Gupta Empire - Administration, Founder, Rulers, Period | Ancient History for UPSC Prelims & Mains
Summary
TLDRThis educational video script delves into the Gupta Empire's administrative structure, highlighting its unique blend of centralized and decentralized governance. It explores the significance of the land grant system in fostering feudalistic tendencies, the rise of local power centers, and the core-periphery model of administration. Key rulers and their impact on the empire's expansion are mentioned, alongside the various levels of provincial and central administration, emphasizing the complexity and adaptability of Gupta rule.
Takeaways
- 📚 The Gupta Empire is a significant topic in Indian history, with a unique administration system that's not commonly covered in standard books.
- 🏛 The Gupta administration had a decentralized structure with a core area and a periphery, where the core was under direct control and the periphery was managed through local power centers.
- 🕰 Understanding the Guptas requires knowledge of the post-Mauryan period and the timelines of North and South India, which includes various dynasties like the Shungas, Indo-Greeks, Sakas, and Kushanas in the North, and the Satavahanas in the South.
- 💼 The land grant system played a crucial role in the Gupta period, initially given to Brahmins and Buddhists for appeasement and later to officers as a form of salary, leading to the rise of landed intermediaries and localization of power.
- 🌐 The concept of suzerainty emerged from the land grant system, creating a feudalistic tendency where power was decentralized and local power centers, such as maharajas and mahabhajas, gained significant influence.
- 🛡️ The Gupta Empire's core area was around Patliputra and Koshambi, while the periphery extended to the northwestern sector, controlled by local power centers rather than direct governance.
- 👥 The provincial administration was divided into levels, starting from the highest level of 'Uparika' or governor, followed by 'Vishapati' for subdivisions, and 'Gramika' for village-level administration.
- 🏢 Central administration in the Gupta Empire involved various departments overseen by 'Kumara Matyas', high-ranking officials equivalent to ministers or department heads, and 'Amateurs' who were ground-level officers.
- 🔑 The rise of the Guptas was facilitated by the weakening of the Kushana Empire, where the Guptas, originally feudatories, took over power as the central rule declined.
- 🗺️ The Gupta Empire's administration was complex, with a mix of centralized control in the core areas and a suzerain-based model in the periphery, reflecting a feudalistic but not feudal system.
- 📈 The Gupta period was not only administratively significant but also marked a golden age of cultural and scientific development, although the focus of this script is on administration.
Q & A
What is the primary focus of the video script provided?
-The primary focus of the video script is to discuss the Gupta administration, including its structure, the concept of provincial and central administration, and the development of feudalistic tendencies during the Gupta period in ancient India.
What is the significance of the Gupta Empire in the context of the video script?
-The Gupta Empire is significant in the script as it represents a period of cultural and administrative development, with the script emphasizing the unique aspects of its administration that are not commonly found in standard books.
What are the two major dynasties mentioned in the script that were contemporaneous with the Guptas?
-The two major dynasties mentioned in the script that were contemporaneous with the Guptas are the Kushanas in the northern sector and the Satavahanas in the southern sector.
What is the 'land grant system' discussed in the script, and why was it important?
-The 'land grant system' refers to the practice of granting tax-free lands to Brahmins and Buddhists, which later extended to land grants in lieu of service to officers. It was important because it led to the decentralization of power and the rise of feudalistic tendencies, creating landed intermediaries and local power centers.
How did the Guptas rise to power according to the script?
-The Guptas rose to power by emerging as one of the feudatories of the Kushanas. As the central rule of the Kushanas weakened, the Guptas, along with other feudal lords, overtook power and established their own empire.
What is the 'suzerain-based model' mentioned in the script, and how does it relate to the Gupta administration?
-The 'suzerain-based model' refers to a decentralized structure of power where the king exercises control over local power centers or intermediaries, rather than having direct control over the entire empire. This model is related to the Gupta administration as it reflects the core-periphery concept where the core area had direct control, while the periphery was managed through local intermediaries.
