Literature
- The Gupta period is considered as the Golden Age of art and literature. A huge body of religious and secular literature was compiled in this period. The two great epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata were finally completed in the fourth century. Both Rama and Krishna came to be considered incarnation of Vishnu.
- The Gupta period marks the beginning of the writing of the literature known as Puranas. These texts refer to the stories about the Hindu gods and mention the ways to please them through fasts and pilgrimages. The major Puranas written in this period are the Vishnu Purana, Vayu Purana and the Matsya Purana.
- Some Smritis or the law books were also compiled in the Gupta period. One of these, the Narada Smriti throws light on the general social and economic rules and regulations of the period.
- The literature in Gupta period was written in Sanskrit. The greatest of all the poets was Kalidasa who lived in the court of Chandragupta II in the fifth century AD. His works are very famous and have been translated in many European languages. Some of the works that he authored are Meghadutam, Abhijnanashakuntalam, Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava and Ritusamhara. The notable feature of his works is that the characters of higher caste speak in Sanskrit while those of lower caste and women speak in Prakrit. The other famous dramatists to have flourished in this period are Shudraka, writer of Mrichchhkatikam and Vishakhadatta who authored Mudrarakshasa.
Nalanda University
| AUTHOR | WORK |
| Kalidasa | Abhijnanshakuntalam
Vikramorvasiyam Malavikagnimitra Kumārasambhava Raghuvansham Meghadootam Ritusamhara Jyotirvidabharana |
| Kamandaka | Nitisara |
| Vishakhadatta | Mudrarakshas
Devichandraguptam |
| Gunadhya | Brihatkatha |
| Sudraka | Mrichhakatikam |
| Varahamihir | Panchasiddhantika |
| Susrut | Susrutsamhita on surgery |
| Vagabhata | Ashtanghridaya |
| Dhanavantari | Ayurveda |
| Amar Singh | Amarkosh |
| Aryabhatt | Aryabhattiyam, Suryasidhanta |
| Brahmagupta | Brahmasphutasiddhanta |
| Bhasa | Svapanavasaydattam |
Science and Technology
- The important literature on those subjects that were written during the Gupta period provide insight into the development of science and technology. The most prominent of these is an astronomical work by Aryabhatta from the fifth century, known as Aryabhatiyam. Aryabhatta was a mathematician and astronomer.
- He put out the idea that the earth rotates on its axis, circles around the sun, and causes eclipses for the first time. He was the one who invented “zero” and the decimal system. Another notable astronomer and author of literature on astronomy was Varahamihira (end of the sixth century).
- Panchasiddhantika, one of his works, discusses five astronomical systems. The renowned mathematician Brahmagupta also resided in the Gupta dynasty.
