KUSHANS (HISTORY OF INDIA )

KUSHANS

In the post-Mauryan era, central Asia and north-western India witnessed hectic and shifting political scenes. The Great Yuehi-chi driven out of fertile lend in Western china migrated towards the Aral Sea. There they encountered the Sakas near Syr Darya river and evicted them. The Great Yuehi-Chi tribes settled in the valley of Oxus and with the occupation of the Bactrian lands the great hordes were divided into five principalities. A century later the Kushan section or sect of Yuehi-Chi attained predominance over the otheres. Their leader was Kadphises. Thus began the history of Kushans.

The unique geographical position of the Kushans empire made it a colossus astride on the spine of Asia uniting the Greco-Roman civilization in the west the Chinese civilization in the east and Indian civilisation in the south-east.

The leader of the Kushans was kadphises and his rule probably began in 40 A.D. He attacked the regions south of Hindu Kush, conquered Kabul and annexed Gandhara including the kingdom of Taxila. Kadphises died in 77 A.D. or 78 A.D. By then the Kushans had supplanted the princes belonging to the Indo-Greek saka and Indo-Parthian communities along the frontiers of India. The successor of kadphises was Vima-Kadphses. He conquered large parts of norther India. His coins show that his authority extended as far as Banaras and as well as the Indus basin. In all likelihood his power extended as far as Narbada and the Saka satraps in Malwa and Western India acknowledged his sovereignty.

By that time the Chinese reasserted their authority in the north and this led to a collusion with the Kushans. The Chinese general pan-chao conquered Chinese Turkistan and established the Chinese authority in parthia that is on the territory south of the Caspian sea.

These advances frightened the Kushans. In 87 AD Kadphises II, claimed the hand of a Chiese princes, an acknowledgement of his equality with the son of Heaven. The proposal was rejected and Kadphises, dispatched a large army, But the army was decimated because of the difficult terrain. And it was easily defeated by the Chinese. The Kushan ruler was compelled to pay tribute the China and the Chinese records so that the Kushans continued to send missions to Cnina till the close of the century. Rossibly the reign of Kadphises II ended C. 110 A.D.

The next ruler, Kanishka probably belonged to the little Yuehi-chi section of the horde. His capital was Purushapura and here he erected a large number of Buddhist buildings. In his early years he annexed Kashmir and consolidated his rule in the Indus and the Gangetic basin. His army crossed the Pamirs and inflicted a defeat on the Chinese. The chief of Khotan, Yarkand and the Ksshgar were made to pay tribute. Tradition states that while Kanishka was on his return from the Chinese Turkistan, he was sothered to death by his officers who had got weary of his campaigns. Most of his time was spent on waging wars.

A large number of inscriptions were incised during the times of Kanishka and his successor. According to evidence, Kanishka became an active partron of the Buddhist Church during the later part of his reign. Althouth the Buddhist records gloat over this fact and regard him as the second Asoka, his coins prove that he honoured a medley of gods - zoroastrain, Greek, Mitraic, and Indian. The prominent Indian duty on the coins was Shiva. The peculiar assembly of deities by the Kushans offers a great deal of speculation. May be Kansihka follwed a loose from of Zorostrianism and freely venerated the deities of other greeds.

Also, Kanishka covened a council of Buddhist theologians to settle disputes relating to Buddhist faith and practices. The conclusions of this council were engraved on copper sheets and preserved in the stupa of the capital. The delgates to the council primarily belonged to the Hinayana sect.

The Buddhism of this period was definitely a lax one. The Mahayana sect was popular. But early Buddhism was an India product and was based on the Indian ideas of rebirth, transmigration of souls and the blessedness of escape from the pains of being. This Buddhism was supported by a practical system of ethics inculcating a stoic devotion to duty for its own sake. Such a teaching needed fundamental changes to attract the sturdy mountaineer, the nomad horseman and the Helloe rized Alexandrian. The veneration for a dead teacher passed into a worship of living seviour.

Soon the Kushan power declined. Within the Kingdom, harm was done to the Kushan Empire by the Nagas and Yaudheyas. A Naga ruler probably performed ten ashvamedha sacrifices. Apart from these two communities, a few other tribes also, like the Malavas and the Kunindas, probably regained their importance at the expense of the Kushan empire.

