Gupta art and the empire's decline

The Gupta kings made a place where creativity and craft could thrive, and some of history's most famous works were made then.

Big centres of art grew up: Sārnāth (near Varanasi), known for beautiful Buddha sculptures, and the amazing Ajanta caves in Maharashtra.

The Ajanta caves were carved with support from the Guptas and Vākāṭakas: two allies working on the same monuments! One cave is shaped like a temple, with a stūpa in the middle from which a seated Buddha comes out. Its arched stone roof copies wooden beams. Since the wooden buildings are long gone, carvings like this show us what they looked like. Another cave has the famous painting of Bodhisattva Padmapāṇi.

The rock-cut caves and carved gods at Udayagiri (Madhya Pradesh) are another example. 'Gupta art' set high standards of beauty that lasted a long time.

How do you read a sculpture? Clay (terracotta) figures from Ahichchhatra (western UP) show the holy rivers Ganga and Yamuna. Both have water flowing over their heads and a pot, which says 'river'. To tell them apart, look at their feet:

By the 6th century CE, the empire was weakening:

• from outside: the fierce Hūṇas from Central Asia attacked again and again, weakening Gupta control of the north
• from inside: strong regional rulers rose, causing internal conflicts

Pressure outside and pulling apart inside, just as the last chapter described.

Was this the end, or the start of a turning point in Indian history? You'll find out in the next part of the book.