What were the reasons behind the rise and growth of the Guptas? Describe their economy.

 The ancestry and early history of the Gupta family are little known, and have naturally given rise to various speculations. Names ending in Gupta, such as Sivagupta which occurs in a Satavahana inscription, are sometimes taken to suggest their ancestry. But these suggestions are rather far-fetched. Different scholars also place the original home of the Guptas differently: some would place it in north Bengal, some in Magadha in Bihar and some in UP. On the basis of the following arguments it may, at the moment, be suggested that the original core of the Gupta territory lay in eastern UP:

• ·         Allahabad pillar inscription, the earliest inscription recording the achievements of an early Gupta ruler Samudragupta, comes from this region.
• ·         The nature of the coin-hoards of the Guptas, found in this region, suggests this.
• ·         The description of early Gupta territories in the Puranas may point to this.

It is possible that in the closing decades of the 3rd century CE the Guptas were subordinates of a branch of the later Kushanas ruling in north-western India. However, literary and archaeological sources indicate that they became independent in the second decade of the 4th century CE.

 

Inscriptions tell us that Srigupta was the first king and Ghatotkacha was the next to follow him. Chandragupta-I was the first independent king with the title Maharajadhiraja. After declaring his independence in Magadha, he, with the help of a matrimonial alliance with the Lichchhavis, enlarged his kingdom. We know about this alliance from a special category of coins. These coins have Chandragupta and his queen Kumaradevi engraved on the obverse and a seated goddess on the reverse with a legend Lichchhavayah (i.e. the Lichchhavis). These coins were made of gold, and this fact in addition to the fact that the Guptas followed the weight system of Kushana gold coins, suggests that the Guptas had been in contact with the Kushana territories.

Inscriptions tell us that Srigupta was the first king and Ghatotkacha was the next to follow him. Chandragupta-I was the first independent king with the title Maharajadhiraja. After declaring his independence in Magadha, he, with the help of a matrimonial alliance with the Lichchhavis, enlarged his kingdom. We know about this alliance from a special category of coins. These coins have Chandragupta and his queen Kumaradevi engraved on the obverse and a seated goddess on the reverse with a legend Lichchhavayah (i.e. the Lichchhavis). These coins were made of gold, and this fact in addition to the fact that the Guptas followed the weight system of Kushana gold coins, suggests that the Guptas had been in contact with the Kushana territories.

 

There are no concrete evidences to determine the boundaries of Chandragupta’s kingdom. But it is assumed that it covered parts of Bihar, UP and Bengal.

Chandragupta-I is said to have also started a new era from 319-320 CE. It is not clear from any records that he started this era, which came to be known as Gupta Samvat (Gupta era) but since Chandragupta-I is mentioned as a Maharajadhiraja he is credited with the founding of the era. It was during the times of his son Samudragupta that the kingdom grew into an empire.

 

Samudragupta

An inscription engraved (at a later date) on the Asokan pillar at Allahabad (known as Prayaga-prashasti) gives us information about Samudragupta’s accession and conquests. Harishena, an important official of the state, had composed 33 lines which were engraved on the pillar. The inscription mentions that Maharajadhiraja Chandragupta-I in a highly emotional tone declared his son Samudragupta as his successor. This caused joy among the courtiers and heart-burning among those of equal birth. It can be presumed that other princes might have put forward their contending claims which were put to rest by this declaration. Further, the discovery of some gold coins bearing the name of Kacha has generated a controversy relating to this. The controversy has arisen because:

 

i)        i ) in many respects Kacha’s coins are similar to the coins of Samudragupta,

ii)      ii) the name of Kacha does not appear in the official lists of Gupta rulers, as they are available in the Gupta inscriptions.

Various interpretations have been given in this regard:

• ·         According to one interpretation Samudragupta’s brothers revolted against him and placed Kacha, the eldest brother, on the throne. However, he died in the war of succession.
• ·         Another view mentions that these coins were issued by Samudragupta in the memory of his brother.
• ·         A third view mentions Kacha as the initial name of Samudragupta and the later name was adopted only after the conquest of south.

 

There is no solution to the controversy as each view has arguments in favour or against. We could only say that since the number of Kacha coins found so far is somewhat limited, his hold over the throne would have been for a very short duration. Also that Samudragupta, in spite of Chandragupta’s abdiction, did face problems in relation to accession to the throne but ultimately he emerged victorious.

Expansion and Consolidation

For the expansion and consolidation of the Gupta power Samudragupta adopted an aggressive policy of conquests. This initiated a process which culminated in the formation of the Gupta empire. However, we have to take note here of the fact that in certain regions – particularly in the South – he let the kings, whom he had defeated, rule over their regions. Of course, they accepted his suzerainty and paid tributes. Such a policy adopted in relation to the far-flung areas might have paid dividends in solving problems of communication and effective control, hence bringing about stability for the time being. Let us briefly discuss the aggressive campaigns taken by Samudragupta in various regions. We may mention again that we come to know about all the campaigns of Samudragupta only from one record: the Prayaga-prashasti of Harishena.

 

1) Campaigns in Aryavarta:

Some historians are of the view that Samudragupta carried his victorious campaign of Aryavarta at one time. However, some other historians, assuming that the Prayaga-prashasti mentions the conquests of Samudragupta in a chronological order, have opined that there were two campaigns in north India. This is because the prashasti first mentions three Aryavarta kings, then it goes on to mention his southern campaign and again mentions nine Aryavarta kings. It appears that taking advantage of the war of succession, which Samudragupta had to face, certain rulers attempted to establish their dominance. It might be in this context that Samudragupta defeated Achyuta, Nagasena and Kota-Kulaja. There are no details regarding these conquests or regarding the identity of the specific regions over which they ruled. However, historians have identified Achyuta as ruling over Ahichchhatra, Nagasena over Gwalior area and Kota-Kulaja as ruler of the Kota family in east Punjab and Delhi. Though differences continue to prevail over these identifications it is clear that Samudragupta, after defeating them, established firm control not only over the Ganga valley but also over some adjacent regions.

