Physical Geography - Weather

Weather

· Any casual remarks about the atmospheric conditions of a certain place at a certain time are about weather. It is never static, and thus cannot be generated.
· When we speak of climate we mean the average atmospheric
conditions of an area over a considerable time.

The Elements of Weather and Climate:

1. Rainfall:
· Rainfall including other forms of precipitations (snow, sleept and hail) is always measured by a metal instrument called a Rain Guage.
· For Plotting in rainfall maps, places having the same mean annual rainfall are joined by a line called an Isohyet.

2. Pressure:
· Air is made up of a number of mixed gases and has weight. It therefore exerts a pressure on the earth‟s surface which varies from place to place and from time to time. This force that presses on the surface of any object can be fairly accurately measured.
· The instrument for measuring pressure is a Barometer invented by the scientist Galileo and his assistant Torricelli in 1643.
· As Pressure is a force, it is more appropriate to measure it in terms of a unit of force. A new unit known as the Millibar (mb) was adopted by meteorological stations in 1914.
· On maps places of equal pressure are joined by lines called Isobars.
· Since the mercury Barometer that dips in liquid mercury is
inconvenient for outdoor measurement, a more portable but less accurate type known as the Aneroid Barometer is used.
· In aeroplanes, a modified type of aneroid Barometer called an Altimeter is used.

· As pressure decreases with latitudes at an approximate rate of 1 inch drop in mercury reading for every 900 feet ascent, the altimeter gives the reading in feet for height attained instead of Millibars or inches.

3. Temperature:
· Temperature is a very important element of climate and weather. The instrument for measuring temperature is the Thermometer.
· It works on the principle that mercury expands when heated and contracted when cooled.
· In °F,(Fahrenheit) the freezing point is 32° F. And the boiling point is 212° F. For most scientific purposes the Centigrade °C. scale is preferred. Its freezing point is 0° C. and its boiling point is 100° C.
· To obtain Fahrenheit = (1.8 * °C.)+32° F.

 E.g to convert 20° C. into Fahrenheit:
(1.8*20° C.) +32° F. + 36° +32° =68° F
To obtain Centrigrade = (°F.-32)÷1.8
e.g. to convert 59°F into Centigrade:
(59°-32°)÷1.8=27÷1.8=15°C.

4. Humidity:
· Humidity is a measure of the dampness of the atmosphere which varies greatly from place to place at different times of day. The actual amount of water vapour present in the air, which is expressed in grams per cubic metre, is called the Absolute Humidity but more important from the point of view
of weather studies is the Relative Humidity.
· This is the ratio between the actual amount of water vapour and the total amount the air can hold at a given temperature, expressed as a percentage.

· When the relative humidity reaches 100 percent, the air is completely saturated. The air temperature is said to be at Dew Point.
· Further cooling will condense the water vapour into clouds or rain.
· The instrument for measuring relative humidity is the Hygrometer.

5. Winds:
· Wind is air in motion and has both direction and speed. Unlike other elements in climate such as rain, snow or sleet, winds are made up of a series of gusts and eddies that can only be felt but not seen.
· The instrument widely used for measuring wind direction is a Wind Vane or weather cock.
· Winds are always named from the direction they blow, an east wind is one that blows from east to west and a south-west wind is one that blows from the south-west.
· The speed of wind is usually measured by an Anemometer.
· Since an Anemometer is not easily available, a little practice of
local wind observations will help us to assess the speed of winds.
· By seeing the way some objects move, a great deal can be said about the strength of winds. The best guide is obtainable from the Beaufort Wind Scale which was devised by Admiral Beaufort in 1805 for estimating wind speed.

6. Sunshine:
· In the meteorological station, sunshine duration is recorded by
a Sun-dial.
· On maps places with equal sunshine duration are joined by
isobels.
7. Clouds:
· When air rises, it is cooled by expansion. After dew-point has been reached cooling leads to condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.

