The Gupta emperors rule most of northern India in an age that fixes the classical forms of Hindu temple, image, and Purana; royal patronage flows to Vishnu and Shiva alike, and the imperial style becomes the reference for centuries of temple building.
Tagged: Hindu Shaivism Vaishnavism
The Event
- Date
- 320–550 (exact)
- Era
- Classical; Standard periodization of Hindu history
- Location
- Pataliputra; today Patna, Bihar, India
- Traditions
- Hinduism
- Streams
- Vaishnavism, Shaivism
- Key figures
- Chandragupta I, Samudragupta
Primary Sources
- Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta
Secondary Sources
- Michaels, Hinduism: Past and Present (Princeton, 2004)
- Flood, An Introduction to Hinduism (Cambridge, 1996)
Provenance: HIST-0309; confidence 0.95; accessed 2026-10-27.
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