Complete Ancient History | Lecture 13: Gupta Empire: Polity, Administration and Society | UPSC | StudyIQ

Now ready for affordability My name is Adesh Singh. Friends, today we will talk about the 200 years of Indian history. In which a North Indian Empire left its mark on administration, economy, social religion life, art, literature, science, and medicine, and took it to its peak. Jia, today we will talk about Gupta Empire, also known as the Golden Age of India. In this video, we will learn about the political history, administration, and social life of the Guptas. We have information about the glory of Gupta times from several sources. These include literary sources, epigraphical sources, such as inscriptions, and numismatic sources, such as coins. We learn from the Royal Genealogy of Gopatj from the old texts. There is a detailed discussion on the rise of Gopatj in the works Devi Chandragupta and Mudra Rakshasa, written by Vishakhadatta. In addition to this, the Maharauli Iron Pillar inscriptions. According to these sources, after the decline of the Maurya Empire, the entire India once again split into smaller kingdoms. While the Sungas, Kanvas, Satavahanas, and Chedis were the native successors of the Mauryas, the Indo-Greeks, Sakas, Parthians, Kushanas, and others were the foreign successors of the Mauryan Empire. It is during the reign of this Sāsānids that Gupta rises, and some historians refer to Sri Gupta as the founder of the Gupta Dynasty, but the real founder of the Gupta era is considered to be Chandragupta I. Let's find out about Chandru Gupta's forest. Chandragupta II Rain from 319 to 334 AD Chandru Gupta's Forest Initiative for the first time Maharaja Adhiraja Title They use the title The Great King of Kings These titles reflect their Extensive Conquests To expand his empire, Chandragupta Maurya launched Married to Princess Kumaradevi This enhances the Gupta family's power and prestige. Chandru Gupta Forest Ganges Plains, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and parts of Bengal. Establish the Dariq Control None of North's rulers can stand before them. For this reason, Chandru Gupta is also referred to as the real founder of Gupta Era. After Gupta's reign, It began around 319-320 A.D. Chandru Gupta after the forest Chandragupta after the 335-380 AD Chandru Gupta's chariot of victory, which was driven by his father, is surrounded on all sides. They increase in North, South, East, and West The Ghat Poet's Prayaga Prashasti or the Allahabad Pillar Inscription Provides a detailed account of their military campaigns Their campaigns took place in three phases. For complete mastery on the first phase of the Viggen Jets The Naga rulers annex the territories of the Kachari and the Kotha rulers' Nagas. Is famous under the name Second Phase Dark Path or South Expedition In this phase, Samudra Gupta defeats the 12 rulers of the South, such as Hastivarma of Vengi, Ugrasena of Pallaka, Kubera of Devashrada, and others. But due to their distance from North India, after establishing their supremacy, they return all these rulers to their kingdoms. After accepting his supremacy in the South, Samudra Gupta turns his focus back to the North. In this third phase, they decide to take the entire North India under their control. For this, they defeat nine other kings such as Rudra Deva, Matila, and Nagadaha, and annex their kingdoms. In this way, they establish their dominance over Must Ava Ninth India, that is, Aree Worth. Their empire reached as far west as Kushan and as far south as Wakhan. Because of their Lart Scale conquest, Samudra Gupta is regarded as the greatest king of the Gupta Dynasty. Some historians consider Samudragupta to be Napoleon also grants the title of India. After Samudra Gupta Gupta was the next great king of Empyre. Chandragupta Maurya Drain 380-41480 The Book of Devi Chandragupta After the great ocean Gupta Ram Gupta sits on the donkey. But they were very timid kings. They are afraid of the Saqua invaders. To his wife Dhrupadi They had prepared to surrender In such conditions Ram Gupta's younger brother Chandragupta 2 Dhruva Devi To save honor Saka Invader and Ram Gupta Both are eliminated And as soon as he sat on the royal elephant, They also marry the goddess Durga. Go ahead, Sakaj. To Permanently Lose They are diplomats and matrimonial Alliance relies on both. First, they went to Central India. In addition, his daughter Prabhadhevi's The Prince of the Wedding Party They perform from Rudra Sena 2 This covers the entire Deccan and Central India. In