GUPTA EMPIRE For Govt. Exams Part II

Important Points to remember of  GUPTA EMPIRE

• The Gupta period witnessed a tremendous progress in the field of art, science and literature and on account of this it has been called “a golden age”.

• The temple at Deogarh near Jhansi and the sculptures in the temple at Garhwas near Allahabad remain important specimen of the Gupta art.

• The Bhitari monolithic pillar of Skandagupta is also remarkable.

• The paintings of the Gupta period are seen at Bagh caves near Gwalior.

• The mural paintings of Ajanta mostly illustrate the life of the Buddha as depicted in the Jataka stories.

• The paintings at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka were highly influenced by the Ajanta style.

• The Gupta coinage was also remarkable. Samudragupta issued eight types of gold coins.

• Chandragupta II and his successors had also issued gold, silver and copper coins of different varieties.

• The Sanskrit language became prominent during the Gupta period. The best of the Sanskrit literature belonged to the Gupta age.

• Samudragupta, a great poet patronized a number of scholars including Harisena.

• The court of Chandragupta II was adorned by the celebrated Navratnas. Kalidasa remain the foremost among them.

• The Panchatantra stories were composed by Vishnusarma during the Gupta period.

• The Puranas in their present form were composed during this period.

• There are eighteen Puranas. The most important among them are the Bhagavatha, Vishnu, Vayu and Matsya Puranas.

• The Mahabharatha and the Ramayana were given final touches and written in the present form during this period.

• The Gupta period witnessed a brilliant activity in the sphere of mathematics, astronomy, astrology and medicine.

• Aryabhatta was a great mathematician and astronomer. He wrote the book Aryabhatiya in 499 A.D. It deals with mathematics and astronomy.

• Aryabhatta was the first to declare that the earth was spherical in shape and that it rotates on its own axis. However, these views were rejected by later astronomers like Varahamihira and Brahmagupta.

• Varahamihira composed Pancha Siddhantika, the five astronomical systems.

• In the field of medicine, Vagbhata lived during this period. He was the last of the great medical trio of ancient India. The other two scholars Charaka and Susruta lived before the Gupta age.

GUPTA EMPIRE For Govt. Exams

GUPTA EMPIRE

Sources:

•The Puranas throw light on the royal genealogy of the Gupta kings. 

•Contemporary literary works like the Devichandraguptam and the Mudhrakshasam written by Visakadatta provide information regarding the rise of the Guptas.

•The Chinese traveler Fahien, who visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II, has left a valuable account of the social, economic and religious conditions of the Gupta empire.

•Apart from these literary sources, there are inscriptions like the Meherauli Iron Pillar Inscription and the Allahabad Pillar inscription.

•The coins issued by Gupta kings contain legends and figures. These coins provide interesting details about the titles and sacrifices performed by the Gupta monarchs.

Gupta monarchs

Sri Gupta:

•The founder of the Gupta dynasty was Sri Gupta. 

•He was succeeded by Ghatotkacha. 

•These two were called Maharajas.

Chandragupta I (320 – 330 A.D.):

•Chandragupta I and he was the first to be called Maharajadhiraja (the great king of kings).

•He strengthened his position by a matrimonial alliance with the Licchavis. 

•He married Kumaradevi, a princess of that family.

•The Meherauli Iron Pillar inscription mentions his extensive conquests. 

•Chandragupta I is considered to be the founder of the Gupta era which starts with his accession in A.D. 320.

 

Samudragupta (330-380 A.D.):

•Samudragupta was the greatest of the rulers of the Gupta dynasty.

•The Allahabad Pillar inscription provides a detailed account of his reign.

•Samudragupta marched against the South Indian monarchs.

•Samudragupta performed the asvamedha sacrifice. 

•He issued gold and silver coins with the legend ‘restorer of the asvamedha’. 

•It is because of his military achievements Samudragupta was hailed as ‘Indian Napoleon’.

Chandragupta II (380-415 A.D.):

•Samudragupta was succeeded by his son Chandragupta II Vikramaditya.

•Through matrimonial alliances he strengthened his political power. 

•He married Kuberanaga, a Naga princess of central India.

•The greatest of the military achievements of Chandragupta II was his war against the Saka satraps of western India.

•After this victory he performed the horse sacrifice and assumed the title Sakari, meaning, ‘destroyer of Sakas’. He also called himself 'Vikramaditya'.

•Ujjain became an important commercial city and soon became the alternative capital of the Guptas.

•The great wealth of the Gupta Empire was manifest in the variety of gold coins issued by Chandragupta II.

Fahien’s Visit:

•The famous Chinese pilgrim, Fahien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II. 

•Out of his nine years stay in India, he spent six years in the Gupta empire.

•He stayed in Pataliputra for three years studying Sanskrit and copying Buddhist texts.

