History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c9.s1.t1.1

c9.s1.t1.1

The latter half of the fifth century A. D. was a period of great ferment in Northern India, as it saw the beginning of that process which ultimately undermined the stability of the Imperial Gupta dynasty. The empire became involved in a disastrous war with the Puṣyamitras or Puṣpamitras who “had developed great power and wealth”,¹ and although the danger of immediate subversion was averted by the energy and military strategy of Skandagupta, the shock of the struggle, during the course of which he was reduced to such straits that he had to spend “a whole night on the bare ground,” was none the less serious. It was closely followed by a greater menace to the safety of the empire; this was the “irruption of the savage Hūṇas,” who at this time began to pour down the North-Western passes like an irresistible torrent. At first Skandagupta, “by whose two arms the earth was shaken, when he ……… joined in close conflict with the Hūṇas,”¹ succeeded in stemming the tide of their advance into the interior; but the repeated attacks of these nomadic hordes eventually broke the stubborn resistance, and the Gupta dynasty began to totter to its fall.² History undoubtedly records the continuance of the rule of the Guptas till long afterwards,³ but the Hūṇa onrush appears to have brought to the surface the latent disruptive forces, which readily operate in India at the least manifestation of a slackening of the grip of the central power upon the outlying provinces.