History of India: ancient and medieval / Guptas, Vakatakas and post-Gupta north India
Gupta economy and society
Practise 3 PYQsConcepts to cover
- Vishti: forced labour treated as a source of state income, common in Madhya Pradesh and Kathiawar records
- Land measures kulyavapa, dronavapa, adhavapa; agrahara grants; copper-plate charters
- Trade and ports of the Gupta age: Tamralipti, Ghantasala, Kadura, Chaul, Bharuch; decline of Roman trade
- Varna and proliferation of jatis, first sati record (Eran 510 CE), women's property and status
- Bhagavata Vaishnavism as court religion, tolerance to Buddhism and Jainism, temple building
Where to study
India’s Ancient Past · R. S. Sharma
- ch. 25
Tamil Nadu State Board Class XI History, Volume I
- Lesson 7 The Guptas, pp. 110-127 (printed 106-123)
- Lesson 7 The Guptas, 7.5 Economic Condition; Agriculture and Agrarian Structure (forced labour), pp. 116-117 (printed 112-113)
- Lesson 7 The Guptas, Other Land Grants; Irrigation; Position of Peasantry, p. 117 (printed 113)
- Lesson 7 The Guptas, 7.5 Economic Condition (trade and ports), pp. 116-119 (printed 112-115)
- Lesson 7 The Guptas, Industry: Mining and Metallurgy; society (sati, jati), p. 118 (printed 114)
- Lesson 7 The Guptas, 7.2 Samudragupta (follower of Vaishnavism, patron of Vasubandhu), p. 113 (printed 109)
Themes in Indian History Part I, Class XII, Theme 3 Kinship, Caste and Class: Early Societies
- Theme 3 Kinship, Caste and Class, pp. 1-29 (printed 53-81)
- Theme 3 Kinship, Caste and Class, 4. Beyond Birth: Resources and Status, pp. 16-19 (printed 68-71)
Themes in Indian History Part I, Class XII, Theme 2 Kings, Farmers and Towns: Early States and Economies
- Theme 2 Kings, Farmers and Towns, 5. A Changing Countryside: Prabhavati Gupta and the village of Danguna (land grants), pp. 13-14 (printed 40-41)
Our Pasts I, Class VI, ch. 9 Traders, Kings and Pilgrims
- ch. 9 Traders, Kings and Pilgrims, The beginning of Bhakti, pp. 9-10 (printed 99-100)