their political power It increases a lot. After this strong alliance building He did it with full force Weston Saka attacks the Straps After the Battle of Bhisana Saka Straps lose the battle And the Malwa and Gujarat region It comes under their control. As a result After the thin son Ujjain becomes their second capital in Malwa. After this victory, they Saqri That is, they take the title "Destroyer of Sakas" At the same time, they themselves Also known as Vikramaditya Addressing Because of this significant conquest Spreads to the Arabian Sea Bharoch, Sopara, Cambay, such as The trade from C. Port to Yorob It comes under their district control. According to the Mehrauli Iron Pillar They have Wangaj and Wahilakaj, such as Had also defeated the Shurma Kingdoms They crossed the Indus River They completely defeat the Bactrians. And Kushanaj as well They pay the tax From these victories During the time of Chandragupta II In the West, Gujarat, Malwa East Bengal in the Eas And spread all the way to the Narmada River In addition, the following Must be the rulers to Like their father They accepted the in-laws immediately Their pirated copies are all But the rule was also for the Persians Chandragupta Vikramaditya Its empire was also very prosperous. After Chandragupta II Establishing Nalanda University Kumar Gupta's Kumar Gupta, REN for Fifty to Four Fifty Five AD Kumar Gupta focused more on consolidating the Gupta Empire than expanding it. They maintained general peace and prosperity during their time. They raised all the coins that meet at the corners of the empire. They also laid the foundation for Nalanda University, which later became the Institute of International Relations. But as their rain and attack approach, the danger of the North West, that is, the Khyber Pass, invasion begins to loom. Han was a very fierce central Asian steppe tribe that began invading India in search of resources. Amid this danger, Sakand Gupta sits on the donkey of Gupta Samraj. Kanad Gupta on the Ren River from 455 to 467 AD Sakand Gupta was the last great emperor of the Gupta Dynasty. Their rain was a powerful attack by Hans But they defeat Hans with the help of their large army. Gupta Empire began to weaken due to the continuous attacks by Likhan Hans. Trade routes are severely compromised The one that makes Gupta's economy tremble Thus, the decline of the Gupta Empire begins after the death of Chandragupta. After them, many Gupta successors came, including Puru Gupta, Buddhu Gupta, Narsinghma Gupta, and Kumar Gupta. But they could not contribute much. Because of weak rulers, small kings begin to declare independence. Between 500 AD and 530 AD, the Toramana and Mihirakula powerful rulers had reached as far as Central India and Malwa. But later, a great ruler named Yashodharna rises in Malwa. Those who uproot the hunts from Malwa The Gupta Empire comes to a complete end due to the Huna invasions and the rise of Yasodharman in Malwa in 540 AD. In this way, Gupta's political career comes to an end. Let's talk about the Gupta period's administration. Gupta administratio Their efficient administration played a very big role in the success of the Gupta Empire. Their administration was inspired by the Mauryan Empire, but was less centralized. The bureaucracy had taken on an elaborate form. And it began to promote hereditary land grants feudalism. To help the king in the administration There was a council of ministers, that is, a ministerial committee. Who was the head chief minister in this ministerial council The general, that is, the commander in chief of the army. Great Commander, that is the Minister of Justice Diplomatic negotiations, that is, foreign affairs or war and peace affairs. In addition to these The chief guardian of the royal palace The head of the police department The head of the Department of Religious Affairs Mahashvapati, meaning cavalry chief And the Mahapilupati, meaning the elephant army's chief, was the leader. Now let's also look at the provincial administration of Gupatj. Gupta King, Kumar Amitayaj and Ayupatayaj with the help of They used to maintain close contact with the provincial administration. Kumar Amatya was a special carder like today's IAS. Those who were elected as higher officials It served as a link between the carders, the king, and the provincial administration. Provinces in the Gupta Empire were called Bhukti. Those who governed the upper regions It was mostly chosen from the princes. The division of Bhukthi was into villages or districts. Who was presided over by