THE CLASSICAL AGE

The Gupta Dynasty

The Gupta dynasty is believed to have started as a wealthy family from either Magadha or Prayaga (now eastern Uttar Pradesh). During the late third century, this family rose in prominence until it was able to claim the local ruler ship of Magadha. The Gupta Empire during the rule of Srigupta (circa 240 to 280 AD) and his son Ghatotkacha comprised only Magadha and probably a part of Bengal too. It is the third Gupta king, Chandra Gupta I, who is given credit for founding of the dynasty in 319 AD, which also starts the Gupta Era (319 AD).
Samudragupta (335 - 375 AD), Chandragupta I’s son who ascended the throne next, was a military genius and he continued the growth of the kingdom. He was an able Administrator, a very successful General, a philanthropist, poet, musician and a benevolent King. The large number of gold coins circulated by him showcases his multifaceted talent. An inscription, probably commissioned by subsequent Gupta kings, known as Prayag Prashasti (Allahabad Pillar) is most eloquent about his humane qualities. Prayag Prashasti, composed by Harishena, gives a detailed account of Samudragupta's military conquests, where he won over hundred battles, especially his victory march to Southern India.
Chandragupta II (380 - 414 AD) took care to strengthen the navy. The seaports of Tamralipta and Sopara consequently became busy hubs of maritime trade. He was a great patron of art and culture too. Some of the greatest scholars of the day including the Navaratna, i.e. nine gems (not to be confused with Navratna of Akbar) graced his court. Numerous charitable institutions, orphanages and hospitals benefitted from his generosity. Rest houses for travellers were set up by the road side. The Gupta Empire reached its pinnacle during this time and unprecedented progress marked all areas of life.
Kumaragupta (415-455 AD) succeeded his father Chandragupta II, and expanded the empire in western India. Although prosperous, his rule was marked by the Hun (Indo-Hephthalites) attacks. Although open to debate, he is identified as the Gupta Emperor who established a Buddhist Mahavihara at Nalanda (Huen Tsang mentions the name Shakraditya)
His son Skandagupta (455-467 AD) was perhaps the last powerful Gupta monarch. During his time Huna (Indo-Hephthalite) invasion from northwest became the regular feature. Although he successfully repulsed them, however, these recurring wars adversely affected the economy, and the gold coinage of Skandagupta bears testimony to that. In comparison to the gold coins of the earlier rulers the types of gold coins minted by Skandagupta were limited. More importantly, his coins were also debased (had less gold in them than earlier coins).

Decline of Gupta Empire

Empire slipped into decline after the death of Skandagupta. He was followed by a long and uncertain list of rulers. At the end of 5th century AD, the Alchon Huns under Toramana and Mihirakula overran much of the Gupta Empire in northwest. Although Huns were defeated by mid-6th century AD, Gupta Empire remained a shadow of its own past.
A number of smaller Indian kingdoms like Aulikara dynasty (malwa), Maukhari dynasty (kannauj), Pushyabhuti dynasty (Haryana) emerged from the ruins of Gupta Empire. The Huna invasions stopped the trade surplus coming to India due to disruption of Uttarapatha trade route connecting India with Europe and Central Asia. Due to trade disruptions and political fragmentation, Urban centres started declining after a millennium of growth.
A recent study by archaeologist Shanker Sharma found that one of the causes of decline was a devastating flood in mid-6th century in the region of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Administration