· Tiny droplets of water vapour which are too small to fall as rain or snow will be suspended in the air and float as Clouds.
· For Meteorological purposes the amount of cloud cover in the sky is expressed in Eights or Oktas.
· On maps places with an equal degree of cloudiness are joined by lines known as Isonephs.
· The classification of clouds is based on a combination of form, height and appearance.
· Four major cloud types and their variations can be recognised.
a) High Clouds: Mainly cirrus (Ci)of feathery form at 20-40,000 feet above ground.
i) Cirrus (Ci) This looks fibrous and appears like wisps in the blue sky: it is often called Mares Tails.
ii) Cirrocumulus (Cc) This appears as white globular masses, forming ripples in a „mackerel sky‟
iii) Cirrostratus (Cs) This resembles a thin white sheet or veil: the sky looks milky and the sun or moon shines through it with a characteristic „halo‟
b) Medium Clouds: Mainly alto(Alt) or middle height clouds at 7—20,000 feet
iv) Altocumulus(Alt-Cu) These are wooly, bumpy clouds arranged in layers and appearing like waves in the blue sky.
v) Altostratus (Alt-St) These are denser greyish clouds with a watery look.
c) Low Clouds: mainly stratus or sheet clouds below 7,000 feet.
vi) Stratocumulus (St-Cu) This is rough bumpy cloud with the waves more pronounced than in altocumulus.
vii) Stratus (St) This is a very low cloud, uniformly grey and thick, which appears like a Low Ceiling or highland fog. It reduces the visibility of air craft and is thus a danger.

viii) Nimbostratus (Ni-St) This is a dark dull cloud, clearly layered and is also known as a Rain Cloud. It brings continuous rain, snow or sleet.
d) Clouds with Great Vertical extent: mainly cumulus or heat clouds with no definite height 2—30,000 feet.
ix) Cumulus (Cu) This is a vertical cloud with a rounded top and horizontal base, Typical of humid tropical regions, associated with uprising convectional
currents.
x) Cumulonimbus (Cu-Ni) This is, infact, an over grown cumulus cloud, extending for a tremendous vertical height from a base of 2000 feet to over 30,000 feet. Its cauliflower top often spreads out like an Anval. It is
also referred to as a Thunder Cloud and brings convectional ram. Accompanied by Lightening and Thunder.

8. Other Elements Pertaining to Visibility:
A) Haze : This is caused by smoke and dust particles in Industrial Areas or may be due to unequal refractions of light in air of different densities in the Lower Atmosphere.
B) Mist: The condensation of water vapour in the air causes small droplets of water to float about forming clouds at ground level mist. Unlike Haze, Mist occurs in wet air, When the relative humidity is over 75 percentage.
C) Fog: Ordinary fog is due to water condensing on dust and other particles like smoke from houses and factories. It only occurs in the lower strata of the atmosphere as a sort of dense ground cloud.

Generally speaking fogs are more common over seas than lands, and are most prevelant over coastal areas.

Source: Goh Cheng Leong's Certificate of physical and Human Geography

Physical Geography : Weathering, Mass Movement and Groundwater

Weathering, Mass Movement and Ground water:

The process of wearing away the earth causes a general lowering and
levelling out of the surface. It is known as Denudation and is carried out in
four phases.
1. Weathering the gradual disintegration of rocks by atmospheric or
weather forces.
2. Erosion the active wearing away of the earth’s surface by moving
agents like running water, wind, ice and waves.
3. Transportation: the removal of the eroded debris to new positions.
4. Deposition: the dumping of the debris in certain parts of the earth,
where it may accumulate to form new rocks.

Weathering:

