Gupta Dynasty

(ca. 350–550) Northern Indian dynasty
whose ancestral homeland was in the
lower Ganges River basin. The Gupta capital was initially at Pataliputra, identified
with the city of Patna in the modern state
of Bihar, but was later moved to the city
of Allahabad, which lies at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers.
At its zenith under Chandra Gupta II,
the Guptas controlled all of northern
India and modern Pakistan, as well as
the eastern Coromandel Coast all the
way south to modern Madras. The
Gupta reign is associated with an efflorescence of Indian culture, and with the
revival of Hinduism in northern India.
The force behind both of these trends
was the royal patronage of the Gupta
kings. According to tradition, one of
their court poets was Kalidasa, who is
considered the greatest Sanskrit poet.
The Guptas are also characterized as
ardent devotees (bhakta) of the god
Shiva, a devotion they displayed
through temple building and religious
endowments. Aside from Chandra
Gupta II, the dynasty’s most famous
rulers were his father Samudra Gupta
and his grandfather Chandra Gupta I.