Apart from the weaknesses to the successors of Kanishka, developments in the Persia influenced the history of North western India. The Parthians were overthrown byArdashir in 226 A.D. who established theSassanian dynasty. His successors annxed Peshawar and Taxila during the middle of the 3rd century. And Kushan kings in the north-west became the vassals of the Sasssanians. The successors of Kanishka, as established today, are the following : Vashiska (102-106), Hyvishka (106-138), and Vasudeva (c. 152-176). The history after this period is extremely vague. Over the ruins of the empire, in Central Asia and the west, rose the Sassanian empire of Persia and in India. The Gupta empire.

Speaking in general about the achievement of the Kushans, the first is the economic prosperity. As the Kushan empire was situated in a crucial geographical region. There was brisk trade. Moreover, the very area covered by the Kushan empire helped the flow of trade between the east and the west. Some trade routes which came into existence in this period continued to serve the future also. Gold coins of great complexity were issued by the Kushans.

These coins speak of the prosperity of the people. The coins of Kanishka usually show the figure of Kanishka standing and sacrificing at altar, and on the obverse, deities belonging to various religions. The coins of the Kushans also show that the Kushans were in contact with the Romans - the weight of the Kushan coins has certain similarities with the Roman coins. According to the author of the Periplus god and silver species were imported at Barygaza (Broach).

As regards art and literature, we have to state that their greatest contribution was the Gandhara art. It was in this period that the stone images of the Buddha and the Bodhisattavas were craved out. The chief of quality of this art is the blending of Buddhist subjects with Greek forms. Images of the Buddha appear in the likeness of Apollo, and theYakshakubera is posed in the fasino of Zeus. The imprint of this school of art is still to be found in Mathura and Amarvati. Indeed, the carving of images and the building of temples was not neglected in earlier days, but under the Kushans they attained a refinement. The Chaitya built at Peshawar was as high as four storeys. Fa-Hien, passing through Gandhara, during the fifth century, praised the images of the Buddha, Bodhisattavas and numerous other deities. The early rulers fostered the Hellenistic art of Gandhara and also the Bhikshu Bela, and from this place artistic products were sent to Sarasvati and Sarnath. Kanishka was a great builder - tower at Peshawar, a new city in Taxila, a town in Kashmir and fine buildings and sculptures at Mathura. It was at the last place a portrait stature of Kanishka has been found but its head is not there. Further, the die-engravers employed by the Kushans were far from negligible. A special note is to be taken of coinage. The Kushan coins became the prototypes for many varieities of coins of Yadheyas, the imperial Guptas, some kings of Nepa and several Kings of Chedi. Eminent Buddhist writers - Nagajuna, Asvaghosha and Vasumitra were the names associated with Kanishka. The first was a poet, musician, scholar and a zealous Buddhist monk. Charaka was the court physician of Kanishka.

The next thing to be noted about the Kushana is their religion. In all likelihood, missionaries propagated Buddhism in central Asia and China in this period. Possibly, it was during the time of Kanishka that Mahayana Buddhism was sanctified. The fourth Buddhist council that was summoned by Kanishka canonized the doctrines of Hinayana and Mahayana. The deliberations of the conference were engraved on sheets of copper and were sealed and deposited in a stupa, but they have not been found so far. But to regard Kanishka as the founder patron of the Mahayana sect, which came into existence under the Kushans, is a disputable point. Even though many scholars regard Kanishka as the second Asoka some writers do not agree with this view. In addition to these things, we must mention that the Kushana kings patronized all kinds of religions, including Hinduism. Kanishka was definitely and eclectic monarch as he honored a medley of gods belonging to the Greek, Zoroastrian and Hindu faiths. Not only Buddhism flourished under the Kushanas but there were definitely stirrings of Hinduism. Many brahminical sects started merging. Along with religion, Sanskrit language received an impetus. In a way the Kushan age constituted the prelude to the Gupta age.