The work of weathering in breaking up the rocks is of two kinds,
namely chemical and physical or mechanical weathering, but the
processes involved in each are closely interrelated.
1. Chemical Weathering
Chemical weathering is the basic process by which denudation
proceeds. It is extremely slow and gradual decomposition of rocks
due to exposure to air and water. Air and water contain chemical
elements, which though they may be in small quantities, are
sufficient to set up chemical reactions in the surface layers of
exposed rocks. Such reactions may weaken or entirely dissolve
certain constituents of the rock thus loosening the other crystals
and weakening the whole surface. When the surface of the rock is
weathered some of the material which is loosened is removed by
erosive agents such as wind or running water thus exposing the fresh surface to weathering, but much of the weathered material
or regolith (remains of the rocks stay in position forming the basis
of soil.
There are three major chemical weathering processes.
a) Solution. Many minerals are dissolved in water, especially
when, as with rain water, it contains enough carbon dioxide to
make it a weak acid. solution is the most potent weathering
process in limestone regions because the rain-water attacks and
dissolves the calcium carbonate of which the rock is chiefly
formed. The dissolved calcium carbonate carried away by the
water, joints and cracks in the rock are quickly widened and
whole systems of caves and passages are worn out.
b) Oxidation: Oxidation is the reaction of oxygen in air or water
with minerals in the rock. For example most rocks contain a
certain amount of iron, which when it comes in contact with air
is changed to iron oxide, familiar brownish crust or rust. Iron
oxide crumbles easily and is more easily eroded than the
original iron. It is thus removed, loosening the overall structure
of the rocks and weakening them.
c) Decompostion by Organic acids: Within the soil which covers
most rocks are bacteria which thrive on decaying plant or
animal material. These bacteria produces acids which, when
dissolved in water, help to speed the weathering of the
underlying rocks. In some cases micro-organisms and plants
like mosses or lichens can live on bare rock, so long as the
surface is damp. These absorb chemical elements from the
rocks as food and also produce organic acids. They are thus
agents of both chemical and mechanical weathering.

2. Physical or Mechanical Weathering:

Mechanical weathering is the physical disintegration of a rock by
the actual prising apart of separate particles. Mechanical
weathering takes place in several ways.
a) Repeated Temperature Changes: In deserts rocks are exposed
to the blazing sun during the day and are intensely heated. The
outer layers expand much faster than the cooler interior of the
rocks and tend to pull away from the rest. At nightfall the
temperature drops rapidly and the outer layers contract more
rapidly than the interior, setting up internal stresses. Such
stresses, repeated every day for months and years cause the
rocks to crack and split. Wellbedded and jointed rocks tend to
split along the joints and cracks, breaking up into rectangular
blocks. Shales and slates may split up into platy fragments
because of their platy structure. In crystalline rocks such as
granite the crystals of the various minerals (quartz, mica,
feldspar) will expand and contract at different rates, enhancing
the stresses and accelerating the disintegration of the rocks.
Stresses and pressures will naturally be greatest near the
surface and where there are sharp angles in the rocks.
Rectangular blocks are thus gradually rounded by the slitting
away of sharp corners. When the surface layers of rounded
boulders gradually split off the process is called Onion peeling,
because the various layers looks like the layers of an onion
peeling off one after another. The technical term for this
process is exfoliation.
b) Repeated wetting and drying: This takes place especially in
tropical regions like Malaysia, where short downpours
saturated the rocks and then the hot sun quickly dries them
again. Repeated wetting and drying also occurs at the coast,
where rocks may be rapidly dried by sun and wind between
tides. When rocks are wetted the outer layers absorb a certain amount of moisture and expand. When they dry this moisture
evaporates and the outer layer split off.
c) Frost Action: In temperature latitudes frost is a potent rock
breaker. All rocks contain cracks and joints or pore spaces, and
after a shower water or snow collects in such places. When the
temperature drops at night or during the winter , this water
freeze .When water freezes it expands by one-tenth its volume
and exerts a bursting pressure of almost 140 kg per square cm
(2,000 lb. To the square inch). Repeated freezing of this kind
will deepen and widens the original cracks and crevices and
break the rock into angular fragments.
d) Biotic Factors: Small fragments of rock loosened by either
chemical or mechanical weathering lodge in cracks and crevices
in the rock and plants may sprout in such crevices. As they
grow their roots penetrate the rocks below, usually along joints
and other lines of weakness, prising them apart.

Mass Movement:

Mass movement is the movement of weathered materials down
a slope due to gravitational forces. The movement may be
gradual or sudden, depending on the gradient of the slope, the
weight of the weathered debris and whether there is any
lubricating moisture supplied by rain-water. Several kinds of
mass movement are distinguished.
1. Soil Creep:
This is is slow gradual but more or less continuous
movement of soil down hillslopes. Soil creep is most
common in damp soils where the water acts as a lubricant so
that individual soil particles move over each other and over
the underlying rock. It is also found where continuous
trampling by animals grazing on the slopes sets up
vibrations which loosen the soil and cause it to move.

