The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire on the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century CE to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of northern India. This period has been considered as the Golden Age of India by historians, although this characterisation has been disputed by some other historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by Gupta and the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta I and Skandagupta.
Chandragupta II, also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire in India. Modern scholars generally identify him with King Chandra of the Delhi iron pillar inscription.
Chandragupta I was a monarch of the Gupta Empire, who ruled in northern and central India. His title Mahārājadhirāja suggests that he was the first suzerain ruler of the dynasty. It is not certain how he turned his small ancestral kingdom into an empire, although a widely accepted theory among modern historians is that his marriage to the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi helped him extend his political power. Their son Samudragupta further expanded the Gupta Empire.
Samudragupta (Gupta script: Sa-mu-dra-gu-pta, was the second emperor of the Gupta Empire of ancient India, and is regarded among the greatest rulers of India. As a son of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta I and the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, he greatly expanded his dynasty's political and military power.
Kumaragupta I was a Gupta emperor of ancient India. A son of the Gupta king Chandragupta II and Queen Dhruvadevi. He seems to have maintained control of his inherited territory, which extended from Gujarat in the west to Bengal region in the east.
Gupta was the founder of the Gupta dynasty of northern India and ruler of the Principality of Pataliputra. He is identified with king Che-li-ki-to, who, according to the 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, built a temple near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (Mṛgaśikhāvana) for Chinese pilgrims.
The Licchavis of Nepal was a kingdom which existed in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal from approximately 450 CE to 750 CE. The Licchavi clan originated from a branch of the Licchavis of Vaishali who ruled in the territory of modern-day Bihar and who later conquered the Kathmandu Valley. The Licchavis were ruled by a maharaja, aided by a prime minister and other royal officials, but in practice local communities were controlled by caste councils.
Ramagupta, according to the Sanskrit play Devichandraguptam, was an emperor of the Gupta dynasty of northern India. The surviving fragments of the play, combined with other literary evidence, suggest that he agreed to surrender his wife Dhruvadevi to a Shaka enemy: However, his brother Chandragupta II killed the Shaka enemy, and later dethroned him, marrying Dhruvadevi.
Vikramaditya was a legendary king as mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in Vetala Panchavimshati and Singhasan Battisi. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain. "Vikramaditya" was also a common title adopted by several monarchs in ancient and medieval India, and the Vikramaditya legends may be embellished accounts of different kings. According to popular tradition, Vikramaditya began the Vikrama Samvat era in 57 BCE after defeating the Shakas, and those who believe that he is based on a historical figure place him around the first century BCE. However, this era is identified as "Vikrama Samvat" after the ninth century CE.
Ghatotkacha was a pre-imperial Gupta king of northern India and ruler of the Principality of Pataliputra. He was a son of the dynasty's founder Gupta, and the father of the dynasty's first emperor Chandragupta I.
There are conflicting theories regarding the original homeland and ancestry of the Gupta dynasty that ruled northern India between 4th and 6th centuries. Modern historians variously theorize that it originated in present-day Uttar Pradesh or Bengal, based on epigraphic, numismatic and literary evidence. The social group (varna) of the dynasty is also a matter of debate, with scholars variously placing them in Vaishya, Brahmana, or other categories.
Gaurishankar Govardhanram Joshi (1892–1965), better known by his pen name Dhumaketu, was an Indian Gujarati-language writer, who is considered one of the pioneers of the Gujarati short story. He published twenty-four collections of short stories, as well as thirty-two novels on social and historical subjects, and plays and travelogues. His writing is characterised by a dramatic style, romanticism and powerful depiction of human emotions.
Harisena was a 4th-century Sanskrit poet, panegyrist and a court official. He was an important figure in the court of Gupta emperor, Samudragupta. His most famous poem, written c. 345 C.E., describes the bravery of Samudragupta and is inscribed on the Allahabad Pillar. At least one of his known inscriptions was written as a panegyric.
The Gupta era is a historical calendar era that begins from c. 318–319 CE. It was used by the Gupta emperors, as well as their vassals and their successors in present-day northern India and Nepal. It is identical to the Vallabhi era, which was used in the Saurashtra region of western India, although regional differences lead to a slightly different calculation for the conversion of Vallabhi era years to Common Era (CE).
Kacha was a king of India, possibly a member of the Gupta dynasty. He is known only from his gold coins, which are similar to those of the Gupta king Samudragupta.
Devi-Chandraguptam or Devi-Chandragupta is an Indian Sanskrit-language political drama attributed to Vishakhadeva, who is generally identified with Vishakhadatta. The complete text of the play is now lost, but its portions survive in form of quotations in the later works. The plot also survives in form of a Persian language story, which appears to be an adaptation of the play, and is included in the 11th century text Majmal-ut-Tawarikh.
Gupta art is the art of the Gupta Empire, which ruled most of northern India, with its peak between about 300 and 480 CE, surviving in much reduced form until c. 550. The Gupta period is generally regarded as a classic peak and golden age of North Indian art for all the major religious groups. Gupta art is characterized by its "Classical decorum", in contrast to the subsequent Indian medieval art, which "subordinated the figure to the larger religious purpose".
Śanakanika Maharaja was a feudatory of Chandragupta II or Vikramaditya of the Gupta Dynasty. Śanakanika Maharaja is known from his record on his gift on a Vaishnavism cave temple at Udayagiri, which is dated 82.
The Gupta–Saka Wars refers to the military conflict between the Gupta Empire, ruled by Chandragupta II, and the Western shatrapas, also known as the Shakas, during the 4th century CE.