What is the difference between the core area and the periphery in the Gupta Empire as discussed in the script?
-The core area of the Gupta Empire, which was near Patliputra and Koshambi, had direct control and centralized administration. In contrast, the periphery was controlled by local power centers or intermediaries, reflecting a more decentralized form of administration.
What were the different levels of administration in the Gupta Empire as outlined in the script?
-The different levels of administration in the Gupta Empire included the highest level of 'desha' or 'bhukti' under an 'uparika' (similar to a governor), the 'vishya' under a 'vishapathi' (akin to a district magistrate), an intermediary level under an 'ayukta', and the village level under a 'gramika' or 'grama'.
What role did the 'kumaramatiya' and 'amatya' play in the central administration of the Gupta Empire?
-The 'kumaramatiya' and 'amatya' were high-ranking officials who headed different departments of the central administration. They were equivalent to ministers or secretary-level officials in modern terms, overseeing various aspects of governance such as foreign affairs, military, police, and taxation.
How does the script describe the relationship between the Gupta administration and the cultural developments of the Gupta period?
-The script mentions that while the Gupta period is known as a golden age of cultural and scientific development, the focus of the script is specifically on the administrative aspects of the Gupta Empire, not its cultural or scientific achievements.
Outlines
📘 Introduction to Gupta Administration
The script introduces the topic of Gupta administration, emphasizing its significance and uniqueness not typically covered in standard books. It outlines the course structure for Baiju's exam prep, including a blend of current affairs and static content, exclusive to the app, and mentions the importance of the Gupta era within the broader historical context of North and South Indian timelines. The script also sets the stage for a detailed discussion on the Guptas' rise to power and their administrative strategies.
🏛 Feudalistic Tendencies and Land Grant System
This paragraph delves into the post-Mauryan period's feudalistic tendencies, particularly focusing on the land grant system prevalent during the Satavahana and Kushana periods. It explains how tax-free land grants were given to Brahmins and Buddhists, leading to the rise of landed intermediaries and the decentralization of power. The paragraph also discusses how these grants contributed to the emergence of the Guptas as a powerful dynasty, highlighting the shift from a centralized to a more feudalistic and decentralized power structure.
🌏 Core and Periphery in Gupta Empire
The script introduces the concept of core and periphery within the Gupta Empire, explaining how direct control was maintained in the core areas, while the periphery was managed through local power centers. It discusses the territorial extent of the Gupta Empire, the importance of the Kushanas and Satavahanas in the rise of the Guptas, and the administrative challenges posed by the feudalistic tendencies that characterized the period.
🛣️ Provincial Administration Structure
This paragraph outlines the structure of provincial administration in the Gupta Empire, detailing the hierarchical levels of governance from the highest level of 'deshas' and 'buktis' managed by 'uparikas' to the intermediate levels of 'vishyas' under 'vishapatis', and down to the village level under 'gramikas' or 'gramas'. It also touches upon the unique administrative setup for cities, governed by 'nigama sabhas', which were controlled by merchants due to the commercial nature of urban centers.
🏛️ Central Administration and Departments
The script describes the central administration of the Gupta Empire, focusing on the roles of 'kumara matyas' who acted as heads of various departments, such as foreign affairs, military, and finance. It also mentions 'amateurs' who were ground-level officers working under the 'kumara matyas'. The paragraph highlights the importance of understanding these administrative roles for historical and exam preparation contexts.
🌟 Gupta Empire's Cultural and Scientific Golden Age
While primarily focusing on administration, the script briefly acknowledges the Gupta period as a golden age of cultural and scientific development, with significant advancements in various fields. It mentions the emergence of Sanskrit and major developments in science and technology, noting that these topics, although important, are beyond the scope of the current lecture.