During Guptas, there was a considerable change in the character of monarchy. King was expected to follow a righteous path, and had certain duties along with protecting his kingdom and his people, therefore was called Chakravarti Samrat. Gupta Emperors adopted high sounding titles like Paramabhattaraka, Parama-devata, Chakravarti, Paramesvara etc. For example, the Allahabad Prashasti of Samudragupta describes him as "equal to the gods like Kubera, Varuna, Indra and Antaka etc.
Inspite of divinity, the King was also expected to follow the path prescribed to him and to support the Brahmanas, Sramanas and all others who needed his protection. He was also supposed to venerate the learned and religious people and give them every possibIe help.
An important political development of this period was the continuity of Samanta system, ie. various kings in their regions once they had accepted the suzerainty of the Gupta King. And the Gupta King would not interfere with the administration of such regions, therefore, the infeudation of the King’s territories, which began during Kushana rule was strengthened and began major feature of the Indian Polity (feudalism from above).
The minister's office by now became mostly hereditary, eg- the Udayagiri inscription of the time of Chandragupta-II informs that Virasena Saba, the minister for war and peace, was holding this office by inheritance.
Though the supreme judicial powers were vested in the King, he was assisted by the Mahadandanayaka (Chief Justice).
The land grant inscriptions often mention Dutaka who were associated with the task of implementing gifts when gifts of land were made to brahmans and others.
The whole empire was divided into Desas or Rashtras or Bhuktis. The Bhuktis were governed by Uparikas directly appointed by the King. The Province or Bhukti was again divided into Vishayas (districts) under an official called Ayuktaka or Vishyapati. The lowest unit of administration was the village. In villages where there was a headman called Gramapati or Gramadhayaksha.
The Gupta inscriptions from Bengal show that there were other units higher than the village. In some cases, we find references to Ashta-kuladhi-karana. Different categories of villages sent representatives like Gramikas, Kutumbis and Mahattaras to these offices which on various occasions functioned above the level of the village.
The Guptas must have had a big Military organisation. At the time of war, the King led his army but ordinarily there was a minister called Sandhi-Vigrahika (Minister in charge of peace and war) who was helped by a group of high officials. Officials like Pilupati (head of elephants), Asvapati (head of horses), and Narapati (head of foot soldiers) possibly worked under him. The army was paid in cash, however, the higher officers in many instances were paid via land grants. From the Kushans, the Gupta kings learned the benefit of maintaining a cavalry which became important part of warfare replacing chariots.

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. Land revenue was the main source of the state's income besides the fines. Land under cultivation was usually called Kshetra. Lands not under cultivation were variously called as Khila, Aprahata, etc., and the uncultivated land was being regularly brought under cultivation. The role of the state was only marginal in providing irrigation facilities to farmers. The farmers depended mainly on rainfall.
In some areas Nivartana was the term used for a measure of land whereas in the inscriptions of Bengal use terms like Kulyavapa and Dronavapa are used to measure the land.
Both Kalidasa and the author of the Narada-Smriti state that one-sixth of the produce should be claimed as the revenue.
Besides this there was the Uparikara (levied on cloth, oil, etc. when taken from one city to another), Shulka (commercial tax- non-payment of which resulted in cancellation of the right to trade)
The King had a right to Bali (tribute), Visthi (forced labour), a kind of tax, where non tax payers were obliged to provide to the king or landlord by their unpaid labour.
Crafts production covered a very wide range of items. There were items of ordinary domestic use like earthen pots, items of furniture, baskets, and metal tools for domestic use and so on.
A mechanism possibly known before the Gupta period, was to tie a number of pots to a chain. The chain with the pots reached down to the water of the hull, and by making the chain and the pots rotate, it was ensured that the pots would continuously fill with water and empty it. This mechanism was known as Ghati-yantra as ghati was the name used for a pot. Later with some changes this mechanism was evolved as Araghatta (Persian Wheel).

Trade

The movement of items for trade continued as in the earlier periods and the commercial activities of preceding centuries continued in the Gupta period. India continued the extensive trade links with Central, West and Southeast Asia and with the Roman world in the preceding period, and trade routes connecting different regions within the country had been developing over centuries, especially in the early part of Gupta Empire.
Main exports were- luxury products such as silk, leather goods, fur, iron products, ivory, pearl, and pepper from centres such as Nasik, Paithan, Pataliputra, and Benares.
The system of Shreni continued, and the State was expected to provide the guilds protection and to respect their customs and norms. The Dharmasastras now suggests that each group of Shreni formed a jati or caste.
In some regions of the Gupta Empire, the merchants held a high position in society. For example, two types of representatives of merchants, the Nagarasresthi and the Sarthavaha were associated with the administration of the district headquarters in north Bengal.
Crafts production and commercial activities started declining in the mid Gupta period and according to some historians, this resulted in the decline of towns and cities and in greater dependence of society on agricultural production. By the end of the Gupta Empire, the towns of the second urbanisation were in obvious decline.

