Introduction

The Gupta age is called as the Golden Age or the Renaissance of Ancient Indian culture because literature, arts and sciences all underwent a revival of sorts. Barnett remarks, The Gupta period is in the annals of classical India almost what the Periclean Age in is in the history of Greece while V.A Smith compares it to the Elizabethan period of English history (Chaudhry, 1983). Both of these historians are not far off the mark. The advances made in art, architecture, the sciences and literature were never more creative in India than during this time. E.B Havell says that the Gupta civilization was a "revival of Aryan culture and of Aryan polity which, owing to the disturbed conditions of Hindustan and the corruption of Aryan ideals was becoming decadent and stood in need of revision. The profound peace which a firm central government established opened the highways of commerce, promoted a great activity in all the arts of peace, and brought about a general revival of Aryan learning philosophy, science, poetry and the drama all of which sectarians include under the vague designation of Hinduism. After many years of political unrest and foreign rule India finally united under Chandragupta, who was a prince in Pataliputra, he married Kumara Devi of the Licchhavi clan due to which he rose to prominence and started the Gupta dynasty in 319 A.D. Chandragupta and his successors established a strong and stable government and restored peace and order to the empire especially protecting it from foreign invasions. So the people could now live according to the old ways which were according to the Aryan philosophy. Chandragupta was succeeded by his son Samudragupta, who was a man of culture, patrons of arts and letters, and the symbol of a creative urge among the people which manifested itself in the revitalization of traditions and intellectual activity. The consolidation of the empire brought about an imperial peace which along with royal patronage led to increased cultural activity. Another cause was the contact of the empire with foreign rulers, different states such as the Daivaputras, Shahis, Shahanushahis, Sakas and others sent gifts to Samudragupta and offered their services. One such service was performed by king Meghavarna of Ceylon built a monastery at Buddha Gaya for Buddhist pilgrims. (Nathpal, 1921) This and other Buddhist sites led to many pilgrims coming to India bringing new ideas and techniques facilitating exchange of intellectual thoughts. Fa-Hien and Huien Tsang were the two Chinese pilgrims who came here during this time and left valuable accounts of this time period of Indian history. Besides the neighboring states contacts with South Asia, Indonesia, Persia, Greece and Rome also contributed to the influx of ideas. The distinctly Aryan nature of this revivalism is due to the fact that the religion of the Guptas was Hinduism and their family deity was Vishnu. Though it is evident that they practiced religious toleration the main part of state support went to Brahmans who gave attention to reforming the orthodox Brahmanical religion which gradually evolved into modern Hinduism (Banerjee, 1934). So in the following pages we look at the different elements of culture and the developments in them, first of all literature, then science and finally art and architecture of this age. We look at the people who were responsible and how they managed to revive this culture in a way as to make it the Golden Age of India.

This age is marked as a great intellectual upheaval in both literature and science. This was due to the development of education and universities such as Nalanda University in Bihar and Valabhi University. Education made great progress especially in Magadh and Malwa as the Gupta kings gave royal patronage to schools and universities as well as monastaries. The University of Nalanda was the most renowned University of that Time which was famous beyond the borders of India. I-tsing says that the University of Nalanda was supported out of the produce of 200 villages which were given as endowment to it by the people. There were 10,000 students reading in the University, which contained eight big halls, three hundred rooms and a large number of chapels. If ten thousand students could come to one University for the completion of their study there must have been a net-work of schools for elementary education (Nathpal, 1921).

