THE GUPTAS

Gupta dynasty, rulers of the Magadha (now Bihar) state in north-eastern India. They
maintained an empire over northern and parts of central and western India from the early
4th to the late 6th century CE.

Historians once regarded the Gupta period as the classical age of India—during which the
norms of Indian literature, art, architecture, and philosophy were established—but many of
those assumptions have been challenged by more extensive studies of Indian society
and culture between the Mauryan and Gupta periods. Among the products traditionally
thought to be from the Gupta era were the decimal system of notation, the great Sanskrit
epics, and Hindu art, along with contributions to the sciences of astronomy, mathematics,
and metallurgy.

The first ruler of the empire was Chandra Gupta I, who united the Guptas with
the Licchavis by marriage. His son, Samudra Gupta, expanded the empire through conquest.
It would seem that his campaigns extended Gupta power in northern and eastern India and
virtually eliminated the oligarchies and the minor kings of central India and the Ganges
valley, regions which then came under the direct administrative control of the Guptas. The
empire’s third ruler, Chandra Gupta II (or Vikramaditya, “Sun of Valour”), was celebrated for
extending the empire to Ujjain, but his reign became more associated with cultural
and intellectual achievements than with military conquest. His successors—Kumara
Gupta, Skanda Gupta, and others—saw the gradual demise of the empire with the invasion
of the Hunas . By the mid-6th century, when the dynasty apparently came to an end, the
kingdom had dwindled to a small size.

Gupta Polity: Administratively, the Gupta kingdom was divided into provinces, and these in
turn were divided into smaller units called pradeshas or vishayas. The provinces were
governed by high imperial officers or members of the royal family. A decentralized system of
authority is indicated by the composition of Gupta-era municipal boards.