Coinage

After Indo Greeks, portrait-coinage style was followed in India for several centuries. The coins of the Gupta Kings took the portrait style coinage to the new heights.
The coins of Gupta Emperors were chiefly in Gold. The number of coins were so great, that contemporary authors calls it ‘rain of gold’. No silver coin is issued by early Kings and it was Chandragupta II who issued first silver coin. Copper coins are issued only by Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumargupta.
The most common gold coins follow the tradition of Kushana gold coins where King is in standing pose holding Spear or in some cases bow or sword at the altar, wearing trouser in earlier coins and dhoti in later coins. Nearly all the coins carry Gupta insignia of Garuda headed standard, ie. Garuda-dhwaja. On the left side of the portrait,the name of King is written in vertical (Chinese style) and a brahmi inscription at the circular edge. The Gupta coins are identified to follow 16 other themes, apart from regular pose.
On the back side, in earlier times, Godess Adroksho is pictured in seated pose which was replaced by Godess Lakshmi in the later coins. In all the coins Godess appears, seating or standing. This style became characteristic feature of gold or silver coins in today’s times.
By the time of Samudragupta and Chandragupta II, the King is shown in various activities apart from the regular pose described above. In many coins, King and Queen appear together, whereas many other coins depict King in a pose not identified with his Imperial persona like Samudragupta playing Veena.
The coins are original in content and excellent in their appearance. The coins retains their purity and it was only after Kumargupta the purity falls and debasement begins.
The Kings during Gupta times were raised to divine status with titles like Parmeshvara and Devadhideva.
Their portrait in coins reflects their quest to stay at the top of system where intermediaries were emerging.
Since Gupta times, in many cases the salaries of the officers were given in land insteadmof cash. This was cause as well as effect of the scarcity of coins. The practise intensified during the later kingdoms with low resources.

Land Grants

The practice of gifting land to religious donees had become quite common by now.
Even otherwise, remuneration for serving rulers in different capacities was received in the form of land by officials of different categories.
All this was not absolutely new, but by now the number of ruling families had vastly increased and thus the number of persons who received land but did not cultivate themselves went on increasing.
The virtues of giving land were highly praised and those who took away gifted land were threatened with many evil consequences.
All this led to the appearance, in society, of a class of people who enjoyed superior rights over land and by virtue of these rights and by belonging to higher varnas had high economic and social status.
Land rights did not belong only to those who received land. The Gupta inscriptions refer to different types of village residents like Gramikas, Kutumbis and Mahattaras who must have been village landholders, and their participation in land transactions indicates that they too were important members of rural society.
It is believed by some historians that because of the practice of land grants, the peasants, Krishibala or Karshaka, as a whole were reduced to a very low position in society. This is not entirely true.
The appearance of small kingdoms of new rulers and their official and sections of people who did not take part in agriculture created great inequalities in society and imposed great burden on actual tillers of the soil. The number of taxes imposed by the state on the producers also increased in this period.