📚 Conclusion and Understanding Feudalistic Tendencies
The script concludes by summarizing the key points about Gupta administration, emphasizing the importance of understanding the provincial, central, and suzerain-based periphery administration. It distinguishes between the feudalistic tendencies in the Gupta Empire and the concept of feudalism, highlighting the unique characteristics of the Gupta administrative system and its impact on the political landscape of the time.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Gupta Administration
💡Feudalistic Tendencies
💡Land Grant System
💡Core and Periphery Concept
💡Suzerainty
💡Brahmanical Resurgence
💡Kushanas
💡Satavahanas
💡Chola and Pandya
💡Samantha/Maharathi/Mahabhoja
💡Bhakti Movement
Highlights
Introduction to the Gupta Empire's administration, emphasizing its unique aspects not commonly found in standard books.
Announcement of a new course starting tomorrow for mains preparation, integrating current affairs and static knowledge.
The course will be exclusive to the Baiju's Exam Prep app, with the first two sessions available on YouTube.
The importance of understanding the Gupta administration within the context of the post-Mauryan period and the rise of regional dynasties.
Explanation of the two different timelines for North and South India, crucial for understanding the Gupta period.
The role of the Satavahanas and Kushanas in the land grant system, leading to the rise of landed intermediaries and localization of power.
The concept of suzerainty and feudalistic tendencies in the Gupta Empire, marking a shift from centralized to decentralized power structures.
The Guptas' rise to power as a result of the weakening of the Kushana Empire and the increasing influence of local power centers.
The core and periphery concept in Gupta administration, distinguishing between areas of direct control and those governed by local intermediaries.
The structure of provincial administration, detailing the hierarchy from uparika to gramika.
The significance of the land grant system in the emergence of feudalistic tendencies and the rise of the Guptas.
The central administration's organization, with departments headed by kumara matyas and their subordinates, the amateurs.
The distinction between core administration in areas like Patliputra and Mathura, and periphery administration controlled by local power centers.
The importance of understanding the Gupta Empire's administrative structure for UPSC exam preparation, especially with recent exam trends.
The cultural and scientific significance of the Gupta period, considered India's golden age, though beyond the scope of this lecture.
The process of local powers emerging through land grants given to officers and brahmins, leading to the establishment of maharati and mahabhaja.
The difference between the Gupta administration's feudalistic tendencies and the concept of feudalism, highlighting the absence of serfdom.
Recommendation of Satish Chandra's book as a comprehensive resource for understanding the Gupta period and medieval Indian history.
Transcripts
hello and welcome to baiju's exam prep
iis as part of your knowledge series
today we'll be discussing a very
important concept which is the gupta
administration the gupta empire in
itself is a very big topic but we chose
a topic which we think is important and
you will not find it in standard books
whilst you will find a lot of material
related to maybe the cultural dimensions
or the cultural golden age of gupta when
we come to the administration itself it
is a peculiar phase and it is important
to understand what is the basic contours
of provincial administration and central
administration before i begin itself
we are starting our target mains
tomorrow a very important course for you
it will help you to current affairs and
static together so it is exclusive to
the baiju's exam prep app
and you need to download it through the
link given in the description below more
than that the first two sessions will
also happen on youtube thereafter that
we will fish we will totally migrate to
the buyers exam web app but the point
which i'm trying to say is this is a
very important course because it has
both two sessions on static two sessions
on current affairs and one session
specifically for ethics and one day on
sundays we'll be giving you five
questions which you can practice and
send us for evaluation so it's a
comprehensive course for your target
mains if you're giving the exam you
should be joining if you're still giving
it in the next year you should see what
the mains preparation looks like so the
first thing which i wanted to tell you
now let's move to what we have to
discuss today which is guptas and gupta
administration
now in order to understand gupta's
obviously you need to understand the
postmodern period because there is a
timeline in which everything is
happening and when it comes to ancient
or medieval timelines become important
because they give you a specific period
in which they work
so first thing is
there are two different timelines which
we which we with which we are working
first is
the north indian
and the second is
the south india
whilst the north indian works at
184 bce and we have to come till 100 to
200 ce
on the other hand when south indian we
