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DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
ASUS_X01AD
[Email address]
ASSIGNMENT :01

NAME OF THE STUDENT:- MD FIROZ ALAM

CLASS:-B.A(HONS) HISTORY 6Th semester

ROLL NUMBER:-17HSB010

SUBMITTED TO:- Dr.S. CHANDANI BI

SUBMITTED BY MD FIROZ ALAM

TOPIC OF THE ASSIGNMENT

* GROWTH OF CLASSICAL SANSKRIT


LITERATURE IN GUPTA PERIOD

Reasons for selecting the topic

1-the Gupta period is remarkable for the production of secular literature specially classical Sanskrit
literature
2- Kalidasa was one of the great poet of the Gupta period his masterpiece was the Sanskrit drama
"Abhijinamshakuntam" it is considered one among the hundred best book of the world. It relates the
love story of the King Dushyant and Shakuntala it was one of the earliest Indian work to be translated
into European languages

3- the literatures of the Gupta period are very much relevant for the academic as well as competitive
examinations of nowadays

4- literary sources are important source to construct history

5- literature of Gupta period give us much information about the social cultural and religious life of the
Gupta period

PTO

Source of history of Gupta Empire


1- there are plenty of source material to reconstruct the history of the Gupta period. They include
literary,epigraphical and nomismatic etc

2- the puranas throw light on the royal genealogy of the Gupta kings contemporary literary works like
devichandraguptam and the mudrakshasam written by Vishakadatt provide information regarding the
rise of the Guptas. The Chinese traveller fahien who visited India during the reign of the Chandragupta II
has left a valuable account of the social economical and religious conditions of the Gupta Empire

3- apart from these literary source there are inscription like the Mehrauli iron pillar inscription and
Allahabad pillar inscription the Mehrauli inscription discusses the achievements of Chandragupta first

4- Allahabad pillar inscription:- the most important source for the reign of samudragupta is the
Allahabad pillar inscription it eulogize the achievement, conquest and personality of samudragupta. This
inscription is engraved on an Ashokan pillar it is written in classical Sanskrit using the Nagari script it's
composer was Harisena whose titles sandhivigara, Kumaraamethiya, and Mahadandanayaka indicate his
high rank in the court circle. it consists of 33 line it describes the circumstances of samudragupta's
accession,his military campaign in North India and the Deccan relationship with contemporary ruler

5- the Gupta coins provide interesting details about the titles and sacrifices made by the guptas king

PTO

History of early Gupta


1- after the break up of the Maurya empire the satavahanas and kushanas emerged as two large
powers. the satavahana ruled in Deccan while kushanas ruled in North India both these Empire came to
an end in the mid third century A.D

2- after the decline of kushanas the guptas established it's sway over a substantial part of the kushanas
who may have been of vaishya origin

3- Although the Gupta Empire was not as large as Maurya Empire,it kept North India politically United
for over a century from 335 to 445 A.D.the original Kingdom of guptas comprised Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar at the end of 3rd century probably with their centre at Prayag they spread into the neighbouring
regions.

The guptas were possibly feudatories of the kushanas in uttar pradesh and seem to have succeeded
them without any considerable time

4- the founder of Gupta dynasty was Sri Gupta. he was succeeded by Ghatothkacha, these two were
called maharajas much information was not available about their rule. The next and important ruler was
Chandragupta first(319-334 A.D).And he was the first to be called maharajadhiraja (the great King of
kings). This title indicates his extensive conquest.he strengthen his position by a matrimonial alliance
with the lichchhavis. He married kumaradevi a princess of that family this added to the power and
prestige of the Gupta family the Mehrauli inscription mention his extensive conquest.Chandragupta first
is considered to be the founder of the Gupta Era which starts with his accession in 320 A.D

5- Samudra Gupta (335-380 A.D)was the greatest ruler of Gupta dynasty he was son and successor of
Chandragupta first the Allahabad inscription provides detail account of his reign.he was the opposite of
Ashoka.Ashoka believed in a policy of peace and non aggression but samudragupta believed in voilence
and conquest.samudragupta's military achievement is remarkable he was equally great in his other
qualities. He was also patron of many poets and scholars one of whom was Harishena

Rise of classical literature in Gupta period


1- the Sanskrit language became prominent during the Gupta period numerous works in classical
Sanskrit came to be written in the form of Epic,iyrics, dramas and prose the best of the Sanskrit
literature belong to Gupta period

2- samudra Gupta patronised a number of scholar including Harishena. during Gupta period both
religious and secular literature florished

3- religious literature:-(a)the puranas in their present form were composed during this period there are
18 puranas the most important among them are bhagwata puranas, Vishnu Purana, vaya purana and
matsya Purana

