This sheet covers India from the fall of the Mauryas to the end of the Guptas and Vakatakas. For explanations, read the topic pages starting with [Shungas, Kanvas and the Invaders from the North-West](/history/guptas-vakatakas/post-mauryan-north-india/). All dates are approximate unless an inscription fixes them.

{{< callout type="tip" title="How to use this sheet" >}}
Scan top to bottom the week before Prelims. Bold lines are the facts examiners return to most often.
{{< /callout >}}

## Timeline / Key Facts

### Post-Mauryan North India

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| **c. 185 BCE** | **Pushyamitra Shunga** kills **Brihadratha**; Shunga dynasty begins |
| Shunga features | Ashvamedha; **Patanjali** (*Mahabhashya*); **Bharhut** stupa; **Agnimitra** (*Malavikagnimitram*) |
| Besnagar (Vidisha) pillar | **Heliodorus**, envoy of Indo-Greek **Antialcidas**, to **Bhagabhadra**; Garuda pillar to Vasudeva |
| c. 73 BCE | **Vasudeva Kanva** kills Devabhuti; Kanvas (4 kings, about 45 years) |
| **Menander (Milinda)** | Indo-Greek; capital **Sakala** (Sialkot); ***Milindapanho*** with **Nagasena** |
| Shaka branches | Kshaharatas (**Nahapana**, Nasik area); Kardamakas (**Chashtana**, **Rudradaman I**, Ujjain) |
| **150 CE** | **Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman I**: **first long Sanskrit inscription**; Sudarshana lake repaired |
| Sudarshana lake | Built by Pushyagupta (Chandragupta Maurya); channels by Tushaspha (Ashoka); repaired by Rudradaman and under Skandagupta |
| Parthians | **Gondophernes**; Takht-i-Bahi inscription; St Thomas tradition |
| Kushanas | Kujula Kadphises (copper) → **Vima Kadphises** (gold, Shiva) → **Kanishka** |
| **Kanishka** | **78 CE** = Shaka era (usual view); Purushapura and Mathura; **Fourth Buddhist Council, Kashmir** (Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha); Mahayana; *Devaputra*; Rabatak inscription |
| Art schools | **Gandhara** (schist, Greco-Roman), **Mathura** (red sandstone, indigenous), **Amaravati** (limestone, narrative) |

### Deccan and South

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| Satavahana founder | **Simuka**; capital **Pratishthana (Paithan)** on the Godavari |
| Naneghat inscription | Queen **Naganika**; Satakarni I's sacrifices |
| **Gautamiputra Satakarni** | Defeated **Nahapana**; **Nasik inscription** by mother **Gautami Balashri**; **Jogalthembi** hoard of restruck coins |
| Satavahana features | Matronymics (not matrilineal); **tax-free land grants** to Brahmanas and Buddhist monks; **lead** coins; Prakrit; Karle, Nasik, Bhaja, Kanheri caves |
| Yajna Sri Satakarni | Ship-type coins |
| Hala | *Gathasaptashati* (Prakrit) |
| **Kharavela** | Chedi (Mahameghavahana) of Kalinga; **Jain**; **Hathigumpha**, Udayagiri (near Bhubaneswar); Prakrit |
| Sangam kingdoms | **Chera** (bow, Vanji, Muziris); **Chola** (tiger, Uraiyur, Puhar); **Pandya** (fish, Madurai, Korkai) |
| Sangam texts | *Tolkappiyam* (grammar), *Tirukkural* (Tiruvalluvar); *Silappadikaram*, *Manimekalai* |
| Roman trade | *Periplus*, Pliny's complaint, **Arikamedu** |

### The Guptas

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| **319–320 CE** | **Gupta era** begins; **Chandragupta I**, first *Maharajadhiraja*; married Lichchhavi **Kumaradevi** |
| **Samudragupta** (c. 335–375) | **Prayag Prashasti** by **Harishena** (sandhivigrahika); "**Napoleon of India**" (V. A. Smith); lyrist coins |
| **Southern policy** | *Grahana–moksha–anugraha*; **Mahendra of Kosala** first, Vyaghraraja of Mahakantara second, Vishnugopa of Kanchi among them |
| **Chandragupta II** (c. 375–415) | Ended Western Kshatrapas (Rudrasimha III); silver coins; Prabhavatigupta's father; Udayagiri; Mehrauli pillar ("Chandra") |
| **Fa-Hien** | c. 399–412; *Foguoji*; no death penalty; Chandalas outside towns; never names the king |
| **Kumaragupta I** (c. 415–455) | **Nalanda**; Mandsaur silk weavers' Sun temple (c. 436 CE) |
| **Skandagupta** (c. 455–467) | Huns repulsed (**Bhitari**); Sudarshana lake (**Junagadh**) |
| **510 CE** | **Eran**: Bhanugupta, **Goparaja**, **first sati inscription** |
| Hun rulers | Toramana, Mihirakula; Mihirakula beaten by **Yashodharman** and **Narasimhagupta Baladitya** |
| Administration | **Bhukti** (Uparika) → **Vishaya** (Vishayapati) → Vithi → **Grama** |
| District board | Damodarpur plates: nagarashreshthi, sarthavaha, prathama kulika, prathama kayastha |
| Revenue | **Bhaga** (1/6), bhoga, udranga, uparikara, **hiranya** (cash), **vishti** (forced labour) |
| Coins | **Dinara** (gold, most numerous but less pure than Kushana); rupaka (silver) |