will talk about from 300 bce
to 300
ce
see or ad same thing bc and bc same
thing the nomenclature has changed
in the north indian sector y is 184 bc
which is the basic date which we will
see for more and decline and in north
india we have a flurry of different
dynasties which come coming
where we have first the shungas
then the indo-greeks
thereafter the sagas
and then we have the kushanas
this is the basic timeline of north
india in south india till the rise of
shaakas we actually have the sangam
polities
and it is after the sangam politics that
we see that these
sativahanas rise in south india
shaakas are in between they are in this
deccan sector we have the shungas here
the indo-greeks this area shaka's used
to actually extend like this and then we
have these satvahanas in this sector but
as i told you there is a time gap
meaning when the shunga indo greeks and
sakhas are there at this point of time
we rather have chola cherapanda the the
satwana's have not risen the satwanas
when they will rise the whole of north
india will get consolidated under the
kushanas
so the point is where our story starts
today the kushanas and the satvahanas
are the two major dynasties which are
there at this point of time in northern
sector the kusanas in southern sector we
have the satmanas this is the basic
timeline which you need to know because
there are two different ones when i mean
sangam politics what i mean by that is
chola pandya remember
that this period is important because
after the shakas we have consolidation
so where we talk about the guptas we
already have the kushanas who are
predominantly there in north india and
in southern sector we have the
satavahanas along with the reminiscence
of whatever is left of the chora chela
pandya
now
a very important concept which you need
to understand first to move on to
gupta administration or anything related
to the guptas is what are the tendencies
which had developed during the post post
mauryan period because these tendencies
will become a reason why the guptas
themselves will rise because the guptas
were technically feudatories of the
kushanas for that i need to explain to
you what a feudatory would mean
so
the satwanas
specifically the satwanas are credited
for two very important things
along with the kushanas but more the
satwanas because satwanas were more
aggressive in this kushanas did have
this tendency which is what is called
the land grant system
which is that the satwana's because it
was the period of brahmanical resurgence
were very very aggressive in giving what
are called tax
free
land
grants
and these tax free land grants are are
the ones which you need to remember one
thing is these tax free land grants are
given to brahmins
and are also given to the next most
important the buddhists
so though these
were a brahmanical dynasty they also
gave it to buddhists but these tax-free
land grants what they actually do is
they create a chain they create a chain
in the concept of what we call as the
concept of
localization of power
the land-grant system initially starts
as brahmin and buddhist tax-free
land-grants but these classes these
varnas now start to become what are
called landed intermediaries and landed
elites
so
this tax-free land-grant tendency became
very very common during the satwahana
period and thereafter thereafter the
satavahanas
in this attendancy was inherited by the
guptas also
the kushanas did the same thing
but in a less aggressive way the point
is what the land grant system does is
these tax free land grants to brahms
buddhists and the corollary which is the
extension of this is that these tax-free
land grants start to go as land grants
in
lieu
of service
in lieu of service
means that once the state does not have
money they start to give their officers
land grants in their services meaning
for example you're an is officer now the
government of india does not have money
to give you so the government of india
rather says that you take 100 acres of
land in in and near mathura
and that is your salary itself so
initially they have the money to give to
the services or the officers of the of
the empire itself once they don't have
that what they do is that they start to
give land grants now what these two
processes are doing which are happening
simultaneously as the guptas are rising
is that first that the brahms
emerge as a very important landed
intermediary at the same time now
officers
have a lot of leverage because there is
localization of power localization of
power means is that because these are
tax free land grants these villages this
area used to come directly under the
officer or the brahmin so there is no
intervention of the state itself
all this land grant to brahms and land
grant in lieu of service what they do is
they introduce feudalistic tendencies in
india what do i mean by feudalistics and
tendencies it means decentralization of
power
and the word which we technically use is
called suzerainity
suzerainity is the concept of what we
call as decentralized structure of power
we have a centralized system in which
the king controls the officer the
officer gets a salary and the
officer is then answerable to the king
this is a centralized system in which
the king is directly controlling the
officer who is then directly controlling
the
the villages