the Commissioner or the Executive Head They saw the same city or municipal administration as the city elite. It was the smallest unit of village administration. The one whose leader was called Gramika The main source of land revenue income during the Gupta period was... In addition, whenever the army passed through a country side Then, the people who wore the garment had to take full care of their food and drink. They called this tax the Army Love Tax. And royal army officials referred to forced labor as the "Wisti" tax. But the king also took full care of the people's needs. According to the Junagadh inscription To address water scarcity in Saurashtra region Sakand Gupta repairs Sudharshan Lake Friends, I also want to tell you here. That this Sudharsan Lake is It was built on the order of Chandragupta Maurya during the Maurya period. After that, Emperor Maurya Ashoka, Saka ruler Rudradaman I, and Chandragupta periodically had it repaired. The Gupta period also granted extensive land grants under the names Agrahara and Devagrhara. These were granted to the Agrahara land grant Brahmins for their personal expenses. It was given for the maintenance of the same Devagrahara land grant temples, that is, religious places. In the accounts of the Chinese traveler Fahen, we learn many important things about the Gupta administration. According to them, during the Gupta period, the common people had considerable personal freedom. They could have come anywhere. The state did not interfere in the private life of the general public. Punishments were not very severe. Imposing a fine was a common punishment. The roads were safe and crimes were negligible. Fahen used to travel comfortably throughout the entire Ganges plains. The overall governance of the Maurya was more liberal. After the administration, now we know about the social life of the Gupta period. social life There were significant changes in social life during the Gupta period The caste system began to change And it began to become the caste system as a social and empirical reality. There were many reasons The rise of Brahmanism during the first Gupta period Most of the Gupta rulers were Vaishnavites. They gave respect to the brahmins as well as large land grants. This gave the brahmins the top position in society. The second pre-Gupta period, the Deras started to settle in India from foreign invaders. They began to gain legitimacy in Indian society through the blessings of the Brahmins. Brahmins began to grant some foreign settlers a place in the Kshatriya caste. The same was gradually granted a place in the Shudra caste for local tribes The third craftsman began to take the form of the guild's cast For example, the earthenware pots that were made are now from the Kumar caste. Those who made the dolls became known as the Nai. At the same time, the rise of untouchability is also observed. The smriti writer named Katyayana first used the term "untouchables" According to Chinese traveler Fahen, the Chandala caste was in a very bad condition. They were residentially segregated based on untouchability. According to Fahen, the condition of women had also become miserable. A ban was imposed on reading their religious scriptures. The Swayamvar tradition has ended. And according to Manusmriti, girls should have been married early. Their rights over property had ended. She remained merely a vessel of female wealth in the form of jewelry and clothes. Not only that Inscriptions of Aryan from 510 A.D. in present-day Madhya Pradesh We see an example of the practice of sati for the first time. In the field of religion, due to Gupta patronage Brahminism had begun to spread widely. There were two branches of Brahminism, Vaishnavism and Shaivism. Most Gupta rulers were Vaishnavites But they also respected other religions. Idol worship and temple building also began on a large scale at this time. According to Fei, due to the spread of Brahminism, Both the Buddhist and Buddhist sites in the Gangetic Valley. Start to go to Nigalchh. There has been a decline among the followers of Jainism. But Buddhist scholars like Vasubandhu Gupta Kings had the Patrini. The same West and South India Jainism It was bearing plenty of fruit. The Jain Council was also held in Valabhi at the same time. Friends, this was the political history of Gupta Age, I hope you enjoyed today's discovery. In the next part, we will discuss the economic life, art, literature, and scientific achievements of the Gupta Empire. And they will also know why the Gupta Empire is called the Golden Age.