Sciences
The sciences also made great advancements during the age of the Guptas because concentration of formal education was on grammar, rhetoric and composition, logic and metaphysics, medicine, mathematics, and astronomy. Therefore a number of scientists and astronomers made new discoveries in all fields. Astronomy was also very popular and contact with the Greek world introduced a variety of new systems, some of which were assimilated and others rejected. Astronomy and its unscientific but popular cousin, astrology, were based on an active study of mathematics. Since ancient time Indian astronomers and astrologers had used numbers to determine the movement of the stars and their effect on human life. One of the most famous astronomers was Aryabhatta whose works on astronomy in 499 A.D give calculations of the solar year and the shape and movement of astral bodies with an accuracy anticipating modern science. It was largely through his efforts that astronomy was recognized as a separate discipline from mathematics. He wrote two famous works, the Aryabhattiya and Surya Siddhanta. Aryabhattiya deals with arithmetic, algebra, trigonometry and geometry. Surya Siddhanta explains scientifically the causes of the solar and lunar eclipses. He was the first Indian astronomer to declare that the earth is spherical in shape and he proved that the earth revolves round the sun and rotates on its own axis. He calculated pi to 3.1416 and the length of the solar year to 365.3586805 days, both remarkably close to recent estimates. He believed that the earth was a sphere and rotated on its axis, and that the shadow of the earth falling on the moon caused the eclipses. His more revolutionary theories were opposed by later astronomers, who tended to compromise with the demands of tradition and religion and changed theories to suit them (http://indiansaga.com/history/golden_scientific.html). Varahamihira was another great scientist of the Gupta Age. He wrote the Brihat Samhita which deals with astronomy, mathematics, botany, and physical geography. According to him the study of astronomy is divided into three branches each of equal importance - astronomy and mathematics, horoscopy, astrology. The most interesting work of Varahamihira is the Panchasiddhantika (Five Schools of Astronomy), a concise account of the five currently used schools, of which two reflect a close knowledge of Greek astronomy.The works preserved in the Panchasiddhantika are Romaka Siddhanta, Paulisa Siddhanta, Vasistha Siddhanta, Paitimaha Siddhanta and Surya Siddhanta (Chaudhry, 1983). Brahmagupta was known for his contribution in the field of astronomy and mathematics. He carried on his research and investigations in the famous observatory in Ujjain. Other astronomers of that time were Lata, Simha, Pradyumna and Vijyanandin. Increased intercourse with the western world brought about a complete reformation of the Indian almanac and Indian astrology. Roman works on astronomy and astrology were very largely adopted by Indian writers on these subjects. While the works of earlier Greek and Roman astronomers were incorporated, the Julian reforms are not mentioned by Indian astronomers, proving thereby that this reconstitution of Indian astronomy took place before the decline and fall of the early Gupta Empire. (Banerjee, 1934) The numerals and decimal system routinely used in classical India were borrowed by the Arabs and so passed on to the European world, where they supplanted the Roman system. In medicine, Charaka and Sushruta wrote about a fully evolved medical system. Indian physicians excelled in pharmacopoeia, caesarean section, bone setting, and plastic surgery including skin grafting. Metallurgy was also refined during the Gupta age especially the coins which were polished and bore beautiful shapes. The gold and silver coins both give an impression of the development of currency system as well as the fineness of the coins and artistic representation of both religious and human figures on them. The Guptas also adopted the name Denarius from Latin numismatics and converted it into the Indian Dinara (Banerjee, 1934)

Literature
V.A Smith compares the Gupta period with the Elizabethan age of English history aptly remarks that the brilliance of Shakespeare alone outshone all the lesser authors of the time in England, similarly Kalidasa outshone all other lesser lights of contemporary India. Though exaggerated a bit as even if there had been no works of Kalidasa the variety and volume of literary and scientific work done by the scholar was extremely vast. The use of Pali and Prakrit had led to decline in the use of Sanskrit but with the Gupta period came a Sanskrit revivalism. The literature of this time came in the form of ancient literature being cultivated and new works being composed, poetry, drama, narrative histories, religious and meditative writing all were written along with formal essays on subjects ranging from grammar and mathematics to medicine and astronomy. Some of the jewels of this time include dramatists and poets like Kalidasa, Bhavabhuti, Bharabi and Magha, prose writers like Bana, Dandin and Subandhu, grammarians like Chandra, Vamana and Bhartrihari, and philosophers like Gandapada, Kumarilbhatta and Prabhakara
(Chaudhry, 1983).