### The Vakatakas

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| Founder | **Vindhyashakti** (Ajanta Cave 16 inscription); Brahmana, Vishnuvriddha gotra |
| **Pravarasena I** | Only **Samrat**; four Ashvamedhas |
| Main branch | **Nandivardhana** (Nagardhan, near Ramtek) → **Pravarapura** (Mansar per excavators; older view Pavnar) |
| Vatsagulma branch | **Washim**; **Sarvasena** (*Harivijaya*) |
| **Prabhavatigupta** | Daughter of Chandragupta II; wife of **Rudrasena II**; regent; **Poona plates** list Gupta line first |
| **Pravarasena II** | ***Setubandha*** (Prakrit) |
| **Harishena** | Last great Vakataka; claims over Kosala and others (Cave 16); Ajanta's later caves |
| Ajanta patrons | **Cave 16 Varahadeva**; **Cave 17 Upendragupta** (Rishika) |
| Chhattisgarh link | **Nala** Bhavadatta's Rithpur plates (Amravati) → Prithvishena II's recovery; Ramagiri: Ramtek vs **Ramgarh (Surguja)** |

### Art, Literature and Science

| Fact | Detail |
|------|--------|
| **Deogarh Dashavatara** | Lalitpur (UP); Vishnu; **earliest panchayatana**; early shikhara |
| Bhitargaon | Kanpur (UP); **brick** |
| Flat-roofed temples | Sanchi 17, Tigawa |
| Udayagiri (Vidisha) | **Varaha** relief |
| Sarnath Buddha | Chunar sandstone; preaching pose |
| **Ajanta** | Waghora river; Cave 1 Padmapani, 16 "Dying Princess", 17 mother and child |
| Bagh caves | Dhar (MP) |
| **Kalidasa** | Plays: *Malavikagnimitram*, *Vikramorvashiyam*, *Abhijnanashakuntalam*; epics: *Raghuvamsha*, *Kumarasambhava*; lyrics: *Meghaduta*, *Ritusamhara* |
| Others | Vishakhadatta (*Mudrarakshasa*), Shudraka (*Mrichchhakatika*), Amarasimha (*Amarakosha*), Vishnu Sharma (*Panchatantra*) |
| Jain council | **Vallabhi**, 453 or 466 CE; Devardhigani; canon written |
| **Aryabhata** | Born 476; ***Aryabhatiya*** **499 CE**; Earth's rotation; eclipses by shadows; π ≈ 3.1416 |
| Varahamihira | *Panchasiddhantika* (five systems), *Brihat Samhita*; Ujjain, 6th century |
| Chhattisgarh | **Tala** Devrani–Jethani temples (5th–6th century) |

## Don't Confuse

| This | vs | That |
|------|----|------|
| Junagadh (Rudradaman): Sanskrit, 150 CE | | Nasik (Gautami Balashri), Hathigumpha (Kharavela): Prakrit |
| Shaka era: 78 CE | | Vikram Samvat: 57–58 BCE; Gupta era: 319–320 CE |
| Harishena: Samudragupta's poet | | Harishena: Vakataka king |
| Pravarasena I: Samrat | | Pravarasena II: *Setubandha* |
| Udayagiri (MP): Gupta Varaha | | Udayagiri (Odisha): Hathigumpha |
| Deogarh: stone | | Bhitargaon: brick |
| Fa-Hien: Chandragupta II | | Hiuen Tsang: Harsha |
| Aryabhata: 499 CE | | Brahmagupta: 628 CE (post-Gupta) |
| Ajanta early caves: Satavahana age | | Ajanta later caves: Vakataka |
| Matronymic (Satavahana titles) | | Matrilineal (not Satavahana) |

