History

The Pan-Asian Dharmic Influence of the Gupta Empire

Ancient Indians travelled widely abroad. They carried out trade with several countries. It was not just the traders and businessmen who travelled widely but people from all the four varṇas. Even today we find the roots of brāhmaṇa families in Indonesia, Thailand, Bali, and other places. The ancient tradition has remained until this day. It is a different matter to what extent these traditions have loosened and transformed into something else. In sum, it is a fact that their ancestors migrated to those regions from India. In these exchanges, the role of the Guptas is pre-eminent.

The Tradition of Kshaatra in India: Reinvigoration of Sanatana Dharma During the Gupta Period

If some amount of inertia has crept into the framework of Sanatana Dharma in our age, the responsibility for reinvigorating it falls squarely on our shoulders. If we wish to reject something, we need to first think about providing a better alternative. If we wish to decry Valentine’s Day, we need to provide an alternative by reviving either the Madanotsava or the Vasantotsava [typically celebrated during the Holi festival] from the annals of our hoary, bounteous and beautiful tradition.

The Tradition of Kshatra in India: The Brilliance and Accomplishment of Chandragupta Vikramaditya

Several historical evidences including some coins attest that Ramagupta assumed power after the demise of Samudragupta. We also have a play titled Devichandragupta authored by Vishakhadatta. However, the complete play is unavailable today. The extant version is available in the form of fragments of about five or six acts. The towering scholar, Dr. V Raghavan has compiled all of this in the appendix of his work, Bhojashrungaraprakasha.

The Tradition of Kshaatra in India: Infighting among our Ancient Republics

Buddha approved of and loved both the system of republics as well as the system of monarchy. He himself came from a republics establishment; he belonged to the Śākya-gaṇa. The republic that lay close to it was the Kolīya-gaṇa. There was a huge quarrel between the Śākya-gaṇa and the Kolīya-gaṇa with regard to sharing the waters of the River Rohiṇī.

The Tradition of Kshaatra in India: Weakness of the Gana-Tantra System

Samudragupta had a wife named Dattadevi. Ramagupta and Chandragupta Vikramaditya were their sons. We are fortunate to know their names and other details from the coins that were minted in that era. A great economic, cultural, and social revolution took place in the Gupta Age. We can see in history how the span, the vastness, and the kṣātra (of the Gupta Age) protected people in all stages of life, from all walks of life.

The Tradition of Kshaatra in India: Samudragupta, the Torchbearer

The multi-volume History and Culture of the Indian People, a definitive work authored by numerous scholars, contains the most accurate and clear history of the Guptas. R.C. Majumdar, the General Editor of the volume titled The Classical Age, and K.M. Munshi, who has written a foreword to the volume have held that the glory of the Gupta Era was extraordinary. Indeed, Munshi has written that this extraordinary glory was possible because of Dharma.

The Awareness of Kshaatra in the Shungas

Pushyamitra Shunga tried to liberate Bharata’s lands under Greek occupation. The Greek invasion that began with Alexander continued till the time of Menander. The same Menander came to be known as Milindara later. Buddhists texts mention his name. The dialogue between Nagasena and Menander is recorded in the Pali (Magadhi) text ‘Milinda Panho.’ For a prolonged period—nearly three hundred years—the Ionian incursions were a recurring feature.