on the other hand we have what is called
a decentralized structure which now is
becoming more and more common in the
uh post-mortem period which is called
the consular society in which the king
only exercises control
two local
power centers
the word sometimes we
were called maharatis and mahabhajas the
local power centers are nothing but
intermediaries
who actually were exercising the real
power on the
villages
so what this relationship is called is
called a relationship of suzerain
meaning
says between this the sovereignty does
not lie with the king itself it's a
system based on decentralization and
susanity so this society model is
developing or what we call as
feudalistic tendencies so reality itself
is feudalistic tendencies is developing
because these local power centers are
actually coming up because of this whole
land grant system so what you need to
understand is that whilst culturally it
is a very very important period the
gupta period administratively we see
that in the gupta period also we have
what is called the core and periphery
concept
so if any map you will see of the guptas
you will have a core area
wherein the core area would be near
partly putra near koshambi that whole
eastern sector but under samudra gupta
gupta empire had expanded till the
northwestern sector but that was totally
the periphery the periphery is always
controlled by the the local power
centers it is only the core area where
they actually have real control this
concept needs to be totally clear in
your mind because the question
which comes is that was it a centralized
administration no it was not a
centralized administration because it
was a way of having provincial and a
periphery based decentralized model so
we also we had sovereignty areas also
susannah t areas also but it was a
decentralized structure of
administration so land grant system one
thing given to the brahmins as a form of
appeasement for the the punya concept
and given to officers when the state
does not have money itself and it starts
to bankrupt itself this leads to over a
period of time feudalistic tendencies
rising in the indian subcontinent and
that feudalist tendency is very very
important because localization of power
creates local power centers and herein
lies the origin of the guptas
the guptas were actually one of the few
territories of the kushanas meaning
on the ruins of the kushana empire arose
a new empire that established its way
over substantial part of the empire
itself the guptas were possibly few day
trees of the kushanas in up and seem to
have succeeded without any considerable
time gap coming to power what do i mean
by that is see this means that in the
kusana empire
the guptas themselves were a small
feudatory were given either land grant
or were getting land grants from the
king this in turn what it did was that
these guptas once the kusana main rule
became very very the center became weak
the
periphery or the feudal tree overtook or
captured power this is a very important
tendency this will become a tendency in
the gupta pose gupta throughout the
period that is why
if during when gory will come when
ghazni was here there was total
political disarray because of the fact
that feudalistic tendencies had totally
taken over so what we see is that the
kushanas
had a very important core once in in
remember in a decentralized model
because it is based on dispersion of
power as soon as the king becomes weak
it is very easy for the feudatories to
break the ties so until unless the king
seems very very powerful the local power
centers
obey the over lordship this was ran off
or the society of the king once this
center becomes weak
they start to use our power so these
sativanas will have what are called
the wakatakas coming to rise again few
directories of the satwanas and in north
india we will have the guptas rising out
of the ashes of the kushana empire so
which are the important rulers who
actually
were instrumental in expanding the gupta
empire so we have shri gupta who's the
founder then chandragupta one samudrupta
the most important i've not given you
dates because you don't have to go into
dates that becomes too much and that
will become too much to understand also
so you only have to remember the basic
sequence
more or less were working with the same
model giving land grants to the officers
for their services so when we look at
the map of the guptas itself there's a
reason why we don't give a specific area
what we believe is
that from mathura
till the
gangatic valley or the gangatic area in
the west bengal sector
this was the core area
this was the core area
where there is centralized control
this centralized control is the way in
which the king
is working through his officers and we
will see they were called kumar
outside this zone however
the
gupta empire was actually quite big
the areas which you see other than what
we see as here the concept
this is the periphery
that though they have the area under the
gupta empire what we see here is that
this area which i'm marking as
horizontal lines
is part of the gupta empire
but they technically don't have direct
control
so in this core area the king has direct
control
while on the other hand in this
periphery
what we see is that there is
only
control over
local
power
centers
or intermediaries