{{< callout type="warning" title="Favourite MCQ trap" >}}
Watch for four swaps: **Prakrit** offered as the language of the Junagadh inscription (it is **Sanskrit**); Samudragupta "**annexing**" the south (he **reinstated** its kings, starting with **Mahendra of Kosala**); **Brahmagupta** listed as a Gupta-age scholar; and **Ajanta** credited wholly to the **Guptas** (its later caves are **Vakataka**).
{{< /callout >}}

---
Source: https://cgpscnotes.in/history/guptas-vakatakas/quick-revision/

History Post-Mauryan Period, Guptas and Vakatakas

Post-Mauryan Period, Guptas and Vakatakas — Quick Revision

One-page CGPSC quick revision for the Post-Mauryan Period, Guptas and Vakatakas — every date, name and fact in tables for last-minute Prelims and Mains revision.

4 min read Updated Oct 2026 #quick revision#cgpsc

This sheet covers India from the fall of the Mauryas to the end of the Guptas and Vakatakas. For explanations, read the topic pages starting with Shungas, Kanvas and the Invaders from the North-West. All dates are approximate unless an inscription fixes them.

How to use this sheet

Scan top to bottom the week before Prelims. Bold lines are the facts examiners return to most often.

Timeline / Key Facts

Post-Mauryan North India

Fact	Detail
c. 185 BCE	Pushyamitra Shunga kills Brihadratha; Shunga dynasty begins
Shunga features	Ashvamedha; Patanjali (Mahabhashya); Bharhut stupa; Agnimitra (Malavikagnimitram)
Besnagar (Vidisha) pillar	Heliodorus, envoy of Indo-Greek Antialcidas, to Bhagabhadra; Garuda pillar to Vasudeva
c. 73 BCE	Vasudeva Kanva kills Devabhuti; Kanvas (4 kings, about 45 years)
Menander (Milinda)	Indo-Greek; capital Sakala (Sialkot); Milindapanho with Nagasena
Shaka branches	Kshaharatas (Nahapana, Nasik area); Kardamakas (Chashtana, Rudradaman I, Ujjain)
150 CE	Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman I: first long Sanskrit inscription; Sudarshana lake repaired
Sudarshana lake	Built by Pushyagupta (Chandragupta Maurya); channels by Tushaspha (Ashoka); repaired by Rudradaman and under Skandagupta
Parthians	Gondophernes; Takht-i-Bahi inscription; St Thomas tradition
Kushanas	Kujula Kadphises (copper) → Vima Kadphises (gold, Shiva) → Kanishka
Kanishka	78 CE = Shaka era (usual view); Purushapura and Mathura; Fourth Buddhist Council, Kashmir (Vasumitra, Ashvaghosha); Mahayana; Devaputra; Rabatak inscription
Art schools	Gandhara (schist, Greco-Roman), Mathura (red sandstone, indigenous), Amaravati (limestone, narrative)

Deccan and South

Fact	Detail
Satavahana founder	Simuka; capital Pratishthana (Paithan) on the Godavari
Naneghat inscription	Queen Naganika; Satakarni I’s sacrifices
Gautamiputra Satakarni	Defeated Nahapana; Nasik inscription by mother Gautami Balashri; Jogalthembi hoard of restruck coins
Satavahana features	Matronymics (not matrilineal); tax-free land grants to Brahmanas and Buddhist monks; lead coins; Prakrit; Karle, Nasik, Bhaja, Kanheri caves
Yajna Sri Satakarni	Ship-type coins
Hala	Gathasaptashati (Prakrit)
Kharavela	Chedi (Mahameghavahana) of Kalinga; Jain; Hathigumpha, Udayagiri (near Bhubaneswar); Prakrit
Sangam kingdoms	Chera (bow, Vanji, Muziris); Chola (tiger, Uraiyur, Puhar); Pandya (fish, Madurai, Korkai)
Sangam texts	Tolkappiyam (grammar), Tirukkural (Tiruvalluvar); Silappadikaram, Manimekalai
Roman trade	Periplus, Pliny’s complaint, Arikamedu

