A New Power Emerges

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 7: The Gupta Era: An Age of Tireless Creativity · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 7.1

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In Delhi's Mehrauli, Ishaan's grandfather takes him to see a tall metal pillar. "This Iron Pillar is over 1,600 years old," he says, "and it has never rusted." Ishaan touches the smooth surface. A bicycle left in the rain rusts within a year! Scientists think a thin protective layer, formed by its special iron and oxygen from the air, guards it from corrosion. Its inscription celebrates a king named Chandra.

That king was Chandragupta II, also called Vikramāditya, of the Gupta dynasty. As the Kuṣhāṇas weakened in the 3rd century CE, the Guptas rose as regional rulers near present-day Uttar Pradesh and built a powerful empire with its capital at Pāṭaliputra. The "II" is because his grandfather, Chandragupta I, who laid the empire's foundation through coins and strategic alliances, had the same name. Chandragupta II was a devotee of Viṣhṇu, and Viṣhṇu's mount Garuḍa appears on his inscriptions. The pillar probably first stood at the Udayagiri caves in Madhya Pradesh.

His father Samudragupta was a warrior king. The prayāga praśhasti, an inscription on a pillar at Prayagraj by the court poet Harisena, says his ambition was to "unify the Earth". He fought many wars; many defeated kings were reinstated as tributaries, and others submitted out of fear. Harisena also praises his support for art, learning and trade, and one coin shows Samudragupta playing the veena. Another marks an aśhvamedha. At its peak the empire covered most of north and west India and parts of central and east India.

Explore: the Gupta story.

1. Put the events in order.

Remember

• The Guptas rose in the 3rd–4th centuries CE with their capital at Pāṭaliputra.
• Samudragupta, praised in the prayāga praśhasti, expanded the empire; Chandragupta II's Iron Pillar has not rusted in 1,600 years.

Quick check

The Iron Pillar of Delhi was set up in the reign of …

1. Chandragupta II
2. Aśhoka
3. Kaṇiṣhka
4. Chandragupta Maurya

Think about it

Why did kings record their achievements in inscriptions?

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.