In this ammner, the services rendered by the Kushanas are commendable. A mere evaluation of the personality of Kanishka alone would not help us to estimate the importance of the Kushanas as the empire lasted for three centuries. To a certain extent, the prosperious time of peace during the Gupta period was directly due to the Kushans undertaking the unconscious role of the shield and buckler of Indian civiliszation and culture. The Kushan state was a buffer between the Aryan civilization and the nomadic hordes in central Asia who from time to time, had overrun the civilized worlds with the sweep of avalanches. It was also responsible for the exchange of ideas and goods between different civilization because of the peculiar geographical position occupied by the Kushanas a clearing house for the ideas and goods of different civilization.

HARSHAVARDHANA AND HIS TIMES (HISTORY OF INDIA)

HARSHAVARDHANA AND HIS TIMES

The age of Harsha was a trubulent one. Yet, the general life of people was a prosperous one.

In estimating the social life of people during the Harsha, We have to keep in view the administration of Harsha, for the social life of a people anywhere in olden days, to some extent was influenced by its administrative system. Hiuen-Tsang attributes commendable administrative vigilance to Harsha - made tours of inspection throughout his kingdom, and promoted benevolent activities like construction and maintenance of roads, sarais, hospitals, etcl. Hiuen-Tsang states as the government is generous officals requirements are few. Families are not registered and individuals are not subject to forced labour contributions the king's tenants pay one-sixth of the products as the rent."

But talking of justice, cruel punishment continued. Trial by or deal was common. For offences against social morality, disloyal and inferior conduct, the punishment ws to cut of the nose, ear, hand, foot or to banish the offender to another country or into wilderness. Hiuen-Tsnad maintains that as the government was honestly administrated and the people lived on good terms the criminal classes was small. But Chinese pilgrim about whom special care may have been taken by the government was robbed of his belongings, although he records that according to the laws of the land severe punishments wre inflicted for cirme. Robbery wsa considered to be a second treason for which the right hand of the robber was amputated. But it seems that under the influence of Buddhism the severity of punishment was mitigated, and criminals were imprisoned for life.

Talking of political life, in most cases kingshop was hereditary although at times a king was nominated by his predecessor or elected by people or nobels. Nandivarman Pallava was raised to the throne by the mula prakritis. At Thaneshwar the crown was offered to Harsha by a council of nobles headed by Bhandi. Secondly the tradition that the welfare of king depends on the welfare of people was still believed in. Fa-Hien, Hiue-Tsang and Suleiman record that rulers did their best to live up to this anciant maxim. Fourthly quite a number of important rulers loved learning and patronized the arts. Harsha, Mahendra varman, Amoghavarsha I, Bhoja of Dhar somesware III of Kalyan and Ballala Sena of Bengal were writers of no mean repute. Fitthly, the king was all important even though has was assisted by Ministers. Manu's recommendation of council of seven or eight ministers was normally followed Sixthly the chief source of revenue was land-one-sixth of its produce. A few other taxes were imposed on ports, ferries, etc. Apart from taxation, returns from royal lands, mines etc. and tributes from vassals filled royal coffers. Finally, kingdoms were divided into smaller units for the convenience of administration. And royal armies mostly relied on elephants, infantry and cavalry. From the features delineated above, one can easily deduce that the political structure of the day did impinge upon the lives of people.

Relating to social life, Hiuen-Tsang metions four chief castes and also innumerable sub-castes. But Bana mentions that castes mixed freely. Bana even makes mention of his two brothers born of Shudras. The Chinese traveler, Hiuen-Tsang, refers to prohibition, widow-remarriage and the costom of sati. Yet, women were not regarded as inferior to men. Som of the royal ladies were skilled in music and dancing. Rajyasri sat along with Harsha and listened to the discourses on Buddhism. Interestingly, Hiuen-Tsang notes the absence of tailors and shoe-makers; the simplicity of brahmins and kshatriyas; the luxuries of king's nobels and rich men; honesty and morality of the people because of the fear of retribution in life to come: and, suicide of very old men of people afflicted with incurable diseases in the Ganges. Another interesting point mentioned by him is the etiquette of lifting the turban as a mark of greeting is social gatherings. Regarding the temperament of people, the travelers note that they were hasty and inecisve but moral. The people were not deceitful by nature and valued their pledges and promises. The country was prosperous. Vegetables and minerals were abundant. Fish and mutton were consumed occasionally. Onions and garlic were not much used.

