A History of Sanskrit Literature c11.s1.4

c11.s1.4

There can be no doubt that the Gupta empire signified a distinct revival of Brahmanism and a reassertion of Indian nationality as opposed to the somewhat cosmopolitan Kushan régime, under which Buddhism was decidedly in chief favour, though Brahmanism and Jainism must have been widespread. The art of the period is of a high order, reflecting a national spirit reacting to the impulse of Greek inspiration,¹ although the architecture of the period has largely disappeared, owing doubtless to the appalling destruction wrought by the Mahomedan invaders of north India. The sculpture, however, exhibits an unusual beauty of figure, dignity of pose, and restraint and refinement of treatment in detail. The coinage, often of merit, shows clear traces of intercourse with the Roman world, also attested by records of missions to Rome and Constantinople in 361 and 530. Mathematics, astronomy, and astrology flourished, taking new life under Greek influence, as is abundantly established by the *Pañcasiddhāntikā* of Varāhamihira (*c.* 550) and by the works of Āryabhaṭa (born 476). Relations with China were maintained by visits of Buddhists from and to India. Fa-hien (401–10) gives us a most favourable picture of India under Candragupta II. There was freedom of movement throughout mid-India; justice was dispensed with mercy, fines being normally inflicted, capital punishment being disused, and mutilation restricted to rebels or brigands; the revenues of the crown were derived mainly from land, and the royal officers and servants received regular salaries. Among Buddhists at least—and they still were very numerous—the rule of refraining from animal food or taking life was widely observed, and in many places butchers’ shops and distilleries were unknown. What is of special interest is that he alone records a very significant proof of the revival of Brahmanism; the Caṇḍālas or outcasts were obliged to live apart, and, when they approached a town or bazaar, to strike a piece of wood as a warning of their presence, in order that others might avoid pollution by contact with them. The emperors were clearly devotees of Viṣṇu and attached to the Bhāgavata faith, but religious toleration was still the order of the day, and the signs of the decadence of Buddhism were concealed from Fa-hien’s eyes. Nor is this surprising, for it is probable that Samudragupta himself was a friend of Vasubandhu when that Buddhist sage attended his father’s court.² Samudragupta, however, was careful to assert his devotion to Brahmanical ideals; thus he renewed the ancient horse sacrifice as a sign of his paramount sway, and Kumāragupta appears to have followed his example. The centre of Gupta power, originally fixed at Pāṭaliputra, seems clearly to have shifted during the reign of Candragupta II to Ujjayinī, doubtless in order to secure the steadfast adherence to the empire of the newly acquired lands.