Though the movement is slow and cannot readily be seen in
action, the gradual movement tilts trees, fences posts and so
on which are rooted in the soil.
2. Soil Flow ( Solifluction)
When the soil is completely saturated with water the
individual particles are almost suspended in the water and
move easily over one another and over the underlying rock.
The soil acts like a liquid and a soil-flow or mud-flow occurs.
In Ireland such flows are known as ‘Bog-Bursts’.
3. Landslides ( Slumping or Sliding)
Landslides may be caused because of steep slope is undercut
by a river or the sea so that it falls by gravity. Earthquakes or
volcanic disturbances may loosen rocks and start off a
landslide. Man-made steepening both undercuts the slope
and set up vibrations which may loosen rocks or soil. But
often landslides are caused by the lubricating action of
rainwater. Water may collect in joints or bedding planes in
rocks so that one layer slides over another, especially in
areas of tilted strata. Slumping is particularly common
where permeable debris or rock layers overlie impermeable
strata such as clay. Water sinking through the permeable
material is halted by the clay. The damp clay provides a
smooth slippery surface over which the upper layers easily
slide.

Groundwater:

The whole process of the circulation of water between the land, sea and atmosphere is known as the hydrological cycle. When rain falls on the earth it is disturbed in various ways some is immediately evaporated and these returns to the atmosphere as water vapour. Some is absorbed by plants
and gradually return to the atmosphere by transpiration from the leaves of plants. Much of it flows directly off slopes to join streams and rivers, eventually reaching the seas and oceans. This is known as run off. 

A considerable proportion of the water received from rain or snow however, percolates downwards into the soil and rocks filling up joints and porespaces and forming what is known as ground water. 

Ground water plays an important part in weathering and mass movement and is also important as means of natural water storage. It re-enters the hydrological cycle by way of springs. Porous rocks are those, like sandstone, which have many pore spaces between the grains. Water is easily absorbed by
such rocks and may be stored in the pore spaces.

Permeable or pervious rocks are those which allow water to pass through them easily. Thus most porous rocks are impermeable.

Water which seeps through the ground moves downward under the focus of gravity until it reaches an impermeable layer of rock through which it cannot pass. If there is no ready outlet for the groundwater in the form of a spring, the water accumulates above the impermeable layer and saturates the rock. The permeable rock in which the water is stored is known as the aquifer. The surface of the saturated area is called the water table.

Springs:
The ground water stored in the rock is released onto the surface at points where the water-table reaches the surface.

A spring is simply an outlet for such water.

Springs are of several kinds due to the nature of the rocks and the position of the water table. The main types of springs are:

a. In areas of tilted strata, where permeable and impermeable rocks alternate, water emerges at the base of the permeable layers.
b. In well jointed rocks water may percolate downwards until it reaches a joint which emerges at the surface. The water may come to the surface through the joint.
c. Where a dyke or sill of impermeable rock is intruded, through permeable rocks, it causes the water-table to reach the surface and the water issues as a spring.
d. In limestone or chalk escarpments, where the permeable rock lies between impermeable strata, water issues at the foot of the scarp as a scarp foot spring, or near the foot of the dip slope as a dip-slope spring.
e. In karst regions rivers often disappear underground.

Then they flow through passages worn in the rock by solution, and may re-emerge when limestone gives place to some impermeable rock. This kind of spring is sometimes called a vauclusian spring but is referred to as
a resurgence.

Springs are the natural emergence points of ground water, but Man can
make use of stored water below ground by sinking wells. A hole is bored
through the earth until the water table is reached. Wells are particularly
important in arid areas where there is little surface water but where the
underlying rocks contain ground water.

Artesian wells are important type of well.

(Source: Goh Cheng Leong's Certificate physical and Human Geography)

History - Gupta Period

Gupta Period

Sources:

·        There are plenty of source materials to reconstruct the history of the Gupta period. They include literary, epigraphical and numismatic sources.

·        Contemporary literary works like the Devichandraguptam and the Mudhrakshasam written by Visakadatta provide information regarding the rise of the Guptas.

·        The Chinese traveler Fahien, who visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II, has left a valuable account of the social, economic and religious conditions of the Gupta empire.

·        Apart from these literary sources, there are inscriptions like the Meherauli Iron Pillar Inscription and the Allahabad Pillar inscription. The first refers to the achievements of Chandragupta I.