The brahmins and kshatriyas are reported to have led a simple life, but the nobles and priests led a luxurious life. Hiuen-Tsang calls the Shudras agriculturists, which is significant. In the earlier texts they are represented as serving the three higher varnes. The Chinese pilgrim takes note of untouchables such as scavengers, executioners, etc. They lived outside the villages and consumed garlic and onion. The untouchables announced their entry into the town by shouting loudly so that people might keep awap from them.

Coming to the cultural life of people, we cannot ignore the contribution of Harsha to it. Probably Harsh wrote the three dramas Ratnavali, Priadarshika and Nagananda in Sanskrit. The Chinese traveler, I-Tsing recorded that Harsh versified the story of Jimutayahana in Nagananda and extremely fond of literature. It is contended that the Banskhera and Madhuban copper-plate inscriptions were probably composed by Harsha himself. The other works attributed to him are the two Sanskrit stotras in praise of the Buddha and a work on grammer. Besides Harsha, Bana was the Chief poet who wrote Hadembari and is also supposed to have written the'Parvati-parinay' and the Chandiskata, A writer Mayura was a master of erotic poetry. A other literary figure was Matanga Divakara.

Apart from royal court, the sylvan ashramas were the centers of intellectual activity. Bana records a detailed account of the ashrama of the Buddhist saga Divakaramitra in the Vindhyas. Hiuen-Tsand credits the people of the middle country with clearness and correctness of speech. According to him children were taught the five subjects of grammer, mechanical arts, medicine, logic and philosophy from the seventh year onwards. He was all praise for the great scholars of the day. Among educational centers the most famous was the Nalanda university. It attained international repute. It was patronized by Kumaragupta I, and also by Hrasha. The famous teachers of the university were Dignaga, Dharmapala and Shilabhara. The teacher, Dharmapala, originally belonged to the city of Kanchi and wrote books on Buddhist logic and metaphysics. It was during the time of Shilabhadra that Hiuen-Tsang visited Nalanda. Even though the university was a Mahayana institution, brahminical subjects like the Vadas were included in the curriculum. Those who sought admission in the university were examined by the keepers of the gate. It is said that not more than 20 per cent of candidates could pass this examination of the gate-keepers. There was no fee for education. Boarding lodging and clothing were free. The university derived its revenues from the villages granted to it by royalty. During the time of Hiuen-Tsang there were about 10,000 student and women were also included in it. I-Tsing says that the discipline was strict at Nalanda. Sanskrit was the medium of instruction. The method of teaching was primarily tutorial even though there were some lectures. Time was regulated by a water-clocl. I-Tsing says that there were eight halls and 300 rooms in this university. It possessed an observatory and a laboratory also.

With regard to art, the Guptam style was continued. Hiuen-Tsang refers to a copper statute of the Buddha. The brick temple of Laxmana at Surpur is one of the most beautiful in India, unsurpassed in the richness and refinement of its ornaments.

Talking of religion, it was a remarkable era. In the Gupta period brahminism re-asserted itself. The reading of the Gita was popular with intelligentsia. The leader of Hindu reformation Sankara, in the 8th century, commented on the Gita. By the time of Alberuni it was so popular that Alberuni quotes the text of the Gita.

Nevertheless, Hinduism, of the Gupta age witnessed a set-back some developed the dectrine of mimamsa. The doctrine was quite ancient but it became popular with prabhakara at the end of the sixth century. Another great exponent of it was Kumarila in the 7th century. Another doctrine imprimarily concerned with the technique of thought, that is, it is only concerned with rituals. 'The Mimamsa lives in a world of self-revealed Vedas and is concerned only with correct performance of the rites as laid down". This doctrine was poles apart from popular puranic religion of people. Also, it contradicts the idea of a popular personal deity which is to be realized either through bhakti or yoga. Luckily this barren ritualism was attacked by Sankara in the 8th century. Here we must also note that Buddhism was on the declire. Hiuen-Tsang notes the dacay of Buddhism even though he was not conscious of it. But Buddhism gained popularity in Kanara, in certain parts of UP and in Bengal.

Thus, there is nothing unique about the life of people during the age of Harsha. The creative urge witnessed in the Gupta period continued. Yet, as the future was to prove, the quiet greatness of this age was only as afterglow.