•Fahien provides valuable information on the religious, social and economic condition of the Gupta empire.

Kumaragupta:

•Kumaragupta was the son and successor of Chandragupta II.

•He issued a number of coins and his inscriptions are found all over the Gupta empire. 

•He also performed an asvamedha sacrifice. 

•He laid the foundation of the Nalanda University which emerged an institution of international reputation. 

•At the end of his reign, a powerful wealthy tribe called the ‘Pushyamitras’ defeated the Gupta army.

Skandagupta:

•A branch of the Huns from Central Asia made attempts to cross the Hindukush mountains and invade India.

•Skandagupta who really faced the Hun invasion. 

•He fought successfully against the Huns and saved the empire.

Hun Invasion:

•After Skandagupta’s death, many of his successors like Purugupta, Narasimhagupta, Buddhagupta and Baladitya could not save the Gupta empire from the Huns.

•The Gupta power totally disappeared due to the Hun invasions and later by the rise of Yasodharman in Malwa.

 

Top Crop Producing States of India

Food Grains

Rice:

(1) West Bengal

(2) Uttar Pradesh

(3) Andhra Pradesh

(4) Punjab

Wheat:

(1) Uttar Pradesh

(2) Punjab

(3) Haryana

(4) Madhya Pradesh

Bajra:

(1) Rajasthan

(2) Gujarat

(3) Maharashtra

 

 

Jowar:

(1) Maharashtra

(2) Karnataka

(3) Madhya Pradesh

Maize:

(1) Andhra Pradesh

(2) Karnataka

(3) Rajasthan

Pulses:

(1) Madhya Pradesh

(2) Uttar Pradesh

(3) Maharashtra

(4) Rajasthan

Overall total food grains:

(1) Utter Pradesh

(2) Punjab

(3) Madhya Pradesh

Cash Crops

Sugarcane:

(1) Uttar Pradesh

(2) Maharashtra

(3) Karnataka

(4) Tamilnadu

Cotton:

(1) Gujarat

(2) Maharashtra

(3) Telangana

(4) Karnataka

Coffee:

(1) Karnataka

(2) Kerala

(3) Tamilnadu

(4) Andhra Pradesh

Tea:

(1) Assam

(2) West Bengal

(3) Himachal Pradesh

Silk:

(1) Karnataka

(2) Andhra Pradesh

(3) West Bengal

Rubber:

(1) Kerala

(2) Tamilnadu

(3) Karnataka

Tobacco:

(1) Andhra Pradesh

(2) Karnataka

(3) Gujarat

Oil Seed

Groundnut:

(1) Gujarat

(2) Andhra Pradesh

(3) Tamilnadu

Soya bean:

(1) Madhya Pradesh

(2) Maharashtra

(3) Rajasthan

Mustard:

(1) Rajasthan

(2) U.P.

(3) Haryana

Sunflower:

(1) Karnataka

(2) Andhra Pradesh

(3) Maharashtra

Overall total oil seeds:

(1) Madhya Pradesh

(2) Maharashtra

(3) Rajasthan

Important Agricultural Facts 

(India's Position in the World)

• Largest producer of milk.
• Largest producer of millets in the world
• Largest producer of jute.
• Largest producer of bananas.
• Largest producer of castor oil seeds.
• Largest producer of safflower oil seeds.
• Second largest producer of tea (first is China)
• Second largest producer of sugarcane (first is Brazil)
• Second largest producer of wheat (first is China)
• Second largest producer of rice (first is China)
• Second largest producer of silk (first is China)

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SSC Recruitment 2018: Notifications For Group C, D & Other Posts Released

The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) has released recruitment notifications for Group Group C and Group D posts through its official website.

Interested and eligible candidates can apply for the positions on or before November 19, 2018.

While the number of vacancies under the SSC has not been announced yet, the SSC will conduct an open competitive computer-based exam for the recruitment of Stenographer Grade C (Group B, Non-Gazetted) and Stenographer Grade D (Group ‘C’).

Important Dates

Date  for  submission of  online  applications :  22-10-2018 to 19-11-2018

Last date for receipt of application: 19-11-2018 (up to 5.00 P.M.)

Last date for making online fee payment: 21-11-2018 (5.00 PM)

Last date for generation of offline Challan: 21-11-2018 (5.00 PM)

Last date for payment through Challan (during  working  hours  of  Bank): 26-11-2018

Date of Computer Based Examination: 01-02-2019 to 06-02-2019

Age Limit

Stenographer Grade C: 18 to 30 years as on 01-01-2019(i.e. candidates  born on  or after 02-01-1989  and born  before or on  01- 01-2001)

Stenographer Grade D: 18-27 years as on 01-01-2019  (i.e. candidates born on or after 02-01-1992  and born  before or on  01-01-2001).

Age relaxation is also there as per rules.

