History Optional (Gupta Period) by Shivlal Gupta

Model Answer

Question #1. Critically examine the change in position of Women during Gupta period with special references to sources?  10 marks (150 words)

Approach

• Changes in society and cultural dimensions were evident during Gupta period. There were changes noticed in social groups, castes equations, classes Varna order and women. 
• Position of women during Gupta saw newer dimensions in terms of their role, duties and status in family, society   etc. Theme of the question is to examine those changes by referring to some sources which reflects those changes in position of women. 
• Introduction shall be focus on theme or highlight the central demand. 
• In the body, write your arguments substantiated with examples and sources.
• Conclude in an examining tone.  

Hints

The social order during gupta period was varna based. The prime sources which gives us information about social order are foreign account like FAXIAN, coins, literature etc. Coins and inscriptions and foreign account mostly deals with royal lives however the literatures like Smiritis and Puranas, katyana, Brihaspati and naradsmiriti etc. reveals much about lives of gentry. 

During the Gupta period (approximately 320-550 CE) in ancient India, women held a significant position in society and enjoyed certain rights and privileges. While there is limited direct evidence from that period, the available sources shed some light on the position of women during the Gupta dynasty.

• Literature from the Gupta period provides some insights into the lives of women. The works of Kalidasa, often depict women as educated, cultured, and actively participating in social and cultural life. For example, his play "Abhijnanasakuntalam" portrays the character of Shakuntala as a highly educated and virtuous woman.
• Inscriptions talked more about royal and elite households but there are certain texts which gives us ample information about women in that period. Those texts like kamashutra and Dhamrashastra –Narada, Brihaspati and Katyanasmiritis throw light on household and gender relations. 
• Improved position of women can be seen in royal life like appearance of of queen on royal coins. Coins of King and queen type like that of Kumardevi appears on coins of Chandra gupta I. 
• Standing female with flywhisk in her right hand appears on reverse of the ashwamedha type of coins of Samudra and skandagupta. 
• Matrimonial alliances were an important part in those times. We can gauge this by the name of queen who was mentioned in the coin. For example, Allahbad/PrayagPrashsahthi and Bhithari pillar inscription. 
• Inscriptions from the Gupta era, found on pillars, rocks, and temple walls, provide valuable information about societal norms and women's roles. Some inscriptions mention women holding positions of authority as queens, princesses, or administrators. However we don’t find the mention of land grants in the name of women. 
• Accounts of Chinese travelers, such as Fa Xian and Xuanzang, who visited India during the Gupta period, provide some observations on the position of women. While these accounts primarily focus on religious and cultural aspects, they mention the presence of educated and influential women, particularly in the realm of Buddhism.
• The Dharmashastras, ancient legal and ethical texts, shed light on the societal norms and expectations for women during the Gupta period. While these texts reflect Brahmanical ideals and might not apply uniformly across different regions and social groups, they outline the duties and responsibilities expected of women. 
• The Manusmriti, for example, provides guidelines for women's conduct, marriage, inheritance, and property rights. Several kind of dhanas were mentioned for women which she can inherit. For e.g. Adhyagni- which was given to bride in marriage before the nuptial fire, Adhyavahanika the dhana which she get when going from house of father to house of husband. 
• Further there are also some gifts or dhan (property) given by in laws when bride touches their feet or when she goes from place of her father to her husband place. This denotes that the property rights of women were limited.
• In terms of education we do find several names of educated women. Vatsayana refers to formal education of elite women only. However most of the education for women was limited to literary and learning household chores and occupations. There was no formal education for women. Further women along with shudrawere allowed to listen to Epics like Ramayana and Puarans. 
• The open and free depiction of women or their representation in art/literature depicts that there was no purdah system. In terms of marriage the dharmashastra advocated to lower the age of marriage of women however Kamasutra professed bride to be mature and grown. It asked for kulin marriage. 
• Further katyana refers to certain duties of wife with regard to household, husband, in laws and said that women require permission from her husband to attend any social function. She was advocated to be under control of her husband. 
• Further literary sources like Katyanas and vatsayan refers to the system of prostitutes and ganikas. Though they were at times educated and witty and appreciated but their physical services and sexual favours can be bought by giving a price which made their status low. 
• Further we find the evidences of Sati or the practice of Sati from the Eran inscriptions and Brihasapatismiriti. Here we can see that morality was enforced on women. She was considered someone with having identity attached with male member of her family be it father, brother and husband. 

Thus looking at above sources and information we can say that there were considerable changes in society and status/position of women saw tremendous changes. Due to her low economic independence especially in higher varna women whose economic independence was lower when compared to women from lower varna, they suffer from lack of independence in social sphere which also caused political participation and conduct to be restricted. 

They were considered to be property and at receiving end of numerous restrictions. Further with these developments and negligible improvements in their status and position, these patriarchal norms were institutionalised and carried in the coming ages.    