GUPTA LITERATURE (HISTORY OF INDIA)

GUPTA LITERATURE

Out knowledge of the development of Sanskrit literature in the early centuries A.D. is based on writings from the Gupta period. However, tradition associates the work of Ashvaghosha and out-standing writer and play Wright, one of the founders of Buddhist Sanskrit literature and a major philosopher- with the reign of Kanishak (the early second century AD). Many of his works remain unknown, but fragments of the following poems in Sanskrit have been preserved: Buddhacharita ("A life of the Buddha") Saundarananda (Sundari and Nanda) and the drama shariputraprakarana. (A drama dealing with Shariputra's Conversion to Buddhism). In ancient India these works of Ashvaghosha had enjoyed wide popularity and the Chinese pilgrim I-tsing who visited India in the seventh century wrote that the "poem" so gladdened the heart of the reader that he never tired of repeating it over and over again.

Although the Buddhacharita and the Shariputraprakarana treated only Buddhist themes and propagated the teaching of the Buddha they possessed artistic qualities. Ashvaghosha adheres to the epic tradition and his characters lives are filled with drama and rich emotional experience.

In his plays Ashvaghosha lays the foundation of ancient Indian drama which was to come into its own in the works of such writers as Bhasa, Kalidasa and Shudraka. Thirteen plays are attribute to Bhasa but it is as yet difficult to establish which of these early were written by this remarkable dramatist. Bahsa also made use of the epic tradition, although his plays were constructed strictly according to the laws of classical drama. Some modern scholars maintain, and with ample justification, that a number of the plays attributed to Bhasa are the most ancient moderls of Indian tragedy. This was, there is not doubt a bold innovation on the part of Bhasa who thus defined established artistic canon. This trend in ancient Indian drama was developed by the Shudraka, author of the play Mrichhakatiak (The title Clay Cart), which tells of the ardent love of an impoverished merchant for a courtsan.

Possibly the greatest in ancient Indian literature is the work of Kalidasa, (late fourth-early fifth century), poet and dramatist, whose wrirtings represent an illustrious page in the history of world culture. Translations of Kalidasa's works penetrated to the West at the end of the eighteenth century and were well received.

There is good reason to believe that Kalidasa was native of Mandasor in Malwa. It is, therefore, argued that he was brought up in close touch with the court of Ujjain, an active center of commercial and economic activity in western India. Kalidasa's early descriptive poems, the Ritussamhara and the Meghaduta probably belong to the reign of Chandragupta-II, and his dramas to that of Kumaragupta.

It appears that Kalidasa was a prolific writer but as year scholars have only discovered three plays : Shankuntala, Malavikagnimitra, Vikramorvashi (Urvashi won by Valour), the poem Meghadutta (the Cloud Messenger) and two epic poems : the Kumarasambhava (the Birth of Kumara) and Raghuvansha (Raghu's Line)

The core of all Kalidasa writings is man and his emotions, his wordly concerns, his joys and sorrows, His work represents a significant step forward in comparison with the writings of Ashavaghosha who depicted in idealized image of the Buddha and his faithfull disciples. Many of Kalidasa's heroes are kings: the poet not only extolled their exploits, but he also condemned their ignoble deeds. Some of Kalidasa's works bear witness to the growth of the epic poem, the so-called mahakavya. Both in his plays and poems Nature and Man's emotions are distinguished by their lyric quality and humanism. Without swerving from earlier traditions Kalidasa stood out as an innovator in many respects.

Also, the very fact that tragic themes do not figure with the exception of Mrichcha Katika by Shudrak shows that the higher strata of society primarily sought entertainment.

In ancient India considerable advances were also made by the theator. In the Gupta age special treatises concerning dramatic art started to appear, which provided detailed expositions of the aims of the theratre and theatrical entertainments, the various genres used in thetheatre etc.

When ancient Indian plays first made their way to Europe, many scholars wrote that the Indian theatre owed its roots to ancient Greece. However it has since emerged beyond doubt that the theatre in India came into being quite independently. More over Indian the atrical tradition goes further back than that of ancient Greece and is much richer as far as theory is concerned.

In the Gupta age the earliest of the Puranas were compiled. These collections of legends about gods, kings and heroes that embody the mythological and cosmological ideas of ancient Indians were compiled over a very long period and subjected to far-reaching editing and modification.