Society

By this time the King was expected to recognize and uphold the ideal social order of the four Varnas. The Brahmans came to exert considerable influence on the kings from the Gupta period and this is quite clear from the way they received land from the kings and other.
The kings, officials and others gave land not only to Individual brahmans but also some times incited big groups of brahmans to come and settle in remote areas as the number of brahman settlements called Brahmadeya and Agrahara etc started increasing.
Varna order was an ideal order, however, there were many groups in society whose Varna identity could never be determined. The real society was different from the ideal society and this was also recognized by the brahman writers.
The Dharmasastras also speak of apadharma or conduct to be followed during periods of distress. This means that the varnas take to professions and duties not assigned to them when they found it necessary to do so. In matters of profession also the Dharmasastras thus recognized that the real society was different from their ideal society.
The authors of the Brahmashastras of this time suggested that various jatis or groups originated through varnashankara or inter-marriages between various varnas. They therefore tried to determine the status of various castes or jatis in society by giving fictitious explanations of their origins.
Ideally, although there were four varnas, there were various groups who were kept out of this scheme. They were the antyaja or untouchables. They were considered impure, even their touch was considered impure and their physical presence in areas where higher varnas lived and moved was not allowed.
The position of woman of higher varnas was low. The brahmana texts set down norms which women were expected to follow. In many Brahman texts, women were even considered, for various reasons, to be of the same category as the Sudras.
The various foreign families of the pre-Gupta period were called vratya Kshatriaya (semi-kshatriya status) because they could not be considered to be of pure Kshatriaya origin. Similarly, fictitious origins were thought of for the tribal groups who came to he absorbed into the Brahmanic social order.

The Literature of Classical Age

Guptas were devout Vaishnava (Hindus who worship the Supreme Creator as Vishnu) themselves, yet that did not prevent them from being tolerant towards the believers of Buddhism and Jainism. Buddhist monasteries received liberal donations. As a pre-eminent site of education and cultural exchange Nalanda prospered during this time. Jainism flourished in northern Bengal, Gorakhpur, Udayagiri and Gujarat. Several Jain establishments existed across the empire and Jain councils were a regular occurrence.
Sanskrit once again attained the status of a lingua franca and managed to scale even greater heights than before.
Majority of Smriti literature in Sanskrit was written and crystallised in this period, especially Puranas and Up-Puranas.
Yajnavalkya smriti is the most famous dharmashastra work written in this period.
Kalidas in the court of Chandragupta Vikramaditya created the following work in Sanskrit.

Plays

1. Malvikagnimitram (Malvika and Agnimitra)
2. AbhijananShakuntalam (identification of Shakuntala)
3. Vikramorvasiyam (Urvashi Won by Valour)

Poems

1. Raghuvamsa (Dynasty of Raghu)
2. Kumarasambhava
3. Ṛitusamhara
4. Meghadoot (The Cloud Messenger)

Bhart’hari (ruler of Ujjain, before renouncing the world and abdicating in the favour of his younger brother Vikramaditya)

1. Shringar shatak
2. Neeti shatak
3. Vairagya shatak

Harishena, a renowned poet, panegyrist and flutist, composed Allahabad Prasasti.
Sudraka wrote Mricchakatika.
Vishakhadatta created Mudrarakshasa.
Vararuchi and Ishwar Krishna contributed to both Sanskrit and Prakrit linguistics, philosophy and science.

Mathematics

1. Aryabhata (476-550 AD)- wrote extensively on several aspects of geometry, algebra, number system, trigonometry and cosmology.

a. Surya Siddhanta
b. Aryabhatiya- on mathematics and astronomy

2. Varahamihira (505-587 AD)

a). Pancha’Siddhantika- encyclopaedia about older Indian texts which are now lost.

i. Surya Siddhanta
ii. Romaka Siddhanta
iii. Paulisa Siddhanta
iv. Vasishtha Siddhanta
v. Paitamaha Siddhanta.

b). Brihat’Samhita- covers a wide range of subjects other than divination. It covers wide-ranging subjects of human interest, including astronomy, planetary movements, eclipses, rainfall, clouds, architecture, growth of crops, manufacture of perfume, matrimony, domestic relations, gems, pearls, and rituals.

3. Brahmagupta (598-670 AD)

a). Brahma’sphuta’siddhanta- work describing important aspects of mathemetics like zero, negative and positive numbers, square roots, linear and quadratic equations etc.
b). Khanda’khadyaka- manual of Indian astronomy
After Arab conquest of Sind, Caliph of Baghdad received astrologer Kanaka, who introduced works of Brahmagupta to Arab world. Muhammad al Fazari, translated works of Brahmagupta under the titles Sindhind and Arakhand. Arab mathematician Al Khwarizm (9th century AD) wrote his own version of Sindhind, which took the decimal number system and zero to Europe in 13th century.

