism and Religion in the Gupta Age

Bhagavatism (Vaishnavism), built on the merger of Vedic Vishnu, tribal Narayana-Bhagavata and the Vrishni hero Krishna-Vasudeva, grew with bhakti, ahimsa and the doctrine of avatars, overshadowing Mahayana Buddhism by Gupta times. Buddhism lost royal patronage though…
8.7

Gupta Art and Architecture

Gupta art produced the Sarnath standing Buddha, the Sultanganj copper Buddha, Vishnu and Shiva images shown with hierarchy, the Varaha at Udayagiri, brick and stone temples at Bhitargaon, Bhitari and Deogarh (with Nagara-type shikhara beginnings), rock-cut…
8.8

Gupta Literature

Gupta literature made Sanskrit the court language and produced ornate secular poetry and drama (Kalidasa, Bhasa, Shudraka, Vishakhadatta), the near-final Ramayana and Mahabharata, the earlier Puranas, Smritis, Amarasimha’s Amarakosha, grammar based on Panini and Patanjali, and…
8.9

Science and Technology in the Gupta Age

Gupta-age science includes Aryabhata’s Aryabhatiya (arithmetic, geometry, algebra, awareness of zero and the decimal system, true cause of eclipses, earth’s rotation), the Romaka Siddhanta, Varahamihira’s Brihat Samhita, Brahmagupta’s works, medical manuals such as the Navanitakam and…
8.10

Spread of Civilisation in Eastern India

Between the fourth and seventh centuries writing, Sanskrit learning, Vedic rituals, varna society, land grants and state systems spread across eastern Madhya Pradesh, Odisha (Matharas, Vasishthas, Nalas, Manas), Bengal (Pundravardhana, Samatata, Gauda under Shashanka) and Assam…
8.11

Harsha and his Times

Harshavardhana (AD 606 to 647) of Thanesar made Kanauj his seat after the Gupta empire fragmented, defeated or reconciled neighbours but was stopped on the Narmada by the Chalukya Pulakeshin II, ruled in a feudal, decentralised…
8.12

Nalanda and Buddhism in Harsha’s Age

In Harsha’s age Buddhism, divided into eighteen sects, had weakened in old centres but Nalanda was a great Mahayana monastic university, said to have 10,000 monks, supported by the revenue of 100 to 200 villages, with…
8.13

Chalukyas, Pallavas and the Kalabhra Revolt

Between AD 300 and 750 the Vakatakas gave way to the Chalukyas of Badami (to AD 757) and the Ikshvakus to the Pallavas of Kanchi; the two long fought for the Krishna-Tungabhadra doab, with Pulakeshin II…
8.14

Brahmanisation, Land Grants and Peasant Protest in the Peninsula

In AD 300 to 750 rulers south of the Vindhyas gave tax-free land to brahmanas with up to eighteen immunities, spreading Sanskrit, Vedic sacrifices and temple building, expanding agriculture and new village types (ur, sabha, nagaram),…

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Frequently asked questions

Which topics are in Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms?

Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms has 14 micro topics in Ancient History: Rise of the Gupta Empire – Chandragupta I and Samudragupta; Chandragupta II and the Fall of the Gupta Empire; Gupta Administration; Trade, Agrarian Economy and Land Grants in the Gupta Age; Social Developments in the Gupta Age; Bhagavatism, Buddhism and Religion in the Gupta Age; Gupta Art and Architecture; Gupta Literature; Science and Technology in the Gupta Age; Spread of Civilisation in Eastern India; Harsha and his Times; Nalanda and Buddhism in Harsha’s Age; Chalukyas, Pallavas and the Kalabhra Revolt; Brahmanisation, Land Grants and Peasant Protest in the Peninsula.

Is Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms important for UPSC Prelims?

Gupta Age and Post-Gupta Kingdoms is a part of the UPSC Prelims Ancient History syllabus map on MaargX UPSC. Each of its 14 published topics has key terms, a Mains angle and practice questions.