Some of the Dharmashastras such as the Laws of Yajnavalkya (third century AD) or the laws of Narada (fourth and fifth centuries AD) also date from the early centuries AD. Worthy of note among the landmarks of Sankrit literature is the Panchatan to (third and fourth centuries AD) a collection of tales and pafables which is very popular both in India and beyond its borders. In the early Middle Ages translations of this work appeared in Pehlevi, Syriac and Arabic. In the Middle East the collection was known as all the influence of the Panchatantra on both Eastern and Western literature was considerable.

It was also in the Gupta period that the first works of literature from Southern India written in Tamil appeard. One of the most famous these early works in Tamil was the Kural a collection of parables. The compilation of which is traditional ascribed to a representative of the farmers' caste, Triuvalluvar.The Kumar was undoubtedly based on material derived from folklore and already in ancient times won enormous popularity. In the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. Collections of Lyrical poems in Tamil also appeared. The literature of other south Indian appear later in the early Middle Ages.

In the end it may be noted that both Sanskrit poetry and prose were greatly encouraged through royal patronage. However it was literature of the elites since Sanskrit was known only to them but not to the people. The Sanskrit plays of this period show that the characters of high social status speak Sanskrit: whereas those of lower status and women speak Prakrit. This particular feature throws light on the status of Sanskrit and Prakrit in society.

GUPTA RELIGION (HISTORY OF INDIA)

GUPTA RELIGION

Both Buddhism and Hinduism were widely prevalent. The characteristic features of Hinduism enabled it to survive till today; whereas the new features of Buddhism led to its final decline. Although Buddhism still appealed in matters of ritual making it to be regarded as a sect of the latter. Jainism escaped from this fate. It remained unchanged; and there fore it continued to be supported by the merchant communities of western India. Added to this in some areas of the Deccan royalty patronized Jainism although it ceased in the 7th century A.D.

Although Buddhism gradually declined with in the country it spread beyond the frontiers of India first to central Asia and then to China and also to South-East Asia.

A far more important development of the 5th century was the emergence of a curious cult associated with the worship of women deities and fertility cults. These became the nucleus of a number of magical rites which later came to be known as tantricism Buddhism too came under this influence leading to the evolution or a new branch of Buddhism in the 7th century called vajrayana of Thunderbolt Vehicle Buddhism. In this Buddhism female counterparts came to be added to the male figures known as taras. This particular cult exists even tody in Nepal and Tibet.

Devi worship - the cult of the mother goddess the oldest of all religious - also seems to have received the imprimature of orthodoxy during this period. We have the avidence of Gunadhya that tantric forms of worship were prevalent in the first century B.C. Kalidasa himself seems to have been a worshipper of the Devi. His name itself proclaims it as it is obviously an assumed one which means the servant of Kali. Besides the benedictory verse in Raghuvamsa clearly states the Sakta doctrine of the indivisibility of Siva and parvati. The God Mahakala of Ujjain whose worship the poet describes with manifest devotion was as we known from Gunadhya's story incorporated in Kathasarit Sagara adorned with tantric rites. In fact not only the different modes of Devi worship but the ceremonials of the tantric system in their various forms were well-known in the Gupta period.

While the above developments occurred in Buddhism and Jainism Hinduism developed some distinct characteristics which exist even till today. The first is the worship of images which superseded sacrifices. The sacrifices of the olden days were transformed into symbolic sacrifices into the images in the poojas. This naturally led to the decline of the priests who were dominant in sacrifices. Worship of god indeed became the concern of the individual but regulating individual social behaviour still remained the concern of the Brahmin. Man-made traditions of the past began to be treated as sacred laws. Orthodoxy attempted to maintain its power by rigid rules of exclusion. However seeing the difficulty of enforcing the sacred laws a more broad frame of difference came to be evolved as the four ends of man-religion and social law (dharma) economic welfare. (artha) pleasure (kama) and salvation of the soul (moksha). Then onwards it is being maintained that a correct balance of the first three could lead to the fourth.

