Post-Mauryan and Gupta Age
c. 200 BCE–550 CE for UPSC — Shungas, Satavahanas, Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas, the Sangam age, Gandhara and Mathura art, and the Gupta classical age.
SyllabusGS I · History of India (Prelims); Indian culture — salient aspects of art forms, literature and architecture from ancient times (Mains GS I)
This chapter covers roughly 750 years — from the fall of the Mauryas (c. 185 BCE) to the decline of the Guptas (mid-sixth century CE). In the north, Indian dynasties (Shungas, Kanvas) and Central Asian rulers (Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas) rose and fell; in the Deccan the Satavahanas held power; in the far south the Sangam poems describe the Chera, Chola and Pandya kingdoms. The Guptas then built the empire whose art, literature and science are often called “classical”.
What UPSC asks
- Prelims: inscriptions (Hathigumpha, Nashik, Junagadh, Allahabad, Mehrauli, Eran), Kushana and Gupta rulers and their deeds, the three schools of sculpture, Sangam texts and ports, Gupta literature and science, Gupta temples and Ajanta.
- Mains GS I: Gandhara vs Mathura vs Amaravati art; the Gupta “golden age” debate; temple architecture beginnings; Indo-Roman trade; the Sangam literary tradition.
Key sub-topics
| Sub-topic | Focus |
|---|---|
| Post-Mauryan north | Shungas, Kanvas, Indo-Greeks, Shakas, Kushanas |
| Deccan and south | Satavahanas, Kharavela, the Sangam age, Roman trade |
| Art of the period | Stupas (Bharhut, Sanchi, Amaravati), Gandhara and Mathura schools |
| The Guptas | Rulers, administration, society, religion |
| Classical culture | Kalidasa, Aryabhata, temples, Ajanta, Nalanda |
Topic pages