Yashomitra Manuscript or Bower Manuscript- A collection of seven Sanskrit treatises, written in early Gupta script (variant of Brahmi), dated to 5th century. It includes, Navanitaka and Bheda Samhita, the famous works on Ayurveda. The manuscript is named after a British officer Hamilton Bower, who bought the birch barks in 1890 from Tibbet.
Shanku devoted himself to creating texts about Geography.
Metallurgy was very developed science during this period. The Mehrauli iron pillar built during Chandragupta Vikramaditya is one such specimen of this science.
This intellectual surge was not confined to the courts or among the royalty. People were encouraged to learn the nuances of Sanskrit literature, oratory, intellectual debate, music and painting. Several educational institutions were set up and the existing ones received continuous support.

The account of Fa-Hien (Faxian)

Fa-Hien, a Chinese pilgrim, visited India during the reign of Chandra Gupta II. His primary aim was to visit the Buddhist religious places and to take with him the copies of the Buddhist religious texts. He, therefore, travelled through the Gupta Empire and also wrote down his impressions about India. As his main interest was religion, we know nothing about the political condition of India from his account. However, his account helps us to know something about the social and religious condition of that period.
Fa-Hien started his voyage to India in 399 AD and reached India, via Central Asia, in 400 AD and spent 11 years in India. He went to Ceylon from the sea-port of Tamralipti and remained there for the next two years and then reached back China in 414 AD.

Society- The people were prosperous and content with their lives. Public morality was high.

Mostly the people were vegetarians and avoided onions, garlic, meat, wine and other intoxicants.
Only Chandalas (Untouchables), who lived outside cities, engaged in hunting and fishing and were meat eaters.
The rich people vied with each other in practice of benevolence and righteousness. They established houses for dispensing charity and medicine and gave large donations to temples, monasteries, Sanghas etc. suggesting that the people were prosperous, happy, liberal and simple in morals.
Charitable institutions were numerous and rest houses for travellers were provided on the highway.

Religion- Buddhism and Hinduism were the most popular religions at that time.

Buddhism was more popular in Punjab, Bengal and the region around Mathura. In Mathura, there were many Buddhist monasteries and even government servants respected Buddhist monks.
The Hindu religion was more popular in the ‘middle kingdom’ (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and a part of Bengal) which formed the heart of Chandra Gupta II’s dominions.
The Emperor himself worshipped Vishnu but he was tolerant to other faiths.
Buddhism and Hinduism flourished side by side which suggests that the people observed tolerance in religious matters.
Beginning of the decline of Buddhism- Fa-hien described that places like Bodh-Gaya, Kapilvastu, Sravasti, Kusinagar etc. which were the religious places of Buddhism no longer existed as cities.
This suggests that Buddhism was no more popular in the ‘Middle Kingdom”.

Polity- He did not mention even the name of Chandra Gupta II in whose dominion he must have lived for more than five years.

We can deduce that the administration of the Guptas was liberal, the people enjoyed economic prosperity and the burden of taxes on them was not heavy.
People rarely felt the necessity to approach the judiciary.
Mostly, corporal punishment was avoided and usually fines were exacted from the offenders according to the nature of their offence.
Those who attempted repeated offences against the state were punished severely and, in that case, their right hands were cut off.
It suggests that the offences were few and minor and capital punishment was absent.
The primary source of income of the state was land-revenue.
The people were free to move from one land to another.
The government servants were paid in cash and they were barred from taking presents or bribery from the people.
Monasteries, Sanghas, temples and their property and other religious endowments were free from government taxes.
The public highways were secure and free from the menace of thieves and dacoits.
Fa-Hien did not suffer any trouble during his journey from one place to another in India. The kings and the rich people had built rest-houses (Dharamshalas) where every convenience was provided to the travellers. They had also built hospitals for the poor where free medicine was distributed to them.
The account suggests that the administration of the Guptas was benevolent and successful. Rulers maintained peace and security within the empire and looked after the welfare of their subjects.