·        The most important source for the reign of Samudragupta is the Allahabad Pillar inscription. It describes his personality and achievements. This inscription is engraved on an Asokan pillar. It is written in classical Sanskrit, using the Nagari script. It consists of 33 lines composed by Harisena. It describes the circumstances of Samudragupta’s accession, his military campaigns in north India and the Deccan, his relationship with other contemporary rulers, and his accomplishments as a poet and scholar.

·        The coins issued by Gupta kings contain legends and figures. These coins provide interesting details about the titles and sacrifices performed by the Gupta monarchs.

Chandragupta I (320 – 330 A.D.) :

·        The founder of the Gupta dynasty was Sri Gupta.

·        He was succeeded by Ghatotkacha. These two were called Maharajas. Much information was not available about their rule.

·        The next ruler was Chandragupta I and he was the first to be called
Maharajadhiraja (the great king of kings). This title indicates his extensive conquests. He strengthened his position by a matrimonial alliance with the Licchavis. He married Kumaradevi, a princess of that family. This added to the power and prestige of the Gupta family.

·        The Meherauli Iron Pillar inscription mentions his extensive conquests.

·        Chandragupta I is considered to be the founder of the Gupta era which starts with his accession in A.D. 320.

Samudragupta (330-380 A.D.):

·        Samudragupta was the greatest of the rulers of the Gupta dynasty.

·        The Allahabad Pillar inscription provides a detailed account of his reign. It refers to three stages in his military campaign: 1. Against some rulers of North India 2. His famous Dakshinapatha expedition against South Indian rulers 3. A second campaign against some other rulers of North India.

·        The Allahabad Pillar inscription mentions that Samudragupta defeated twelve rulers in his South Indian Expedition. They were Mahendra of Kosala, Vyaghraraja of Mahakanthara, Mantaraja of Kaurala, Mahendragiri of Pishtapura, Swamidatta of Kottura, Damana of Erandapalla, Vishnugupta of Kanchi, Nilaraja of Avamukta, Hastivarman of Vengi, Ugrasena of Palakka, Kubera of Devarashtra and Dhananjaya of Kushtalapura.

·        Samudragupta’s policy in South India was different. He did not destroy and annex those kingdoms. Instead, he defeated the rulers but gave them back their kingdoms. He only insisted on them to acknowledge his suzerainty.

·        The third stage of Samudragupta’s campaign was to eliminate his remaining north Indian rivals. He fought against nine kings, uprooted them and annexed their territories. They were Rudradeva, Matila, Nagadatta, Chandravarman, Ganapathinaga, Nagasena, Achyuta, Nandin and Balavarman. Most of these rulers were members of the Naga family, then ruling over different parts of north India.

·        After these military victories, Samudragupta performed the
asvamedha sacrifice. He issued gold and silver coins with the legend ‘restorer of the asvamedha’. It is because of his military achievements Samudragupta was hailed as ‘Indian Napoleon’.

·        The Allahabad Pillar inscription speaks of his magnanimity to his foes, his polished intellect, his poetic skill and his proficiency in music. It calls him Kaviraja because of his ability in composing verses. His image depicting him with Veena is found in the coins issued by him. It is the proof of his proficiency and interest in music.

·        He was also a patron of many poets and scholars, one of whom was Harisena. Thus he must be credited with a share in the promotion of Sanskrit literature and learning, characteristic of his dynasty.

·        He was an ardent follower of Vaishnavism but was tolerant of other creeds. He evinced keen interest in Buddhism and was the patron of the great Buddhist scholar Vasubandu.

Chandragupta II (380-415 A.D.) :

·        Samudragupta was succeeded by his son Chandragupta II Vikramaditya.

·        Chandragupta II inherited the military genius of his father and extended the Gupta Empire by his own conquests. He achieved this by a judicious combination of the policy of diplomacy and warfare.

·        Through matrimonial alliances he strengthened his political power. He married Kuberanaga, a Naga princess of central India.

·        He gave his daughter Prabhavati in marriage to the Vakataka prince Rudrasena II. The political importance of this marriage lies in the fact that the Vakatakas occupied a geographically strategic position in the Deccan. This alliance served a useful purpose when Chandragupta-II undertook his campaign in western India against the Sakas.

·        The greatest of the military achievements of Chandragupta II was his war against the Saka satraps of western India.