and a word which rs sharma use is
samantha's
and you will also find the word
maha
bhoja
or
maha
rathi these are three words which are
used generally in inscriptions for these
local power centers the point is within
the core area they are having direct
control outside the core area in the
periphery they only have control over
these intermediaries and in a way that
would technically dictate how the
empire was working so in the gupta
empire itself when we're talking about
administration there are two things
which are working at the same time first
which is
the core area and second the periphery
area so there's centralized
administration also decentralized
administration also
under samudra gupta the core area would
be the biggest
but under vishnugupta it will shrink
down
the point is this changes with the power
of the king itself
maybe chandragupta one would be a little
bit less of the highest then comes down
as i told you that these samanthas maha
bhojas maharatis they actually wait for
the king to become weak
once they become weak they start to
parcel the whole empire itself
so before i go into the administrative
part which is the structure itself two
things i want you to be clear about
first is this timeline which we
discussed which is the two timelines
which we are working the north india and
south indian
then
how kusanas and satwana arise
out of the kushanas come out the guptas
but we needed to understand the land
grant system and the futuristic
tendencies which is rising out of it tax
free land grants given for given to
brahmins and buddhist for appeasement
and later to the officers because there
is no money there is no physical
currency to be given to the officers
that in turn leads to what we call as
feudalistic tendencies rising
one of the federatories of the kushanas
were guptas they came out of the kushana
empire and were able to use up that area
the major rulers are this but remember
gupta have two different types of power
one a centralized the other is
decentralized now let's look at their
administrative section and what are
these basic things which you need to
remember for the exam
i have a whole flow chart for this also
but let's first read it and understand
it
this is what is called provincial
administration meaning
how the whole empire
was divided
so the biggest so you remember that core
administration the king has officers
which we are going to discuss later but
right now what you need to understand is
that provincial administration there
would be levels of control so at the
highest level what we have is
this has
or
bhis
this is the whole empire was divided
into provinces called deshas and buktis
who was the officer who is to look after
it like a governor
the one is
uparikas
so he is the officer
so he's like the governor of the
province this is the first or the
highest level of
highest level of administration
then
the provinces were further divided into
vishyas meaning
one province would then further be
divided into
vishyas and here it's very easy visha
under a vishapathi
so this is the
first level
second level or the highest then second
highest
thereafter
we have the administration of the
district level
and there are different words which have
been used so we technically believe that
desha bhukti would be state level this
is technically district level
so when you want to become an ice
officer you want to become a vishyapathi
and under that you have an intermediary
zone the lowest would be the village
the village would be under a grammika
or a grammar and here there is an
intermediary level which works for which
we have a lot of different words such as
viti patta bhumi pataka and peta so we
let's would use the word peta
and it was then under an official called
ayukta
so if you actually look at it properly
what we see is the whole empire
is divided into provinces and bhuktas or
what under an uparika this to give you a
modern example would be like a state
and governor
that is the equivalence to it
then you have vishyas under a vishapati
this would be like a district
and it's magistrate dm
so what you want to become
then under that you have the vita pata
bhumi whatever you want to use under
ayukta or with maharata
so this is an intermediate level
and the lowest level would be the
village
under the grama or gramika
both words are used
now
cities had a separate administration
under the
nigamba sabhas meaning the nigama sabhas
were actually merchant control because
cities have commercial aspect so the
merchants used to actually control the
sabha the niga
so this is what is called the provincial
empire level administration
empire level administration this is the
basic structure and with the upsc asking
questions such as parganasuba sarkar in
2021 these type of questions become
important because they are based on a
basic concept of how the whole empire is
divided so you need to remember this is
the smallest unit this is the biggest
unit and you need to remember their
offices i've given you modern day
examples to give you a certain reference
points to understand what we're actually
doing
now
the next thing is
i have done provincial administration in
the periphery zones maybe this will also
not work this is mostly in the core
areas
in the periphery what would happen was
that the king would just control the
