Key Notes on Gupta Era

Gupta period temple architecture was based on the representation of God and Goddesses. The avatar of Vishnu and Lingas was the main component of temples. The main temple of the Gupta era is the Dashavatara temple. It is the first northern temple with a shikhara. Dashvatara, as its name, depicts the ten avatars of Vishnu. This temple is located in Deogarh, Uttar Pradesh.  It was found that the shankhalipi script was found on the stairs of an ancient temple of the Gupta period. The Shankhalipi script is also known as a shell script. The script is used for names and signatures.  

Gupta Era

The Gupta Era was the golden age of India. The Gupta Era was started by Chandra Gupta I. This age is known as the golden age because achievements in astronomy, religion and philosophy were there. This period showed the development of different regions, Vishnu, Shiva and Shakti. The temples of this period were styled in Nagara style, Davida style and Vesara style. The architecture includes mandap, Ratha, vimana, gopuram, dwarpals, the presence of tanks, and pillared walls. The temples were not real structures, but they had only rock-cut caves. The unique was a star-shaped ground plan which included five points. The Gupta period temple architecture was the first to build Hindu and Buddhist temples. The Gupta temples have different types:- 

• Square building with a flat roof and shallow pillared mandapam (porch). Examples of such are the Kankali Devi temple and Vishnu and Varaha temple. 
• Along with the first, sometimes a second storey. Such as the Shiva temple at Bhumara.
• Square temple with squat and a low tower. Such as Dashavatara temple, brick temple etc. 
• Rectangular temple with an apsidal back and barrel. Such as Kapoteswara temple. 
• Circular temple with shallow rectangular projections. Such as the Maniyar Matha Shrine. 

Gupta period temple architecture was based on the representation of God and Goddesses. The avatar of Vishnu and Ligmas was the main character. The main temple of the Gupta era is the Dashavatara temple. The other temples of this architecture are the Bhitargaon temple and Mahadev temple, which has a square tower of shikara. Bhitargaon is located in Kanpur. This temple was also built in the Gupta Era. This temple is entirely made up of bricks. This temple has a pyramidal roof, and the walls were decorated outside with terracotta panels. Dhamekha stupa is located in Sarnath. The stupa has carved geometrical and floral designs and figures of humans and birds. 

Dashavatara temple is the most important temple of the Gupta period. The temple is located in Deogarh, a place in Uttar Pradesh. The temple is below the Deogarh hill. Deogarh is a site where inscriptions in different languages and scripts have been found. It has the monuments of Hindu, Jain and Buddhist. Captain Charles Strahan discovered this temple. This temple, Dashavatara’s name, depicts the ten avatars of Vishnu. The temple shows the Gupta style architecture. The temple has one square plan, and one of the Hindu temples still survives today. The temple is built of stone and bricks. Lord Vishnu is carved in the interior and exterior walls of the temple. The temple faces west and has a slight inclination towards the south.

The Shankhalipi script is also known as a shell script. The script is assumed to be Brahmi derivatives that look like shankhas. The script is used for names and signatures. The shell inscriptions were engraved on the pillars of the temple. The letter used in the shell is normally of the same size. The Shankhalipi script was found on the stairs of the temple of the Gupta period. The script is assumed to be derivative of the Brahmi script. James Prinsep discovered this script. The inscription in the script was found on the back of a stone horse sculpture. The script consists of a small number of characters; it can be names or symbols, or both. The script was found engraved on the pillars of the temple.

Conclusion 

The Gupta Era was started by Chandra Gupta I. This age is known as the golden age because achievements in astronomy, religion and philosophy were there. Gupta period temple architecture was based on the representation of God and Goddesses. The avatar of Vishnu and Ligmas was the main character. The main temple of the Gupta era is the Dashavatara temple. The Shankhalipi script was found on the stairs of the temple of the Gupta period. The script is assumed to be derivative of the Brahmi script. James Prinsep discovered this script.