Among those who practiced religion in a serious manner two sects came into existence - Vaishnuvism and Shaivism. Broadly speaking the first was mostly prevalent in northern India while the second in southern India. At this time the tantric beliefs left their mark on Hinduism. Shakti cults came into existence the subtle idea being that the male can be activated only by being united with the female. It was thus that Hindu gods acquired wives and both came to be worshiped. Apart from tantricism the appearance of this feature of Hinduism was probably promoted by the persistence of the worship of the mother Goddess which probably could be traced back to the Indus Valley Civilization.

Along with these developments the ground was prepared for the concept of svataras also. Hindu thinkers evolved the concept of cyclical theory of time. The cycle was called a kalpa. The kalpa itself is divided into fourteen periods. At the end of each period, the universe re-emerges with Manu, the primeval men. Each of these kalpas is further divided into great intervals and ultimately into Yugas or periods of time. As per the concept of this theory of time we are in the fourth of the Yugas, that is, the Kaliyuga with which the world will its end. The Kaliyuga is also associated with which the world will reach its end 10 the 10th incarnation of Vishnu.

All these developments in Hinduism were associated with disputations between Buddhists and brahmins. These debates centred around six systems of thought which came to be known as the six systems of Hindu philosophy - Nyaya or analysis based on logci, Vaisheshika or brood characteristics according to which the universe is composed of atoms as distinct from the soul' sankhya or enumeration recognizing dualism between matter and soul or athemeis, yoga or application relying on control over the body in order to acquire knowledge of the ultimate law of the Vedas as opposed to pose-Vedic thought, and Vedanta to refute the theories of non-Vedas. As known from the above analysis the first four schools are empirical in nature, whereas, the latter two are metaphysical. In later ages mimamasa and Vedanta gained over the others.

The above discourses were at the elite level and the generally of people came to possess their own books of knowledge. The Puranas as known to us today were composed in this period historical traditions as recorded by the brahmins. They were originally composed in parts but in this period they came to be re-written in classical Sanskrit. Later, knowledge relating to Hindu sex, rites and customs came to be added to them in order to make them sacrosanct.

GUPTA SOCIETY (HISTORY OF INDIA)

GUPTA SOCIETY

1. The Gupta age saw the acceptance of the Aryan pattern in northern India. The key status of the Brahmin was established. Good number of books re-written incorporating the view-point of the brahmins confirming the view that the status of the Brahmin was effective and powerful. Added to his, the increased granting of land to brahmins strengthened the pre-eminces of the Brahmin in society. The Brahmin thought that he was the sole custodian of Aryan tradition. Not only, this, the brahmins also monopolized knowledge and the education system.

2. Also, in the Aryan pattern of a society the master of the house occupied higher status. This indicates the disappearance of the indigenous pre-Aryan culture. Luckily this patriarchal Aryan society did not spread to all parts of India as conflict between Aryan and non-Aryan cultures continued. Al though the patriarchal stamp of Aryan and non-Aryan society, as revealed by the low status of women, became increasingly evident, the opposite also appeared in the form of increasing worship of Mother Goddess and fertility cults. In a way, the imposition of Aryan pattern of society on classes other than those of upper castes was incomplete and uncertain. In the post-Gutan era more and more concessions were made to popular cults as borne out by the spread of Saivism and linga worship. Thus, the Aryan pattern of society could not take routes in the whole of India. Al though women were idealized in literature, they definitely occupied a subordinate position. Only upper class women were permitted a limited kind of education and that too only for enabling them to converse intelligently. Occasionally there are references of women teachers and philosophers. Some of the later day evil practices began to appear in this age. Early marriages appeared, and even pre-puberty marriages. It was also suggested that a widow should not only live in strict celibacy, but pre-ferably burn herself on the funeral pyre of her husband, according to Thapar evidence shows that this practice dates from 510 A.D. as stated in an inscription at era. It gradually came to be followed by the upper classes of central India to begin with and later in eastern India and Napal.

3. Some of the towns of South Bihar were large like those of Magadha. People were generally rich and prosperous. Charitable institutions were numerous. Rest houses for travelers existed on the highways. The capital itself had excellent free hospital endowed by benevolent and enlightened citizens.

Interestingly Pataliputra was still a city which inspired awe. Fahien was impressed by it particularly as it possessed two monasteries of interest. According to him, the monks were famous for their learning and students from all quarters attended their lectures. He himself had spent three years in the study of Sanskrit language and the Buddhist scriptures in Patiliputra. Fahien was tremendoulsly impressed by the palaces and halls erected during the time of Asoka in the middle of the city. According to him the massive stone-work adorned with sculptures and decorative carvings appeared to be the work of spirits beyond the capacity of human craftsmen.