the Gupta kings did not interfere in the administration of those regions where the kings had
accepted their suzerainty. However, this does not mean that the Guptas were ruling only
through their feudatories. They had an elaborate administrative system which was in
operation in areas which were directly controlled by them.
King: The King remained the central figure of administration. However, there was a
considerable change in the character of monarchy. We find that the Gupta monarchs
adopted high sounding titles like: Paramabhattaraka, Parama-daivata, Chakravarti,
Paramesvara, etc. For example, the Allahabad Prasasti of Samudragupta describes him as
"equal to the gods: Dhanada (Kubera), Varuna (Sea-God), Indra and Antaka (Vama), who had
no antagonist of equal power in the world ...." Like the King who has been given a divine
status in the Smriti scriptures, the Gupta monarchs too came to be considered a divinity on
earth. However, in the spirit of Smriti literature and that of Kalidasa we find Skandagupta in
his Bhitari Pillar inscription eulogized as a person who "subdued the earth and became
merciful to the conquered people, but he became neither proud nor arrogant though his
glory was increasing day by day." His father, Kumaragupta, "followed the true path of
religion".
Such references to the monarchy indicate that in spite of the supreme powers that vested in
the King he was expected to follow a righteous path, and had certain duties: It was the
King's duty to decide the policy of the state during war and peace. For instance,
Samudragupta was prudent enough to reinstate the monarchs of dukshinupurhu in their
original kingdoms.
It was considered a prime duty of the monarch to protect his countrymen from any invasion.
The King was to lead the army in case of war. This is demonstrated through the campaigns
of Samudragupta and Chandragupta-II.
The King was also expected 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 possible help. As the supreme judge he looked after administration of justice
according to religious percepts and existing customs. It was the duty of the King to appoint
his central and provincial officers. The Prayagaprasasti as well as the Apratigha type coins of
Kumaragupta-I point to the appointment of successor to the throne by the reigning King. An
important political development of this period was the continuity of 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.
Council of Ministers and Other Officials: The Gupta inscriptions are not very clear about the
hierarchy of ministers. However, there is no doubt that the King used to take counsel of his
ministers and gave instructions to officials on all important matters. The minister's office
was perhaps hereditary. For example, the Udayagiri inscription of the time of Chandragupta-
II informs us 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 Mahanandanayaka (Chief Justice). In the provinces this work was entrusted to the
Uparikas and in districts to the Vishayapatis. In villages, the headman and the viIlage elders
used to decide the petty cases.
The Chinese traveller Fa-Hien states that capital punishment was not given at all. There
were some other high officials. For example, the Maha pratihara was the chief of the palace
guards, the Pratihara regulated ceremonies and granted the necessary permits for
admission to the royal presence. There existed an espionage system as in the earlier period.
The land grant inscriptions often mention Dutakas who were associated with the task of
implementing gifts when gifts of land were made to brahmanas and others.
Army: The Guptas must have had a big army 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. The official title
Mahabaladhikrita occurs in many inscriptions. Officials like Pilupati (head of elephants),
Asvapati (head of horses), Narapati (head of foot soldiers) possibly worked under him. The
army was paid in cash and its needs were well looked after by an officer-in-charge of stores
called Rana bhandagarika. Amongst other duties this officer was to look after the supply of
offensive and defensive weapons such as battle-axes, bows and arrows, spear pikes, swords,
lances, javelins, etc.
Revenue Administration: Land revenue was the main source of the state's income besides
the fines. In Samudragupta's time we hear of an officer Gopasramin working as
Akshapataladhikrita. His duty was to enter numerous matters in the account’s registers,
recover royal dues from the sureties of servants, to check embezzlement and recover fines
for loss due to neglect or fraud. Another prominent high official was Pustapala (record-
keeper). It was his duty to make enquiries before recording any transaction. The Gupta kings
maintained a regular department for the proper survey and measurement of land as well as
for the collection of land revenue. Kamandaka in the Nitisara suggests that a King should
take special care of his treasury, for the life of the state depends solely on it.
Both Kalidasa and the author of the Narada-Smriti state that one-sixth of the produce
should be claimed as the royal revenue. Besides this there was the Uparikara which was
levied on cloth, oil, etc. when taken from one city to another. The organization of traders
had to pay a certain commercial tax (Sulka), the non-payment of which resulted in
cancellation of the right to trade and a fine amounting to eight times of the original Sulka.
The King had a right to forced labour (Visthi), Bali and many other types of contributions.
The King's income from royal lands and forests was considered as his personal income.
Besides this, the King's treasury had a right to treasure troves (treasures in the forms of
coin-hoards, jewels or other valuable objects, discovered from below the earth
accidentally), digging of mines and manufacture of salt.
Provinces, Districts and Villages: The whole empire was divided into Desas, or Rashtras, or
Bhuktis. The inscriptions provide us with the names of certain Bhuktis. In Bengal we hear of
Pundravardhara Bhukti which corresponded to north Bengal. Tira-bhukti corresponded to
north Bihar. The Bhuktis were governed by Uparikas directly appointed by the King.
In areas like western Malwa we find local rulers like Bandhuvarman ruling as subordinate to
Kumaragupta-I but Parnadana was appointed a governor in Saurashtra by Skandagupta. The
Province or Bhukti was again divided into districts or Vishayas under an official called
Ayuktaka and in other cases a Vistiyapati. His appointment was made by the provincial
governor.
Gupta inscriptions from Bengal show that the office (Adhikarana) of the district head
associated with itself representation from major local communities: the Nagarasresthi (head
of city merchants). Sarthavaha (Caravan-leader). Prathama-Kulika (head of the artisan
community and Prathama Kayastha (head of the Kayastha community). Besides them, were
the Pustapalas-officials whose work was to manage and keep records. The lowest unit of
administration was the villages. In villages where there was a headman called Gramapati or
Grmadhayaksha.
However, the Gupta inscriptions from north Bengal show that there were other units higher
than the village. In some cases, we find references to Astakuladhikarana. Different
categories of villages mentioned as Gramikas, Kutumbis and Mahattaras sent
representatives to these offices which on various occasions functioned above the level of
the village. Besides agriculturists, there were certain other groups in the villages who
followed such professions as carpentry, spinning and weaving, pot-making, oil extraction,
gold smithery, and husbandry. All these groups must have constituted local institutions or
bodies which looked after the affairs of the village. The village disputes were also settled by
these (bodies) with the help of Grama-vriddhas or village elders.