The Gupta-Vardhana Age: Economy & Religion
Saturday, 23rd May, 2009
As in the earlier periods, agriculture remained the economic basis of the society. It was an age of agricultural expansion but the progress in this direction seems to have been on traditional lines. Land revenue amounting to certain portion of the produce was charged by the state from the farmers. There existed irrigation facilities and the agricultural produce included wheat, barley, rice, beans of various varieties, oil seeds and sugar of the Pundra cane variety, vines and pomegranates were grown in orchards while the cumin was watered by means of Persian water wheels.
Because of abundance of the raw materials, skill and enterprise of the artisans and craftsmen, various industries flourished in the country. Cloth manufacture was the principal industry which offered employment to a large number of people. The other important industries were sculpture, inlaying, ivory work, printing, smith craft, lathing, carpentry, melting of metals etc. the country seems to be self sufficient in weapons of war which were built all over the country. Technical sciences were utilized for smelting metals. The famous iron pillar at Meharuli is an excellent example of Indian metallurgical skill. It was originally erected at Vishnupada, a mount on the bank of the river Beas. It is over 23 feet high and 16.4 inches in diameter and in spite of centuries of exposure to weather, it has not yet rusted and inscriptions remains today as clear as when it was cut. The literary works of the period contain numerous references to manufacture of gold and silver ornaments such as rings, bracelets and necklaces.
The unification of northern India and the benefits of peace and order bestowed by the Gupta rulers, and later by Harshavardhan gave a great impetus to both internal and overseas trade. Fahien observed that a great northern trade route ran from Central Asia to the interiors of India and this of course passed through the North West frontier province and Punjab. The principal items of export were spikenard and musk gathered from the Upper Indus Valley. China silk and ivory were imported respectively from China and Ethiopia. The development of trade and industry brought economic prosperity and led to rise of standard of living, particularly of the upper classes. New cities came into existence. The large cities further developed into trading centers. Some of the important cities were Taxila, Shakala, Mulasthana, Simhapura, Sthaneswara, Sanghavala, Jalandhar, and Srughana.
The Gupta Kings were close followers of Hinduism. The old Brahmanical religion which believed in rituals and ceremonial worship of gods were revived. People generally worshipped Vishnu, Shiva and Surya. Kartikya was the family deity of the Yaudyas who inhabited the territory along the banks of Satluj on the borders of the Bahawalpur State. Idol worship had become a common feature of Hinduism from the Gupta period. Hiuen Tsang writes that there were 100 Deva temples or Mahadeva Temples at Thaneshwar which shows the growing influence of Shaivism there. Another peculiar development of Brahmanical religion was the growth of Philosophical schools and ascetic order of Pasupati, Kalpika and Pancheratrikas who were votaries of vigorous forms of Shaivism. There were many centers of Brahmanical faith in the Vardhana age such as Sarughana, Sthaneshwara, Mulasthana and the territory of Chinabhukti. There was also a famous center of Pashupata sect at Jalandhar.
During the time of Fahien, Buddhism was on its decline in India but it still flourished in some parts of India. It appears from the account of Hiuen Tsang that Buddhism had lost its hold upon the people and was in fact disappearing from the country. In the North West part of India particularly in Nagarhart, Gandhara, Udayana and Taxila, he found the Buddhist monsatries mostly in ruins and almost deserted. But he found Buddhism still flourishing in Chinabhukti, Sindhudesh Parvata, Shatadru and Kulu. There were many causes of decline of Buddhism such as revival of Brahmanism, and the division of Buddhism into many sects which varied particularly of the Hunas on the Punjab further contributed to the downfall of Buddhism in the North West regions of India.