samantha
and that would be it the samantha would
have his own administration at the
village level the point is the kill king
did not have direct control to the
village only control to the samantha so
we are still in the core administrative
area then comes what are called the
central administration
central administration
is equally important because this is in
the core area of the core area of the
gupta empire
which is technically partly putra
mathura very core area
so
gupta kings assumed imperial titus such
as maharaja raja parambharthaka or
parmeshwara
what is more important to us is there
are seals and inscriptions will tell us
about different offices with different
ranks
in that we find two very important words
what we believe is
kumar
amatyah
is like a
ministerial
head meaning he's a head of the
department because the whole
administration was divided into
departments for example the land
department the finance department and
i'll show you that also and under him he
had amateurs
so to understand this you would like to
understand it like you have what is
called a secretary of a ministry and
then under him you have a lot of
additional secretaries
or joint secretaries so it is like both
are iis officers but actually there is
rank difference so kumara matia would be
ahead of the department on the other
hand amateurs would nothing be the
officers which do the administration on
the ground level so the term kumara
mathya occurs in the six vaishali seals
which have been found and they refer to
high ranking officers with an office adi
karna under them the designation of
ahmadiyya is
they are maybe officers under the
kumaramathyas kumara mathyas could be
equivalent to the royal blood also
princes of royal blood meaning a lot of
times
the princes used to be kumara mathias
and individuals of rank of kumara mata
sometimes had additional designations
also so the now when we summarize what
we are technically doing so we have the
uparika vishapati concept which is the
provincial administration
in central administration the king then
had
a lot of different departments through
which he used to actually work and all
these departments then used to have what
are called kumara mathyas as in charge
and then these kumara matayas then had
amateurs under them to give you an
example
the fact is that there are various
departments under which the guptas used
to operate under so for example kumara
matia we know is nothing but a high
official we have an in charge of foreign
affairs
the point is this is a department
for example you can think it off as the
foreign affairs
this is ministry of external affairs and
this person is the
in charge of that same way you have maha
bala
which is the commander of military
forces so this would be the defense
ministry
then you have the commander of cavalry
specifically bhattaswati which is
nothing but horses a very important
department
then you have the kutka or bilupata
which is the the elephant tree so these
three technically are like the different
chief of staffs meaning he would be the
commander-in-chief of everything then
you have cavalry and elephant both very
very important departments with two
different officers so these are kumara
mathyas
then you have the head of police
department the dhandapa shikharana which
is danda would technically be always be
referred to the police itself then you
have the shoal kika customs officer gst
officer then you have the hiranika and
the auriga which is the tax collector so
this is like the interim cash department
and then you have the
mahadandanayaka who's the chief justice
what do i mean by this is that the king
for example samudragupta would operate
all the different aspects such as
justice
revenue
the concept of
taxes in the form of because it's a
customs officer it is related to trade
police
military
and external affairs the basic
the king operates through these kumara
mathyas
so
before i end this session i would like
to give you a summary and before i take
the questions itself
a very simple concept is see
there is provincial
there is central
and there would be
a
periphery
suzer
zanity
based
administration the three types of
administration
in the provincial level we already saw
it
uparika
the vishapathi
the
we could use the petha's level and then
the gramika
then
at the central level
we have kumara
then the amatyah
and here we only have the king
and the maha
rati
maha
bhoja
or whatever you want to call him
samantha
this is the
core area
of the empire
and this is only where there is only
feudalistic
control
as i said this will vary from time to
time
but basically this is how the whole
administration was divided this
important concept uparika vishwapathi
then you can ayukta we can add it here
ayukita
and
then this is the basic way the whole
administration is done
then we have the different departments
so if you look at this
we actually see three different levels
of administration so gupta
administration is a little bit
complicated that is why you will not
find it in standard books you need to
understand that the whole empire was
actually divided into two parts which is
core area and periphery area in the core
area we have this whole
vishya
vishwapathi
and in the partly putra sector we have
kumara matyas
but in this periphery area
we technically have no direct control
