QUE : Describe the political achievements of Gujarat during the Gupta period.

The Gupta Empire is called the Golden Age of India. After the fall of the Maurya dynasty, there was no strong central authority, so chaos and unrest spread in Magadha. But in 319 AD, the Gupta king Chandragupta I established the state in Magadha with the help of the Lichchhavis.

              Samudragupta’s son Chandragupta II came to the throne of Magadha in 376 AD. He conquered its Malwa and Gujarat territories and established the Gupta rule there.

• Major political achievements
  

•  The political history of the Gupta dynasty can be known from the Girnar inscriptions.
  
•  The rule of the Kshatrapas in the Anarta region lasted from about 100 to 400 AD. After that, the great Gupta emperor Chandragupta II of Magadha conquered Gujarat from the Shakshatrapas.
  
•  According to Kautilya’s Arthashastra, the head of the province at that time was called Rashtriya.
  
•  Chandragupta’s suba of Saurashtra was Pushpagupta Vaishya. According to the inscription, ‘Pradeshika’ was equivalent to the collector who administered the district.
  
•  Accordingly, the Yukta was the treasurer of the district and the village officer was the Gramadhyak.
  
•  After Chandragupta II, the rule of Kumaragupta I and after him, the rule of Skandagupta was established.
  
• During Kumaragupta’s time, the capital of Saurashtra was Girnar. But no information is available about the suba appointed there. During Kumaragupta’s long reign, numerous of his coins were in circulation in Saurashtra.
  
•  There is evidence that the Gupta rule of Saurashtra was liberal and orderly like other parts.
  
•  The words ‘Parambhagavat Maharajadhiraj Shri Skandagupta Vikramaditya’ are written on the silver coins found of Skandagupta.
  
• Skandagupta’s inscription near Girnar gives a glimpse of the progress of the Gupta Empire in Saurashtra-Gujarat.
  
•  According to the inscriptions, the officers were forgiving, patient, brave, able to control the unruly, charitable and devoted to the people.
  
•  By appointing Parandatta as the governor of Saurashtra, Skandagupta became confident in his administration.
  
•  After the death of Skandagupta, the Gupta Empire fell apart due to the continuous attacks of the Huns and weak heirs. The Palas fell. Villages
  
•  After the death of Skandagupta, the power of the Gupta Empire collapsed. Distant regions rejected the supremacy of the Gupta Empire and became independent. Gujarat also took advantage of this situation and Bhattark, a general of the Maitrak clan, established his own independent power in Vallabhi.