Pramāṇa · Search · About · API

History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Naga–Vakataka Imperial Period c16.s1.t1: Ayodhyā and its Influence

History of India, c. 150 A.D. to 350 A.D.: Nāga–Vākāṭaka Imperial Period c16.s1.t1

Language
English

Ayodhyā and its Influence

c16.s1.t1.1

Udayagiri will be reminded of Chandra Gupta II himself rescuing Dhruva-devi.¹ Without understanding the spiritual and religious currents of the time which bring about royal and national rebirth, one cannot truly appreciate any political reformation. It is for that reason that a proper appraisement of the Gupta cult becomes here necessary.

c16.s1.t1.2

¹ Cf. J.B.O.R.S., XVIII, 35.

c16.s1.t1.3

118. You would never be able to decipher the dedication of their victories to Vishnu, e.g. at Bhîtari and at Mehrauli, and at the same time the magnificence and munificence conveyed by the aśvamedhas and the Garuḍadaṅka coins, without that key. You would not be able to unlock the mystery of these Hindu Moghuls minus Moghul cruelty and debauchery. You will not get the secret how could Chandra Gupta II abolish capital punishment,² how he could raise the majesty of Hinduism to the very pinnacle of glory, and how he drew the limits of good government which no sceptre could extend further.

c16.s1.t1.4

² Fa-Hien, ch. XVI.

c16.s1.t1.5

119. From the Bhārasivas up to the Vākāṭakas there was the rule of that God of social asceticism, that aspect of the Almighty which undertakes destruction, the God who though a giver, keeps no wealth, possesses no material splendour, the God who is austere and sombre. But, on the other hand, the second Gupta king and the first Gupta Emperor—Samudra Gupta—invokes that aspect of God whose function is royal and rājasa, who wears gold, not ashes, who builds and reigns, protects and rejoices in plenty, who is the traditional God of Hindu sovereignty. Vishnu is the king amongst gods, is magnificently dressed, stands erect and solid and upholds the kingdom of His men, is a hero and conquering lord in battle—whose emblem is Chakra—the symbol of Empire—which irresistibly destroys the forces of evil against that Empire of Lord Vishnu. There is the conch in one of His hands for announcing battle and for announcing triumph. There is, in the third, the sceptre of rule, and finally there is the lotus in the fourth, the symbol of prosperity, growth and rejoicing for His subjects. The belief in the God-in-royalty, Samudra Gupta made the belief of his dynasty and the belief of his country. His devotion to Vishnu is so great that his personality almost merges in Him:

c16.s1.t1.6

साधुसाधूदय-प्रलय-हेतु-पुरुषस्याचिन्त्यस्य भक्तवनतिमान्पायमृदुहृदयस्य¹

c16.s1.t1.7

¹ G.I., p. 8, *l.* 25.

c16.s1.t1.8

is a description in the language of the Bhagavad-Gita, and a description which, according to the literary practice of the age, has to give a double meaning. The devotee and his God are both described by the same language. This might appear to a non-Hindu reader or to a reader who has not entered into the Hindu mystery of *bhakti* as a blasphemous assumption of God's attributes. But it is not so; there is in the cult of *bhakti* its highest doctrine that there should be unity (*ananyatā*) between the deity and the devotee. The devotee begins to partake of the nature of his deity until he is spiritually fully transformed and finally become one with the deity. He becomes the missionary and the agent of the Lord. He works as the medium, and all his works are dedicated to his Lord. The Guptas felt and believed that they were Vishnu's servants and agents, that they had a mission from Vishnu, that like Vishnu they should conquer the unrighteous and rightless sovereigns, and that like Vishnu they should rule in full sovereignty and bring happiness promised by the lotus in Vishnu's hand, to the people of India. They fully executed this mission and Samudra Gupta felt the consciousness that he had executed that mission well and won the Heaven thereby. Like Vishnu, Samudra Gupta and his successors filled their kingdom of India with gold and plenty, with propserity, elegance and culture.

Linked texts (2)