they only control the maharati and
mahabhaja the maratha may have their own
administration so
this
is the easiest way to understand gupta
administration and i hope that now it is
clear basically provincial
administration remember the levels then
central administration remember the
levels the departments this box becomes
very very important for you because
these words have come in the exam in the
context of ancient indian history they
can ask you anything they can also ask a
question related to gupta administration
itself and the fact that you also need
to understand this feudalistic tendency
which will become too much because the
pushy booty dynasty harshwardhan was
again a feudatory of the guptas he will
come out like that this is a very
standard process which will be done
begin and by the early medieval period
we will have this properly
ingrained and institutionalized so with
this the main part is over let's look at
the questions which have been asked
land grants were only given to brahmins
in any office no land grants were mostly
given to brahmins and
the buddhist sometimes also to jains
initially it was that system it was
based on appeasement later it will be
given to officers when they are not able
to pay off their salaries okay
yes gupta empire was extremely important
when it comes to field of science and
technology but that is beyond the scope
of this lecture because we wanted to
concentrate on administration maybe
we'll have a separate video for that
gupta period is the golden age of
culture meaning you have sanskrit which
will emerge as very important from
arabata to varamira we have a major
development in science and technology
meaning the gupta period is considered
the golden age of cultural and
scientific development but as i said
that is a separate video altogether the
point is that we wanted to concentrate
here on administration
again
there's a good question how these local
powers emerged and how these local
centers or offices are the same there
are two ways see
one would be that
the king has already an officer
he was he was
first given a salary but then the salary
was not been the the state does not have
the capacity to give it so what they do
is they start to give land grants to him
that creates the first type of maharati
mahabharata the other would be
that the king gave a brahmin
a land grant
and that land grant in his generosity
was 100 villages now this brahman
himself can become a maharati
so the officer and the maharati mabuja
there are two types there could be one
which are directly created by land
grants one which could be created via
the salary and maharati or the land
grant concept
okay
kumara
is a generic rank it's a generic concept
it's like additional secretary what are
your additional secretary of secretary
of finance secretary of defense so
kumara mata mate are basic words which
are there they are not specific to
anything
dc this officer
for encouraging
itself his
basic designation is sol giga but he's a
kumara
also
okay
uh
uh it is important core periphery
concept is important to understand
because decentralization of publicity
remember
federalism and decentralization is very
different federal structure is not based
on this concept of over lordship while
society is based on overlordship a very
simple example is that when you're
preparing alone you have sovereignty
whatever you do in your room outside
your room it's totally on you you accept
you have sovereignty within outside also
internal external freedom both when you
prepare with your family with your
parents within your room you have your
own internal freedom which would be
sovereignty but outside that you accept
the over lordship of your mother or
father so that is the suzerain-based
model that your suzerain is your mother
father
outside the door of your room you have
to abide to the rules and regulations
and the basic with your parents want you
to conduct yourself but within your room
you have internal freedom society is
this only the marathi bhabhas have
internal freedom externally they will
accept the power of the king
okay
medievalistic best book is
any day satish chandra very good book
has everything related to this
uh we can say that we can say that
peripheries are weak areas can be one
easily in a way yes because these
maharati's mahabhutas don't have the
capacity to ward off invaders sure
very different gupta administration we
call it feudalistic tendencies but we
don't call it feudalism itself feudalism
is nothing it's a very different concept
with the king
then the knight
then the vassal and then the surf
here there is no concept of serfdom or
surf this is the way feudalism actually
works knight having control over the
vassal vassal having control over the
bonded labor king only having control
over the night this is not like that we
have feudalistic tendencies in the wing
in the in the way that the king acts
through local intermediaries it shows a
reminiscence but it technically isn't so
with this i would like to end this
session thank you so much i hope that
you learned something today with gupta
administration something new and you
understood the feudalistic concept i
will see you tomorrow at 3pm with bhakti
movement thank you see you take care bye
you
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