·        Rudrasimha III, the last ruler of the Saka satrap was defeated, dethroned and killed. His territories in western Malwa and the Kathiawar Peninsula were annexed into the Gupta Empire.

·        After this victory he performed the horse sacrifice and assumed the title Sakari, meaning, ‘destroyer of Sakas’. He also called himself Vikramaditya.

·        As a result of the conquest of western India, the western boundary of the Empire reached to the Arabian Sea gaining access to Broach, Sopara, Cambay and other sea ports. This enabled the Gupta empire to control trade with the western countries.

·        Ujjain became an important commercial city and soon became the alternative capital of the Guptas.

·        The fine cotton clothes of Bengal, Indigo from Bihar, silk from Banares, the scents of the Himalayas and the sandal and species from the south were brought to these ports without any interference.

·        The western traders poured Roman gold into India in return for Indian products.

·        The great wealth of the Gupta Empire was manifest in the variety of gold coins issued by Chandragupta II.

Fahien’s Visit:

·        The famous Chinese pilgrim, Fahien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II.

·        Out of his nine years stay in India, he spent six years in the Gupta empire.

·        He came to India by the land route through Khotan, Kashgar, Gandhara and Punjab.

·        He visited Peshawar, Mathura, Kanauj, Sravasti, Kapilavastu, Kusinagara, Pataliputra, Kasi and Bodh Gaya among other places.

·        He returned by the sea route, visiting on the way Ceylon and Java.

·        The main purpose of his visit was to see the land of the Buddha and to collect Buddhist manuscripts from India.

·        He stayed in Pataliputra for three years studying Sanskrit and copying Buddhist texts.

·        Fahien provides valuable information on the religious, social and economic condition of the Gupta empire.

·        According to him, Buddhism was in a flourishing condition in the northwestern India but in the Gangetic valley it was in a state of neglect. He refers to the Gangetic valley as the ‘land of Brahmanism’.

·        Fahien mentions the unsatisfactory state of some of the Buddhist holy places like Kapilavastu and Kusinagara. According to him the economic condition of the empire was prosperous.

·        Although his account is valuable in many respects, he did not mention the name of Chandragupta II. He was not interested in political affairs. His interest was primarily religion.

·        He assessed everything from the Buddhist angle.

·        His observations on social conditions are found to be exaggerated. Yet, his accounts are useful to know the general condition of the country.

Successors of Chandragupta II:

·        Kumaragupta was the son and successor of Chandragupta II. Most importantly, he laid the foundation of the Nalanda University which emerged an institution of international reputation. At the end of his reign, a powerful wealthy tribe called the ‘Pushyamitras’ defeated the Gupta army.

·        Skandagupta  fought successfully against the Huns and saved the empire. This war must have been a great strain on thegovernment’s resources.

·        After Skandagupta’s death, many of his successors like Purugupta, Narasimhagupta, Buddhagupta and Baladitya could not save the Gupta empire from the Huns. Ultimately, the Gupta power totally disappeared due to the Hun invasions and later by the rise of Yasodharman in Malwa.

Gupta Administration:

·        According inscriptions, the Gupta kings assumed titles like
Paramabhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja, Parameswara, Samrat and Chakravartin. The king was assisted in his administration by a council consisting of a chief minister, a Senapati or commander-in-chief of the army and other important officials.

·        A high official called Sandivigraha was mentioned in the Gupta inscriptions, most probably minister for foreign affairs.

·        The king maintained a close contact with the provincial administration through a class of officials called Kumaramatyas and Ayuktas.

·        Provinces in the Gupta Empire were known as Bhuktis and provincial governors as Uparikas. They were mostly chosen from among the princes.

·        Bhuktis were subdivided into Vishyas or districts. They were governed by Vishyapatis.

·        Nagara Sreshtis were the officers looking after the city administration.

·        The villages in the district were under the control of Gramikas.

Art and Culture:

·        The Gupta period witnessed a tremendous progress in the field of art, science and literature and on account of this it has been called “a golden age”.

·        A few scholars even call this period a period of renaissance.

Art and Architecture:

·        In the history of Indian art and architecture, the Gupta period occupies an important place.

·        Both the Nagara and Dravidian styles of art evolved during this period.