For more details, click here for official notification before you apply for the positions.

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Advent of The Europeans : Study Notes for SSC

➤➤THE PORTUGUESE

➤➤In 1498, Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese voyager, became the first European to discover the sea route to India. 

➤➤He arrived at Calicut on 27 May 1498 and was given a warm reception by the Hindu ruler king Zamorin of Calicut.

➤➤Francisco-de-Almeida (1505-1509A.D.) -  He was the First viceroy of the Portuguese in India.

His policy was to increase the Portuguese naval power, this policy of controlling the settlement by naval force was known as the "Blue Water Policy"

➤➤Alfonso-De-Albuquerque (1509-1515A.D.) - Albuquerque was the second viceroy of the Portuguese in India. 

He captured Goa from the Sultan of Bijapur in 1510 and made it the capital.

➤➤THE DUTCH

➤➤The Dutch people of Holland founded the Dutch East India Company in 1602.

➤➤They established their first factory in Masulipatnam (1605), followed by factories in Pulicat (1610), Surat (1616).

➤➤In 1619, they were granted permission by the Mughal emperor Jahangir to trade at Surat on the west coast and Hoogly in the east.

➤➤The Dutch supremacy ended with their defeat at the hands of the English in the Battle of Bedara in 1759.

➤➤THE ENGLISH

➤➤In 1600, the English East India Company was established through a charter signed by Queen Elizabeth I.

➤➤In 1608, King James I of England sent Captain William Hawkins to the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir to obtain permission to establish a factory at Surat, but was denied any trading rights.

➤➤In 1619, when Sir Thomas Roe visited the court, they were allowed to set up their first factory in Surat.

➤➤They founded the city of Kolkata which included the regions of Sutanuti, Kalikota and Govindpur.

➤➤In 1640 the English built Fort St.George to protect their trade.

➤➤In 1700, they fortified the factory at Sutanati and named it Fort William.

➤➤Charles II the king of England married Catherine the daughter of the king of Portugal and got Bombay, as a part of dowry.

➤➤THE DANISH

➤➤In 1616, the East India Company of Denmark reached Indian coasts and established settlements in Tranquebar in Tamil Nadu (1620) and Serampore in Bengal (1676).

➤➤THE FRENCH

➤➤The French East India Company was established in 1664 by Colbert, the minister of Louis XIV, the king of France.

➤➤They set up their factories at Surat in 1668 and Masulipatnam in 1669.

➤➤In 1674 they got a place to the south of Madras from the ruler of Tanjore and laid the foundation of Pondicherry, which became the headquarters of the French settlements in India.

➤➤In 1690 they established their settlement at Chandranagore.

➤➤During 1742, the French Governor Dupleix started repulsing English power, which resulted in the Carnatic wars and eventually the defeat of the French.

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Jainism : Study Notes for SSC

 

• Jainism was founded by Aadinath and Rishabha Dev, while the real founder was Mahavir swami.
• The five Mahavarta (important principles) of Jainism are-: Ahimsa, Satya (truth), Asteya (not to steal), Aparigraha and Brahmacharya.
• The first 4 was added by 23rd Tirthankar "Parasnath" while the 5th was added by Mahavir.
• Vardhamana Mahavira was a contemporary of Buddha.
• He was born in 540 BC at kundigram in Vaishali(Bihar).
• He was a kshatriya prince of the Lichchhavis, a group that was part of the Vajji sangha.
• The parents of Mahavira were Siddhartha and Trishala.His childhood name was Vardhmaan.
• Mahavira married a princess named Yashoda.
• Anujya or Priyadarshna was the daughter of Mahavira who was married to Jamali.
• At the age of 30, Mahavira took permission from his elder brother "Nandi Vardhan" and left his home.
• At the age of 42 years, under Sal tree on the bank of river Rijupalika, He attained the highest spiritual knowledge.
• He died in 468 B.C because of self-starvation at Pava, near Rajgriha.
• Mahavir gave his first sermon at Pava to 11 Brahman.
• Jains believe that by following the three-fold path of right Belief, right Knowledge and right Con­duct, souls will be released from transmigration and reach the pure and blissful abode.
• First Jain Council was held at Patliputra under the chairmanship of Sthulabhadra in 367 B.C.It resulted in the compilation of 12 Angas replacing the lost 14 Purvas.
• The Second Jain Council was held at Vallabhi under the chairmanship of Devardhi in 526 A.D.
• Jainism literature: They were written in Prakrit language.


1. Aachrang Sutra- Tells about meditation of Mahavir for 12 years.
2. Kalpa-sutra - Biographies of Jain Tirthankaras mainly ParashnaMahavir.
3. Bhagwati Sutra - It contains thousands of question and answers on various topics from four Anuyogas, Such as soul, entities, matter, ultimate particles and universe.

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