Question #2. Do you think that the change in nature of land grants was responsible for making Gupta phase as the period of proto-feudal polity? 15 marks (250 words)

Approach

• Theme of the question is to examine the responsibility of land grants as dominant factor for making Gupta period a proto feudal dominated period. 
• Introduce with land grants as constant and specific feature. It impact
• Argue on reasons for land grants, socio-political, economic reasons and impacts be clearly spelt. 
• Discuss the nature of proto feudal polity. 
• Conclude highlighting the sumup of arguments.

Land grants were a common practice during this era, where rulers or wealthy individuals granted land to individuals, usually in return for services or loyalty. These grants led to the emergence of a socio-economic structure that resembled feudalism in some aspects.

• Land grants helped the Gupta rulers consolidate their power. It also had economic implications. The recipients of land grants became the owners of the land, which allowed them to collect revenue and taxes from the land and its inhabitants. This system helped in the generation of income for both the grantee and the state. The grantees often had to pay a share of the revenue or taxes to the Gupta administration, enhancing the state's financial resources.
• The main sources for understanding the polity of the Guptas are literary and archaeological.Among the literary sources, mention must be made of Kamandaka'sNeetisara and Manusmriti, or Mam Dharmasastra, the codified Vedic and Puranic literature along with the contemporary literary pieces and foreign accounts.
• Among archaeological sources, mention must be made of royal Prasastis like the Allahabad or PrayagaPrasasti of Samudra Gupta and many other epigraphs, and the coins and clay seals issued by the Gupta rulers, in particular the Aswamedha type of coins with titles of the kings on them.
• The above-mentioned sources give an idea of the nature and dynamics of the Gupta polity. Generally, the rule of the Guptas in northern India is characterized as imperial government. However, this is not very correct, as centralized control of the Gupta polity does not appear to be a fact.
• The social order and its linkage with political affairs was based on norms established through varna system. Guptas were not Kshatriyas and they sought to maintain their political acceptability through land grants to brahmanas. We have the evidences of such land grants like Agraharas, Brhmadeya lands etc. these lands were tax free and at times conferred some sort of administrative authority. 
• Brhamanas in turn upheld the varna order and enforced the Kshatriya status for Gupta rulers and them part of ruling class. The varna based order had put up a iron curtained compartment and classs division and land grants was one of the legitimising factor for this. 
• N.N. Bhattacharya observes, "The Allahabad Pillar inscription refers to Samudragupta quite in accordance with Manu's concept of Kingship as a God dwelling on earth and that the Gupta kings, like their predecessors, the Kushanas and the Mauryas, tried to put this idea into practice, but it was possible only on a limited scale, in areas which lay within a manageable distance from the capital. 
• The rest of the empire and the occupied territories were put in charge of the local rulers, mostly by erstwhile masters of the land, acting almost independently as feudatories or vassals who paid only a token submission to the imperial authority".
• The king was the central figure in the administration. They assumed titles like Maharajadhiraja, Samrat, Ekadhiraja, Chakravarthi, Paramabhattaraka, Paramadaivata and Parameswara. The Allahabad Prasasti of Samudragupta eulogizes the king as "equal to the Gods; Dhanada (Kubera), Varuna (Rain God), Indra and Antaka (Yama), who had no antagonist of equal power in the world". 

These kinds of titles taken by the Gupta kings itself shows the decntralisation of power which could be justified by different categories of feuds within Gupta empire

At least three categories of feudatories may be identified:

(i) Feudatory lines existing before the rise of the suzerain power but reduced to vassalage;

(ii) Feudatory lines established by junior branches of the imperial dynasty; and

(iii) Feudatories through imperial creation. During the Gupta period, the first categories of feudatories were very common.

• The fact that Gupta control on feudatories was not strong can be substantiated by the following instances. The Vallabhi princes issued coins mentioning the names of the Gupta kings but with their own symbol of trident instead of the peacock symbol of the Guptas, likewise the Parivrajaka Maharaja land grants refer to the Gupta era without recording the names of the Gupta rulers. 
• There are instances that reveal that the Gupta polity was not centralized, but layered. The Gupta polity became layered because of the strategy adopted by the rulers.
• The process of land donation was initiated by the Satvahana rulers but these were religious in nature. Over the time the nature of land donations kept on changing as some other rights such as judiciary administrative were also transferred apart from the right over land revenue. 
• During the Gupta empire because of agrarian expansion towards east and financial crunches compelled the Gupta kings for more decentralization of power which became one of the most important reasons for feudatory polity in India. 

While the Gupta period had elements resembling feudalism, it is important to note that it was not a full-fledged feudal system as seen in medieval Europe. The Gupta period's socio-economic structure was characterized by a mix of feudal and non-feudal elements, making it a proto-feudal polity.