(b)the Mahabharata and Ramayana in their present form where given final shape during the Gupta
period.the Mahabharata is essentially the story of conflict between two group of cousin the Kauravas
and the Pandavas. It shows that kingship knows no kinship.Although the Pandavas where entitled to
their share in the kingdom ruled by Dhritarashtra, the Kauravas was refused to give them even a single
inch of territory. This led to a prolonged Fratricidal war between the Pandavas patronised by Krishna,
Kauravas fighting on their own. Eventually the Kauravas were worsted in the battle. And the Pandavas
emerged victorious.this story too symbolizes the story of righteousness over the forces of evil.the
Bhagavad Gita forms an important part of the Mahabharata. it teaches that a person must carry out the
duties assigned to him by his caste and rank under all circumstances without any desire for reward. The
Ramayana relates the story of Rama who was banished by his father Dashrahata from the kingdom of
Ayodhya for 14 years on account of the the machinations of his stepmother kaikeyi.he faithfully carried
out his father's orders and went to live in a forest, from where his wife Sita was abducted by Ravana, the
king of Lanka.eventually Rama with the help of sugreeva succeeded in rescuing.The story has two
important moral strands.first it Idealizes the institution of family in which a son must obey his father, the
younger brother must obey his elder brother, and the wife must be faithful to her husband under all
circumstances. Second Ravana symbolises the force of evil, and the Rama the force of righteousness. In
the end righteousness triumphs over the forces of evil, and a good order over a bad order.The story of
Rama had a much wider social and religious appeal then the main narrative of the Mahabharata.there
are many versions of the Ramayana in all mportant Indian languages and also in those of southeast Asia

the puranas follow the lines of the epics and the earlier ones were finally compiled in Gupta Times. They
are full of myths, legend, sermons etc. Which were meant for the education and edification of the
common people.the period also saw the compilation of various Smrits or the law books in which social
and religious norms were written in verse

naradaSmriti contains the rule of relationship,marriages, social conducts etc

Dharmshastra, and Kamasutra etc also composed during Gupta period

4- secular literature:- ashvaghosha (first century A.D) was the first known writer to use Sanskrit for non
religious composition. The court of Chandragupta II was adorned by the celebrated navratnas, Kalidasa
remain the foremost among them. He was the greatest poet of classical Sanskrit literature. His master
piece was the Abhijinamshakuntam, it is considered one among the hundred best books of the world it
relates the love story of king dushyanta and Shakuntala it was one of the earliest Indian works to be
translated into the European languages

*List of books of Kalidasa

A-- malavikagnimitra:- it was a drama written for celebrating of spring festival

B--Vikramorvasiya:-

C--his two well known epics,are raghuvamsa deals with the origin of Vishnu.and kumarasambhava
discusses the works of Shiva

D--ritusamhara and Meghadhutta are his two iyrics.ritusamhara deal with the seasons of India

E-Kalidasa for the first time introduced humour in Sanskrit

5- Bhasa:-was an important poet in the early phase of Gupta period and he wrote 13 plays some of them
are, madhyamayoga, Dutakava,Balcharita and Dutyaghatotkacha

6- Vishakha Dutt:-was a great auther of Gupta time his two works of drama are mudrakshasam and
devichandraguptam first deal with chandragupt Maurya and his wife. And second with Kautilya

7- sudraka:-was a great poet of Gupta Gupt time he wrote " merichakatika"which is rich in humour and
pathos deal with love stories

8- Bharavi:-he wrote kiratarjuniyam. It is a story of conflict between Arjun and shiva

9- Dandin:-he wrote "kavyadarsa"and Dasakumaracharita

10- Amarasimha:-he wrote "amarashoka"it is also known as lexicon is a dictionary of Sanskrit language

11-Vishnu Sharma:-he wrote Panchatantra stories is a collection of 5 book discusses the what to do what
not to do it is written in prose style he was contemporary of Gupta time and belong to vakataka
kingdom it is a standard play

12- Batti:-he wrote " Ravana vadha"discusses the rule of grammar with the discussing of stories of
Ramayana

Punch mahakavi of Sanskrit literature

First ,raghuvamsa ,second kumarasambhava both are written by Kalidasa


Third mahakavi is kritaarjuna written by bharavi

Fourth one is Shasupavadha written by Maga

Fifth:-Nisadacharitam, written by Sri Hersha deal with the king Nala and Queen Danyanti

the Gupta period also saw the development of Sanskrit grammar based on the work of Panini and
Patanjali.this period is particularly memorable for the compilation of amarashoka by amarasimha. Who
was luminary in the court of chandra gupta ll.

Conclusion:-the Gupta period was a bright phae in the history of classical literature and one that
developed an ornate style that was different from the old simple Sanskrit. From this period onwards we
find a greater emphasis on verse than prose, and also a few cornamentaries. Sanskrit was undoubtedly
the court language of the Guptas.and although the period produced much Brahminical literature, it also
gave birth to some of the earliest piece of secular literature.

.
Bibliography
Tmt. M. Muthumari and Thru. V. Zafar Ahmad, History of
Higher Secondary First Year, A Publication under
Government of Tamil Nadu distribution free text book
program.

R. S Sharma, India's Ancient Past, Oxford University Press


2/11 Ground Floor, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi
-110002, India

Upendra Singh, A History Of Ancient And Early Medival


India, Pearson India Education Services Pvt. Ltd, Noida Uttar
Pradesh, India

Webliography
www.byjus.com

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