The Brahmanical influence led to the revamping of the sacred literature by the priests who added new matter to the old literature giving it a sectarian character. This is especially true in the case of Puranas particularly the Vayu Purana which were written down in their existing form during this age and had been composed by bards in the early period passed down by generations through narration. The Puranas were originally in Prakrit but were written down in Sanskrit giving information on Hindu mythology, theism, pantheism, philosophy and ethics. Dr. Hazra has shown that different sections of the Puranas dealing with orthodox rites and customs were added at different stages during the Gupta period (Chaudhry, 1983). The Ramayana, Mahabharata and Manu Samhita were also attained their present shape. The crown jewel was Kalidasa who made Sanskrit literature famous giving him an unparalleled reputation and popularity through the ages. Kalidasa was a pious Brahman of Ujjain, who was versed in various branches of Brahmanical learning as well as fine arts, music and painting (Smith,) . His most famous play which is also the best known in world literature is Sakuntala. Other works include plays Malavikagnimitram and Vikramovarsiya, epics Raghuvamsa (Dynasty of Raghu) and Kumarasambhava (birth of Kumaar), and lyrical poem Meghaduta (cloud messenger) all of which are regarded as gems of Sanskrit poetry. His dramas also throw light on emerging social practices. For example, there was a difference between aristocratic males, women, and servants, not only in behavior and speech patterns but also in actual language. The former spoke Sanskrit, the language of the elite. The latter two categories spoke Prakrits, the vernacular of the common people. Prakrit was less rigid and developed rich regional varieties that grew into the many different languages of North India (http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/India2.html). Two other dramatists of this time are Sudraka, author of Mrichcakatikam (The little clay cart) and Vishakadutta, author of Mudrarakshasa. Another play Devi Chandraguptam is also believed to have been composed by Vishakadutta. Another dramatist was Bharavi who wrote Kiratarjuniyam and Sisupalbadha. Kalidasa and other religious writers of the period indicate that the status of women was being lowered. Early marriage for girls and perpetual celibacy for widows was advocated. Women who opted out of family life by becoming courtesans, performing in theaters, or joining Buddhist nunneries enjoyed a larger measure of freedom than their married sisters. Also the Kama Sutra an ancient Hindu treatise was written during this period by Vatsyayana and consists of total seven books of two chapters dealing with the art of love and marriage according to Hindu laws. Likewise works on architecture, music, dancing, painting etc were also produced during this age. The royal panegyrist of Samudragupta was Harishena who wrote the Allahbad Prasasti in poetic form which praises the valour of Samudragupta (Chaudhry, 1983). Dandin was a romantic writer of the same period whose Kavyadarsa and Dasakumarcharita which describes the adventures of ten princes. These adventures give us information on the socio-cultural conditions of that period. During the Gupta age fables evolved into advancement and reached their fullness of character. The best fable is Panchatantra written by Vishnusarma which not only gained popularity in India but was translated into more than fifty languages and two hundred versions, three in India alone (Chaudhry. 1983). It is said that these stories were written to teach statecraft to disinterested princes. In these stories, animals and birds play the part of king's ministers and common men, these animal stories were a help in instructing children in moral values. The book is a treasure-house of people's feelings and emotions in human relations. The stories contain wisdom and common sense needed for daily living (http://indiansaga.com/history/golden_sanskrit.html). The first true lexicon is noted in Amar s Namalinganusasana usually called Amarakosa. Also lexicons of the Sanskrit language introduced by Panini and Patanjali in the first century of the Christian era were advanced.