4. Fahien also recorded that on his journey from the Indus to Mathura and Yamuna he saw a large number of monasteries tenanted by thousands of monks. Mathura alone had 20 such institutions.

5. It is said that people generally observed the Buddhist rule of life. The Chandalas or outcastes lived outside towns and cities. They were required to strik a piece of wood on entering to town or a bazaar so that people might not become polluted by contact with them. This particular observation shows that the manners and attitudes of people and government underwent a great change from the days of the Mauryas. It may be remembered that earlier the people of Taxila offered herds of fat beasts to Alexander to be slaughtered. Even Asoka did not forbid the slaughter of kine. Fahien observed that through out the whole country no body except the lowest out castes killed any living thing. Drank strong liquor, or ate onions and garlic. Probably this view of Fahien has to be taken with a pinch of salt. What all his remark conveys is that the sentiment of ahimsa was probably very strong in mid-India. Possibly, Fahien was only remarking on Buddhists.

,6. In the field of education the sciences of mathematics and astronomy including estrology, were pursued. The famous writers of the day were Aryabhata, Varahamihira, and a little later Brahmagupta. The first two writers definitely absorbed some Greek elements relating to their respective sciences. By the end of the sixth century India had devised the decimal system for the notation of numeral and employed a special sign for zero. This contribution of India to the world in the sphere of practical knowledge was used in inscriptions only a century after Aryabhata.

7. The university at Nalanda became an educational center of international fame. Founded in the fifty century by one of the later Gupta emperors, it was endowed munificently by monarchs and rich men frol all parts of India and the Hindu colonies. Both Yuan-chwang and I-Tsing have left detailed accounts of their observations. We have also sufficient epigraphical and archaeological records to know more about it.

8. Formal education was imparted both in brahminical institutions and in Buddhist monasteries. In the latter pupils lived for 10 years but those who sought to join the ranks of monk  remained for a longer period. Nalanda was the premier canter of Buddhist learning.

9. Primarily formal education was limited to grammar rhetoric prose, composition, logic, metaphysics and medicine. It is interesting to observe that detailed works on veterinary science appeared and that too they primarily related to horses and elephants.

10. Most of technical and specialized knowledge remained with guilds. Unfortunately, this knowledge was transmitted to younger generations on hereditary lines. This knowledge of the guilds has no contact with Brahmin institutions and Buddhist monasteries. Exceptionally the only one subject that brought the guilds and others close was mathematics. Understandably great advance was made in the field of mathematics.

11. Dramatic entertainment was popular both in court circles and outside. Music concerts and dance performances were primarily held in well-to-do house holds and before discerning audience. The generality of people derived pleasure in gambling and in witnessing animal fights specially those, of rams, cocks and quails. Athletics and gymnastics were the well-known sporting tournaments of the day. At various festivals both religious and secular amusements of various kinds were witnessed by people. The festival of spring was an important event for merry-making. Al though Fahien says that vegetarianism was widely prevalent meat was commonly consumed. Wine both local and imported was drunk and chewing of beetle leaf was a regular practice.

12. Caste and occupation were related although it was not very strictly maintained. There appears to be some improvement in the status of the shudra as compared to the Mauryan times. There was a clear distinction between shudras and slaves in the legal literature of the day. Also the term 'dvija' came to be restricted to Brahmins. The inscriptions of the day, however indicate that there was social mobility among the sub-castes.

13. The legal text-books primarily base the mselves on the work of manu. The writers of the day were Yajnavalkay, Narada, Brihaspati, Katyayana. Joint family system was well-known.

14. The first major works on astronomy were compiled earlier. Some of the fundamental problems of astronomy were tackled by Aryabhata. It was primarily because of his efforts that astronomy was recognized as a separate discipline. Aryabhata also believed that the earth was a sphere and the shadow of the earth falling on the moon caused eclipses. A near contemporary of Aryabhata was Varahamihira who divided the study of a stronomy into three distinct branches - astronomy, and mathematics, horoscopy and astrology.