·        But most of the architecture of this period had been lost due to foreign invasions like that of Huns. Yet, the remaining temples, sculptures and cave paintings provide an idea about the grandeur of the Gupta art.

·        The temple at Deogarh near Jhansi and the sculptures in the temple at Garhwas near Allahabad remain important specimen of the Gupta art. There was no influence of Gandhara style. But the beautiful statue of standing Buddha at Mathura reveals a little Greek style.

·        The Buddha statue unearthed at Saranath was unique piece of Gupta art.

·        The Bhitari monolithic pillar of Skandagupta is also remarkable.

·        Metallurgy had also made a wonderful progress during the Gupta period.

·        The craftsmen were efficient in the art of casting metal statues and pillars.

·        The gigantic copper statue of Buddha, originally found at Sultanganj now kept at Birmingham museum, was about seven and a half feet height and nearly a ton weight.

·        The Delhi Iron pillar of the Gupta period is still free from rust though completely exposed to sun and rain for so many centuries.

·        The paintings of the Gupta period are seen at Bagh caves near Gwalior.

·        The mural paintings of Ajantha mostly illustrate the life of the Buddha as depicted in the Jataka stories.

·        The paintings at Sigiriya in Sri Lanka were highly influenced by the Ajantha style.

·        The Gupta coinage was also remarkable.

·        Samudragupta issued eight types of gold coins. The legends on them throw much light on the achievements of that marvelous king. The figures inscribed on them are illustrative of the skill and greatness of Gupta numismatic art. Chandragupta II and his successors had also issued gold, silver and copper coins of different varieties.

Literature:

·        The Sanskrit language became prominent during the Gupta period.

·        Nagari script had evolved from the Brahmi script.

·        Numerous works in classical Sanskrit came to be written in the forms of epic, lyrics, drama and prose.

·        The best of the Sanskrit literature belonged to the Gupta age. Himself a great poet, Samudragupta patronized a number of scholars including Harisena.

·        The court of Chandragupta II was adorned by the celebrated Navratnas. Kalidasa remain the foremost among them. His master-piece was the Sanskrit drama Shakuntala. It is considered one among the ‘hundred best books of the world’.

·        He wrote two other plays - the Malavikagnimitra and Vikramorvasiya. His two well-known epics are Raghuvamsa and Kumarasambhava. Ritusamhara and Meghaduta are his two lyrics.

·        Visakadatta was another celebrated author of this period. He was the author of two Sanskrit dramas, Mudrarakshasa and Devichandraguptam.

·        Sudraka was a renowned poet of this age and his book Mrichchakatika is rich in humour and pathos.

·        Bharavi’s Kritarjuniya is the story of the conflict between Arjuna and Siva.

·        Dandin was the author of Kavyadarsa and Dasakumaracharita.

·        Another important work of this period was Vasavadatta written by Subhandhu.

·        The Panchatantra stories were composed by Vishnusarma during the Gupta period.

·        The Buddhist author Amarasimha compiled a lexicon called Amarakosa.

·        The Puranas in their present form were composed during this period. There are eighteen Puranas. The most important among them are the Bhagavatha, Vishnu, Vayu and Matsya Puranas.

·        The Mahabharatha and the Ramayana were given final touches and written in the present form during this period.

Science:

·        The Gupta period witnessed a brilliant activity in the sphere of mathematics, astronomy, astrology and medicine.

·        Aryabhatta was a great mathematician and astronomer.

·        He wrote the book Aryabhatiya in 499 A.D. It deals with mathematics and astronomy. It explains scientifically the occurrence of solar and lunar eclipses.

·        Aryabhatta was the first to declare that the earth was spherical in shape and that it rotates on its own axis. However, these views were rejected by later astronomers like Varahamihira and Brahmagupta.

·        Varahamihira composed Pancha Siddhantika, the five astronomical systems. He was also a great authority on astrology. His work Brihadsamhita is a great work in Sanskrit literature. It deals with a variety of subjects like astronomy, astrology, geography, architecture, weather, animals, marriage and omens. His Brihadjataka is considered to be a standard work on astrology.

·        In the field of medicine, Vagbhata lived during this period. He was the last of the great medical trio of ancient India. The other two scholars Charaka and Susruta lived before the Gupta age.

·        Vagbhata was the author Ashtangasamgraha (Summary of the eight branches of medicine).