Art and Architecture

The art of the Gupta period was three fold, architecture, sculpture and painting all of which witnessed unprecedented popularity and development. During this age art and architecture shook off its yoke of subservience to foreign traditions especially the Indo-Greek influence of Gandhara intermingling with that of Mathura and a new style emerged. The Mathura school slowly declined while the Gandhara School was still used in depiction of Buddhist tales. This new school used fresh ideas to potray the philosophy of the Puranas and Upanishads, and it emerged in Benaras and Pataliputra. The Gupta period witnessed the beginning of a new style of temple architecture. With the revival of Hinduism, worship of images became an important feature of the Hindu ritual. Innumerable monasteries and temples were erected to express the sense of spiritual hankering of the people. Their devotion took shape in the various beautiful structures which however have been destroyed by the unsympathetic invaders of later ages. We learn from the inscriptions that temples were dedicated to Vishnu, votive columns were erected in honour of the Sun, monasteries were given over to the Buddhist Sangha, and even temples were built for the spiritual culture of the Jainas. The remains of most of these edifices cannot be traced. But whatever has been discovered bears ample testimony to the richness of the creative genius of the Indians (Nathpal, 2000). Many of the Gupta structures were destroyed during the Hun and Muslim invasion due to which they obscure the Gupta architecture. The main type was rock-cut architecture and many temples have survived the most interesting of which is the temple at Deogarh which contains some of the finest examples of Indian sculpture. Sculpture in the form of reliefs on walls of sanctuaries cut from rock was another achievement of this period. The sculptures focused on human figure during the Gupta Age which are shown in all their simplicity and elegance. The most famous rock cut caves with beautiful sculptures are found at Ajanta which were discovered by a British tigerhunting party in 1819. Under the impulse of the Gupta dynasty, Indian art in effect reached its apogee. The Ajanta Caves are generally decorated with painted or sculpted figures of supple form and classic balance with which the name of the dynasty has remained synonymous. The refined lightness of the decoration, the balance of the compositions, the marvellous beauty of the feminine figures place the paintings of Ajanta among the major achievements of the Gupta and post-Gupta style and confer on them the ranking of a masterpiece of universal pictorial art (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/242). Other famous caves and temples exhibiting the best paintings and sculptures of the Gupta era are the Ellora caves, Bagh cave in Gwalior, Settannavasal temple and Sarnath grounds etc. The art of painting also assumed a secular character becoming more popular than sculpture as it took less time. Terracotta and clay were the two mediums used and we can see in the Kama Sutra that painting was considered as one of the sixty-four Kalas (art). There are also beautiful frescoes on the walls of the caves especially in Ajanta, the two most famous of which are the Monkeys and Women and Child . The new schools of art characterized their schools of production by the introduction of symmetry, perspective, and natural proportion (Banerjee, 1934). As we have seen that the Guptas were refined in the art of metallurgy and the artists of that age were experts in casting metal and making copper statues. The iron pillar in Delhi made in the time of Samudragupta or Kumaragupta is made of 98% wrought iron and has withstood rust and corrosion for more than 1,600 years and is a thing of architectural wonder. A copper image of Buddha is said to have been erected at Nalanda University in Bihar but it is no longer found while another copper statue is found at Sultanganj. Dr R.D Banerjee says, Gupta art is really a renaissance due to the reformation of the ideals of the people of northern India in the fourth and fifth centuries. This transformation was based on an assimilation of what was old, an elimination of what was exotic and foreign, and finally a systematic production of something entirely new and essentially Indian. (Chaudhry, 1983)

Conclusion
Thus we come to the conclusion of our study and Dr. Banerjee is correct when he says that Gupta art is a renaissance but not just Gupta art, in fact it was the whole culture that underwent a reformation. Brahmanism which had declined during the previous ages once again revived like a fresh spring and carried Buddhist and secular elements along with it. We see a more tolerant form of Vedic religion but with an emphasis on the use of Sanskrit in daily life. After Buddha and other reformers who used Pali and Prakrit to appeal to the masses use of Sanskrit was confined to the upper Brahmanical classes. With the Guptas declaring Sanskrit as the official language of the empire it experienced a revivalism. In literature, arts and sciences new life was imbibed and the foreign influence that had dominated Indian culture since the Greeks was shaken off. Astounding developments were made by scientists who made important contributions to the study of mathematics and astronomy. Writers and philosophers were those who were equal to the Greeks and Romans while art and architecture was one of the best that the world had ever seen. The advanced culture was largely due to the Gupta kings themselves who patronised scholars and artisans and made the Gupta age the Golden Age of Medieval India. It was a tragedy that the Gupta age was followed by Muslim invaders who had little love for a culture different from their own and many remnants were destroyed.

Culture of the Imperial Guptas

Ancient India Assignment

Arwa Juzar B0860006 B.S Third Year

Contents

Introduction Sciences Literature Art and Architecture Conclusion