Pataliputra- Fa-Hien lived in Pataliputra for nearly three years and studied the Sanskrit language.

He described that there were separate Sanghas both of the Hinayana and Mahayana sects, which provided education to students gathered from all parts of India.
The Palace of Emperor Asoka also existed at that time, about which Fa-hien remarked that “it might have been built not by men but by gods”.
Fa-Hien was also very much impressed by chariot-processions here. He mentioned that on the eighth day of the second month of every year, a huge procession earning images of the Buddha and Bodhisattavas was arranged by the people.
The rich people of Pataliputra had established a big hospital in the city where free medicines and food were distributed to the poor people.

Trade- Fi-Hien described internal and foreign trade of India as well as its ports.

Both internal and external trade of India was in a progressive stage and the Indians carried on sea voyages.
He described India’s trade relations with China, countries of south-east Asia and western Asia as well as with Europe.
On its western sea-coast, India had ports like Cambay, Sopara and Baroach while on its eastern coast Tamralipti was a famous port from where Fa-Hien went to Sri Lanka on an Indian ship.

Architecture

The Gupta Age, being an age of intense religion interests, saw the construction of large number of temples and religious architectures. Unfortunately, most examples of the Gupta architecture have been lost in time.
The Gupta monuments were built under the Puranic religious concepts. They represented both balance and beauty. Built both in stone and brick, they maintained external decorations of a higher order. They were built in great many numbers, but have been swept away by the tides of time.
The finest examples of painting, sculpture and architecture of the period can be found in Ajanta, Ellora, Sarnath, Mathura, Anuradhapura and Sigiriya.
Stone studded golden stairways, iron pillars (The iron pillar of Dhar is twice the size of Delhi’s Iron Pillar), intricately designed gold coins, jewellery and metal sculptures speak volumes about the skills of the metal smiths.
Practicing vocal music, dance and seven types of musical instruments including veena (an Indian musical stringed instrument), flute and mridangam (drum) were a norm rather than exception. These were regularly performed in temples as a token of devotion.

Temple Architecture

Besides the structures in stones, the Gupta temple-architecture was also erected in brick. Among the brick temples, the most famous one is the temple at Bhitargaon in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. It represents the new winds of change and the prelude to the architectural renaissance in Temple formation for next few centuries.
Initially, temples were made as small shrines with possibly only the central sanctum sanctorum or the main cell enshrining the principal deity. Over time, they evolved into bigger temple complexes, with more sculptures and niches enshrining deities.
The Gupta Empire was responsible, apart from the continuing tradition of Buddhism, for the initial development of Hinduism. The architecture of Hinduism demanded a different approach to its form than earlier Buddhist architecture.
For following reasons, the earlier tradition of excavating cave temples and monolithic shrines evolved into the construction of brick and stone temples.
The temple or place of worship was said to be in direct communion with the gods, and so an open place away from the ascetic life was needed.
The early temples, though being simple in their interior plan, to have a form that reflected both, openness to the air as well as being open to the four cardinal directions.
There was also requirement for height, with the main objective being to provide to the worshiper a sense of power as well as ‘closeness’ to the heavens.
While the architects and sculptors could create a cave temple only where boulders or hills were available, a structural stone temple could be created at any chosen site by baking bricks or quarrying and transporting stones.
There was more scope for architectural and sculptural innovation and experimentation while constructing a temple.

Major temples during the time are

Bhitargaon in Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh (first brick temple of India) - Constructed on a high pedestal of steps, it deteriorated through age and exposure to the elements.

a). With four entrances or possible doorways, and a space to perambulate around the structure, the temple is among the earlier examples to contain within itself the feature of a pradakshina path, or circumferential passage, which embodies the symbolism and the ritualism of making one’s way across the cosmos.
b). There is also evidence of a rudimentary shikhara, or spire, constructed of stone laid on top of one another.
c). A possibly new innovation in this temple is found at its entrance, with a vaulted arch being constructed out of brick to mark the entry.
d). Structurally speaking, the Vishnu temple is rudimentary, but it does contain within its form powerful early Hindu symbolism.

Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh.
Vishnu Temple of Tigawa in Jabalpur district
Siva Temple of Bhumra in Madhya Pradesh,
Parvati Temple in the former Ajaigarh state, and the
Buddhist shrines of Bodh Gaya and Sanchi.

The temple architecture during Guptas marks the break between the dominance of Buddhism in north India and the emergence of a full-fledged Hindu culture in the subcontinent.
Gupta Sculpture- Sarnath School of Sculpture developed during Gupta Age was further development of Mathura School and was based on Shilpshastric-Normative traditions.

Caves

Perhaps the most durable contribution in terms of art and architecture during the Gupta period is the series of monasteries and caves at Ajanta and Ellora.

Paintings

The fresco-paintings on the walls and ceilings of the Ajanta caves are the brightest examples of that refined art. Of the 29 Caves, the paintings of 16 Caves continued to exist till last century. The earliest caves date from the 1 st century BC, with a second phase beginning in the 5th century AD, which is when the art of painting during the Gupta era really comes into its own. The painters of Ajanta were at work from much earlier times, perhaps from 1st century A.D. or even earlier. But it was during the Gupta period that most of the paintings were worked out. More than that, the art came to its perfection during that time. The paintings in Ellora and Bagh Caves were also of high standard. Good portions of those works have not survived.

The cave paintings depict tales from the Jatakas in a range of styles and forms, though as time goes by an increasing lack of quality is shown ranging from inferior materials to dull, lifeless forms.
The use bright colours dominate the paintings.
They adopted spiritual themes as well as secular as the subject matter of drawing. The scenes of their painting look natural, and the figures most life-like.
They painted the figures of Buddha, depicted his previous births, and showed the various incidents of his life as taken from the Jataka stories.
The Ajanta style of art aimed at covering most subjects of religious, spiritual and social values.
They also worked out other themes to represent the realities of life and existence, like interesting palace scenes,scenes of gandharvas and apsaras, and scenes of social life.
The gods and sages, kings and queens, men, women and children, birds and beasts, trees and flowers, palaces and houses, and the scenes of varying subjects, all painted in appropriate colour, carried their deeper meaning for men’s thought and imagination.
Painting fails to resist the weathering of nature and have certainly lost their original charm.
The Indian art influenced the art outside. The Indian fresco paintings were imitated in Central Asia and its influence entered deep into Buddhist China.
The Classical Art of Gupta Age was lated adopted all around the subcontinent. The regional variances gave rise to regional art and languages, forerunners of today’s regional variations across the nation.

Evaluation

All was not well with the Gupta economic prosperity. After the Huna Invasions, trading activity with north-west came to a stop. Also goods from the Gangetic region could not be easily carried to the Western coast. This was one of the causes of the shift of trade towards South-East Asia.
The administration of the Guptas was not as successful as that of the Mauryans. Autonomy granted to provinces, districts and villages. The local officials formed into cligues and very often offices became hereditary. Corruption was known. Officials were expected to be treated with rice, curd and flowers - the last time perhaps, had its own implications.
Although Sanskrit drama attained great heights, some of the writings of the day show that they were only for a select few of society. Good number of legal codes were prepared like that of Yajnavalka, Narada, Barihaspati and Katyayand. The social system became very rigid.
In matters of religion, new features started appearing. New cults emerged worshipping female deities. This became the nucleus for a number of magical rites which later came to be known as Tantricism.
It was in the social field the institutionalization of difference between the castes had begun. In the dramatic writings of the day, the characters belonging to the upper state of society speak Sanskrit while those of the lower strata and women speak Prakrit. The status of women declined because of the practice of early marriages. And most of the legal codes of the day reiterate the Brahmin view-point in all matters including the status of women. The lot of Shudras which was downgraded in the Mauryan period was legalized. And the institution of untouchability was fully established.

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Wednesday, 26 January 2022

The Classical Age