पृष्ठम्:Sanskrit Literature.djvu/१०७

THE GUPTAS AND THE BRAHMIN REVIVAL 75 nationality as opposed to the somewhat cosmopolitan Kushan régime, under which Buddhism was decidedly in chief favour, though Brahmanism and Jainism must have been widespread. The art of the period is of a high order, reflecting a national spirit reacting to the impulse of Greek inspiration, although the architecture of the period has largely disappeared, owing doubt- less to the appalling destruction wrought by the Mahomedan invaders of north India. The sculpture, however, exhibits an unusual beauty of figure, dignity of pose, and restraint and refinement of treatment in detail. The coinage, often of merit, shows clear traces of intercourse with the Roman world, also attested by records of missions to Rome and Constantinople in 361 and 530. Mathematics, astronomy, and astrology flourished, taking new life under Greek influence, as is abundantly esta- blished by the Pancasiddhantikā of Varahamihira (c. 550) and by the works of Aryabhaṭa (born 476). Relations with China were maintained by visits of Buddhists from and to India. Fa-hien (401-10) gives us a most favourable picture of India under Candragupta II. There was freedom of movement throughout mid-India; justice was dispensed with mercy, fines being normally inflicted, capital punishment being disused, and mutilation restricted to rebels or brigands; the revenues of the crown were derived mainly from land, and the royal officers and servants received regular salaries. Among Buddhists at least- and they still were very numerous-the rule of refraining from animal food or taking life was widely observed, and in many places butchers' shops and distilleries were unknown. What is of special interest is that he alone records a very significant proof of the revival of Brahmanism; the Caṇḍālas or outcasts were obliged to live apart, and, when they approached a town or bazaar, to strike a piece of wood as a warning of their presence, in order that others might avoid pollution by contact with them. The emperors were clearly devotees of Vişnu and attached to the Bhagavata faith, but religious toleration was still the order of the day, and the signs of the decadence of Buddhism were con- cealed from Fa-hien's eyes. Nor is this surprising, for it is probable that Samudragupta himself was a friend of Vasubandhu when that Buddhist sage attended his father's court.2 Samudra- 1 Foucher, 11. 756 ff. 2 Cf. Vamana's evidence; Smith, EHI. pp. 346 ff.