 

2) Campaign in South: The Prayaga-prashasti mentions 12 rulers from Dakshinapatha (south India) who were defeated by Samudragupta. These were:

• ·         Mahendra of Kosala (Raipur, Durg, Sambalpur and Bilaspur districts)
• ·         Vyaghraraja of Mahakantara (Jeypore, forest region of Odisha)
• ·         Mantaraja of Kaurata (probably Sonpur area in Madhya Pradesh or plain country to the north-east of Mahendra hill) Mahendragiri of Pishtapura (Pithasuram, east Godavari district)
• ·         Svamidatta of Kottura (Ganjam district)
• ·         Damana of Erandapalla (Chicacole or west Godavari district)
• ·         Vishnugopa of Kanchi (Chingleput district)
• ·         Nilaraja of Avamukta (Godavari valley)
• ·         Hasti-varman of Vengi (Cellor in the Krishna-Godavari delta)
• ·         Ugresena of Palakka (Nellore district)
• ·         Kubera of Devarastra (Yellamanchiti in Visakhapatnam district), and
• ·         Dhananjaya of Kushthalpura (possibly in north Arcot district in Tamilnadu).

 

However, again there are differences among historians as to the specific identifications of these kings and their kingdoms. The Prayaga-prashasti says that Samudragupta showed favour to Dakshinapatha kings by first capturing them (grahana) and then releasing them (moksha). Aryavarta (north India). He not only defeated them but also annexed their territories which became integrated into the Gupta empire. The north Indian kings defeated by Samudragupta were: Rudradwa, Matila, Nagadatta, Chandravarma, Ganapatinaga, Nagasena, Archyuta, Nandi, Balavarmna and others. It is impossible to identify all of them, but it is certain that they were ruling in different parts of northern India. Some of them were obviously Naga rulers who had been powerful in several regions before the Guptas. Rulers like Chandravarma who ruled in present West Bengal represented new ruling families. The Prashasti further says that Samudragupta reduced all states in the forest regions to the position of servants. In another category are mentioned the frontier kingdoms like Samatata (in south-east Bengal), Kamarupa (Assam), Nepala (Nepal) and others and the republican states of the Malavas, Yaudheyas, Madrakas, Abhiras etc. They paid him tributes of all kinds, carried out his orders and paid him homage. Rulers of another category of states acknowledged his sovereignty in a different way. They pleased him by “Self-surrender, offering (their own) daughters in marriage, and a request of the administration of their own districts and provinces.” This means that they remained independent but their independence had to be approved by Samundragupta. In this category were included the foreign rulers of northwestern India like the later Kushanas and the Shaka chief and residents of different island countries including Simhala (Sri Lanka).

 

Many of the claims made by Harishena – the composer of Prayaga-prashasti – are highly exaggerated but many of the claims are also genuine. The military foundations of the Gupta empire were laid by Samundragupta; his successors built upon these foundations.

ECONOMY

Agricultural crops constituted the main resources which the society produced and that the major part of the revenue of the state also came from agriculture. This, of course, does not mean that agriculture was the only occupation of the people or that people lived only in villages. There were other occupations like commerce and production of crafts which had become specialised occupations and in which different social groups were engaged. This also means that, as in earlier periods, people lived in forests, in agrarian tracts, in towns and in cities, but certain changes had started taking place in the pattern of economic production and consequently, in relations between different social groups.

 

1) Agriculture

The concern of the society with agricultural production is clear from the way various aspects associated with agricultural operations are mentioned in the sources of the Gupta period. Various types of land are mentioned in the inscriptions: land under cultivation was usually called Kshetra. Lands not under cultivation were variously called as Khila, Aprahata etc., and inscriptions give the impression that uncultivated land was being regularly brought under cultivation. Classification of land according to soil, fertility and the use to which it was put was not unknown. Different land measures were known in different regions, although one cannot be certain what exact measure was denoted by a term. In some areas Nivartana was the term used for a measure of land whereas in the inscriptions of Bengal terms like Kulyavapa and Dronavapa are used. It is not possible to classify the regions precisely according to the crops grown, but all the major categories of crops – cereals like barley, wheat and paddy, different varieties of pulses, grams and vegetables as well as cash crops like cotton and sugarcane – were known long before the Gupta period and continued to be cultivated. Of course, you should not assume that crops like maize or vegetables like potatoes or tomatoes were known to the farmers of the Gupta period.

 

2) Crafts Production and Trade

Crafts production covered a very wide range of items. There were items of ordinary domestic use like earthen pots, items of furniture, baskets, metal tools for domestic use and so on; simultaneously a wide variety of luxury items including jewellery made of gold, silver and precious stones; objects made of ivory; fine clothes of cotton and silk and other costly items had to be made available to the affluent sections of people. Some of these items were made available through trade; others were manufactured locally. Descriptions of many luxury objects, of which no trace is generally found in archaeological excavations, may be found in the literary texts or inscriptions of the period. These sources also give us interesting hints regarding the status of different categories of craftsmen. For example, different varieties of silk cloth, called Kshauma and Pattavastra are mentioned in the texts of this period. An inscription of 5th century from Mandasor in western Malwa refers to a guild of silk-weavers who had migrated from south Gujarat and had settled in the Malwa region. Texts like Amarakosha and Brihat Samhita, which are dated to this period, list many items, give their Sanskrit names and also mention different categories of craftsmen who manufactured them.

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