A History of India, Third Edition

THE GREAT ANCIENT EMPIRES

attained its final shape. It thus served as the model for the successor states
of the Gupta empire. From inscriptions in Bengal we get the impression
that the central region of the empire was divided into a number of
provinces (bhukti) headed by a governor (uparika) who was appointed by
the Gupta ruler himself. Sometimes these governors even had the title of
Uparikamaharaja. The provinces were subdivided into districts (vishaya)
headed by a Vishayapati. Districts close to the realm’s capital were likely
to have their heads directly appointed by the ruler. In distant provinces
they were usually appointed by the governor. Larger provinces were
subdivided into Vishayas and Vithis. But we do not know whether this
rather centralised administration in Bengal existed also in other provinces
of the Gupta empire.
At the lowest echelon there were the villages and towns which enjoyed a
great deal of local autonomy quite in contrast with the instructions of the
Arthashastra. Bigger cities had Ayuktakas at their head who were
appointed by the governor. These Ayuktakas were assisted by town clerks
(pustapala). The head of the city guilds (nagarashreshthin) and the heads
of families of artisans (kulika) advised the Ayuktaka. In the villages there
were headman (gramika) also assisted by scribes, and there were the heads
of peasant families (kutumbin). The district officer rarely interfered with
village administration but he was in charge of such transactions as the sale
and transfer of land which are mentioned in many documents relating to
land grants. The district administration was obviously of great importance
and encompassed judicial functions (adhikarana).

Internal and external challenges: Pushyamitras and Huns

At the end of Kumaragupta’s reign the Gupta empire was challenged by
the Pushyamitras, a tribal community living on the banks of the Narmada.
Skandagupta, a son and general of Kumaragupta, fought these
Pushyamitras and in his later inscriptions he emphasised that the
Pushyamitras had shaken the good fortunes of the Gupta dynasty and that
he had to try his utmost to subdue them. Obviously such tribes living near
the core area of the empire could seriously challenge the ruling dynasty.
But Skandagupta may have had good reasons to highlight his role in this
affair. He had usurped his father’s throne by displacing the legitimate
crown prince, Purugupta. As Skandagupta only mentioned his father’s but
never his mother’s name in his inscriptions it can be assumed that his
mother was a junior queen or concubine. In later genealogies of the
Guptas, Skandagupta’s name does not appear. The stigma of the usurper
was not removed by the fact that he was a very competent ruler. Coins and
inscriptions covering the period from 455 to 467 show that he was in
control of the empire in this period and one, dated 458, explicitly states
that he posted guards in all parts of the empire.