Kumaragupta I

Also called: Mahendraditya · Topic: Gupta Empire and the Classical Age · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

Kumaragupta I (also called Mahendraditya) was a Gupta king who ruled from about 413 to 455 CE. He was the son of Chandragupta II, and he founded the Nalanda Mahavihara in Bihar [1][2].

• He matters because he is the king most closely tied to Nalanda. Nalanda was the great Buddhist monastery-university that became a model for later centres of learning in Asia.
• His reign shows something important about Gupta rule. The kings were Vaishnavas, but they still paid for the schools of another faith.

Explanation

Background: the empire he took over

• Kumaragupta I came to the throne after his father, Chandragupta II. Chandragupta II had made the Gupta Empire very large and strong.

• Chandragupta II is probably the king "Chandra" named on the Iron Pillar, which now stands at Mehrauli in Delhi [3][4].

• So Kumaragupta took over a large empire that was already at peace.

• His long reign of about 40 years kept this peace and stability going.

• This peace is one reason the age is called "classical". Old learning could be gathered, finished and written down.

• Like other Gupta rulers, he was a Vaishnava (a worshipper of the god Vishnu).

Main features of his reign

• Royal titles:
• Gupta kings took titles that ended in -aditya ("sun").

• His title was Mahendraditya. His father's title was Vikramaditya.

• Ashvamedha (horse sacrifice):

• The Ashvamedha was an old Vedic ritual. Through it a king claimed to be supreme over other kings.
• Kumaragupta I is known to have performed it, and gold coins with the horse-sacrifice design are linked to him.

• Its message: the king was still the great overlord, just as his grandfather Samudragupta had been.

• Coins:

• He issued many types of gold coins (called dinaras in the Gupta period).
• A famous type shows Kartikeya (also called Kumara, the god of war) riding a peacock. On some coins the king himself feeds a peacock.

• The king's own name comes from this god: Kumara-gupta means "protected by Kumara".

• Religious openness:

• He was a Vaishnava, yet he honoured Kartikeya on his coins.
• He also funded a Buddhist monastery.

Nalanda: his most lasting work

• Nalanda Mahavihara was founded by Kumaragupta I in the 5th century CE [1][2].

• A mahavihara is a "great vihara". A vihara was a Buddhist monastery where monks lived and studied, so it was also a residential college.

• The Guptas funded Nalanda and other viharas even though they were Vaishnavas.

• This inclusive patronage means a king of one faith paid for another faith's schools.

• It is one main reason some historians call this period the "classical age".

• What grew from his foundation:

• ASI excavations in 1915–37 and 1974–82 found six major brick temples and eleven monasteries. They were laid out to a plan over more than one square kilometre [1].

• The larger site covers a very long time, from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. It holds stupas, shrines, viharas and art in stucco, stone and metal [1].

• Point to remember: the Guptas did not invent Nalanda's learning. What they did was pay for the campus that made it famous.

End of the reign and results

• Near the end of his reign, the empire faced attacks from outside. Some were by a group called the Pushyamitras, according to an inscription of his son.
• He was followed by his son, Skandagupta. Skandagupta had to fight the Hunas, who invaded from Central Asia.
• Results of his reign:
• It was the last long stretch of calm before the empire grew weaker.
• The money he spent on learning lasted far longer than his empire did. Nalanda went on for centuries after the Guptas fell.

Time, place and evidence

• Period: He ruled c. 413–455 CE [1][2], in the Gupta dynasty (c. 300–600 CE). Sources differ slightly on the exact years, so treat them as approximate.
• Region: The heart of the empire was the Ganga valley. Nalanda is in Bihar, about 88 km from Patna [1][2].
• Key people:
• Chandragupta II was his father.

• Skandagupta was his son and the next king.

• How we know about him:

• Gold coins: the Kartikeya-on-peacock type and the Ashvamedha type.
• Inscriptions from his own reign, for example land-grant copper plates found in Bengal.
• Inscriptions of his son Skandagupta, which describe the troubles at the end of his reign.
• Archaeology at Nalanda: ASI excavations in 1915–37 and 1974–82 [1].

• Later Buddhist accounts: the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang says a king called Shakraditya founded Nalanda. Many historians think this was Kumaragupta I, but that identification is not certain.

• Heritage status: UNESCO added the Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara to the World Heritage List on 15 July 2016 [1][2].

Don't confuse with

• Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) was Kumaragupta's father. The Iron Pillar inscription honours "Chandra", who is probably Chandragupta II, not Kumaragupta [3][4].
• Skandagupta was Kumaragupta's son and the next king. He is the king remembered for fighting off the Hunas. Kumaragupta founded Nalanda; he did not drive back the Hunas.
• Kumarasambhava is a poem by Kalidasa about the birth of Kumara (Kartikeya). It is a text, not a king. The only link to Kumaragupta is the god Kumara, whose name the king carries and whose image is on his coins.
• Later Gupta kings with the same name (Kumaragupta II, Kumaragupta III) ruled after him, when the empire was weaker. In exam questions, Nalanda's founding goes to Kumaragupta I.

Prelims Hooks

• Nalanda Mahavihara was founded by Kumaragupta I (413–455 CE) of the Gupta dynasty [1][2].
• Kumaragupta I's title was Mahendraditya. Vikramaditya was the title of his father, Chandragupta II.
• The Gupta order of succession was Samudragupta → Chandragupta II → Kumaragupta I → Skandagupta.
• Nalanda, in Bihar, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 15 July 2016 [1][2].
• ASI excavations at Nalanda (1915–37, 1974–82) found 6 brick temples and 11 monasteries [1].
• Trap: the Guptas were Vaishnavas, yet they funded Buddhist Nalanda. So "the Guptas patronised only Brahmanical institutions" is false.

Mains Points

• State support for learning crossed religious lines. Kumaragupta I was a Vaishnava king. Yet he founded a Buddhist mahavihara, Nalanda [1], and he honoured Kartikeya on his coins. You can use this in answers on India's traditions of tolerance and on the state's role in education.
• Peace made the "classical age" possible, but the label can be questioned.
• His long and calm reign let the work of collecting and finishing knowledge continue. Nalanda is the best example.
• But much of this patronage went to elite, Sanskrit, court-centred learning.

• The Pushyamitra and Huna troubles at the end of his reign show the calm did not last.

• Patronage outlived politics. The Gupta Empire broke up within about a century after him. Nalanda, which he founded, stayed active until the 13th century CE [1]. The money a king gives to a centre of learning can last much longer than his kingdom.

Related concepts

• Aryabhata
• Aryabhatiya
• Hindu-Arabic numerals
• Bakhshali manuscript
• Surya Siddhanta
• Varahamihira
• Bhaskara I
• Virahanka
• Kalidasa
• Abhijnanashakuntalam

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