The Guptas

Fact	Detail
319–320 CE	Gupta era begins; Chandragupta I, first Maharajadhiraja; married Lichchhavi Kumaradevi
Samudragupta (c. 335–375)	Prayag Prashasti by Harishena (sandhivigrahika); “Napoleon of India” (V. A. Smith); lyrist coins
Southern policy	Grahana–moksha–anugraha; Mahendra of Kosala first, Vyaghraraja of Mahakantara second, Vishnugopa of Kanchi among them
Chandragupta II (c. 375–415)	Ended Western Kshatrapas (Rudrasimha III); silver coins; Prabhavatigupta’s father; Udayagiri; Mehrauli pillar (“Chandra”)
Fa-Hien	c. 399–412; Foguoji; no death penalty; Chandalas outside towns; never names the king
Kumaragupta I (c. 415–455)	Nalanda; Mandsaur silk weavers’ Sun temple (c. 436 CE)
Skandagupta (c. 455–467)	Huns repulsed (Bhitari); Sudarshana lake (Junagadh)
510 CE	Eran: Bhanugupta, Goparaja, first sati inscription
Hun rulers	Toramana, Mihirakula; Mihirakula beaten by Yashodharman and Narasimhagupta Baladitya
Administration	Bhukti (Uparika) → Vishaya (Vishayapati) → Vithi → Grama
District board	Damodarpur plates: nagarashreshthi, sarthavaha, prathama kulika, prathama kayastha
Revenue	Bhaga (1/6), bhoga, udranga, uparikara, hiranya (cash), vishti (forced labour)
Coins	Dinara (gold, most numerous but less pure than Kushana); rupaka (silver)

The Vakatakas

Fact	Detail
Founder	Vindhyashakti (Ajanta Cave 16 inscription); Brahmana, Vishnuvriddha gotra
Pravarasena I	Only Samrat; four Ashvamedhas
Main branch	Nandivardhana (Nagardhan, near Ramtek) → Pravarapura (Mansar per excavators; older view Pavnar)
Vatsagulma branch	Washim; Sarvasena (Harivijaya)
Prabhavatigupta	Daughter of Chandragupta II; wife of Rudrasena II; regent; Poona plates list Gupta line first
Pravarasena II	Setubandha (Prakrit)
Harishena	Last great Vakataka; claims over Kosala and others (Cave 16); Ajanta’s later caves
Ajanta patrons	Cave 16 Varahadeva; Cave 17 Upendragupta (Rishika)
Chhattisgarh link	Nala Bhavadatta’s Rithpur plates (Amravati) → Prithvishena II’s recovery; Ramagiri: Ramtek vs Ramgarh (Surguja)

Art, Literature and Science

Fact	Detail
Deogarh Dashavatara	Lalitpur (UP); Vishnu; earliest panchayatana; early shikhara
Bhitargaon	Kanpur (UP); brick
Flat-roofed temples	Sanchi 17, Tigawa
Udayagiri (Vidisha)	Varaha relief
Sarnath Buddha	Chunar sandstone; preaching pose
Ajanta	Waghora river; Cave 1 Padmapani, 16 “Dying Princess”, 17 mother and child
Bagh caves	Dhar (MP)
Kalidasa	Plays: Malavikagnimitram, Vikramorvashiyam, Abhijnanashakuntalam; epics: Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava; lyrics: Meghaduta, Ritusamhara
Others	Vishakhadatta (Mudrarakshasa), Shudraka (Mrichchhakatika), Amarasimha (Amarakosha), Vishnu Sharma (Panchatantra)
Jain council	Vallabhi, 453 or 466 CE; Devardhigani; canon written
Aryabhata	Born 476; Aryabhatiya 499 CE; Earth’s rotation; eclipses by shadows; π ≈ 3.1416
Varahamihira	Panchasiddhantika (five systems), Brihat Samhita; Ujjain, 6th century
Chhattisgarh	Tala Devrani–Jethani temples (5th–6th century)

Don’t Confuse

This	vs	That
Junagadh (Rudradaman): Sanskrit, 150 CE		Nasik (Gautami Balashri), Hathigumpha (Kharavela): Prakrit
Shaka era: 78 CE		Vikram Samvat: 57–58 BCE; Gupta era: 319–320 CE
Harishena: Samudragupta’s poet		Harishena: Vakataka king
Pravarasena I: Samrat		Pravarasena II: Setubandha
Udayagiri (MP): Gupta Varaha		Udayagiri (Odisha): Hathigumpha
Deogarh: stone		Bhitargaon: brick
Fa-Hien: Chandragupta II		Hiuen Tsang: Harsha
Aryabhata: 499 CE		Brahmagupta: 628 CE (post-Gupta)
Ajanta early caves: Satavahana age		Ajanta later caves: Vakataka
Matronymic (Satavahana titles)		Matrilineal (not Satavahana)

Favourite MCQ trap

Watch for four swaps: Prakrit offered as the language of the Junagadh inscription (it is Sanskrit); Samudragupta “annexing” the south (he reinstated its kings, starting with Mahendra of Kosala); Brahmagupta listed as a Gupta-age scholar; and Ajanta credited wholly to the Guptas (its later caves are Vakataka).

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