The Gupta age
An age of great achievement in science, mathematics, literature and art, when Aryabhata, Kalidasa and Nalanda flourished.
How it was ruled
Chandragupta I, Samudragupta and Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) built an empire across north India. Local governors, village headmen and merchant guilds had wide powers.
How people lived
Temples in stone began to be built; the Puranas took their present form; the Chinese pilgrim Faxian (c. 405–411 CE) described a peaceful, prosperous land.
What people did
Farming, textiles, metalwork (the rust-free Iron Pillar now at the Qutb complex is from this age), and scholarship.
What people ate
Rice, wheat, pulses, milk products and sweets; Faxian noted that many people did not eat meat.
Trade
Gold coins (dinaras) of high purity; trade with South-East Asia and the Byzantine world.
Region by region
- Bihar: Pataliputra was the capital; Nalanda was founded under Kumaragupta I.
- Uttar Pradesh: Samudragupta's inscription on the Allahabad pillar; the Dashavatara temple at Deogarh.
- Madhya Pradesh: The Udayagiri caves near Vidisha, with the great Varaha (boar) panel.
- Delhi: The Iron Pillar of the Gupta age stands at the Qutb complex.
Key events
- c. 320 CE: Chandragupta I founds the Gupta dynasty
- 499 CE: Aryabhata completes the Aryabhatiya
- c. 455–467 CE: Skandagupta pushes back the Huna invasion
Legacy
The decimal system with zero, Kalidasa's plays and poems, and the classical style of Indian sculpture.