The post-Gupta era is a period that witnessed the beginnings of the regional identities that took deep roots in course of time.
This formative period requires a detailed study, since many institutions and problems of present-day India owe their origin to this period.
With the disintegration of the Gupta political power centre, the northern half of the subcontinent splintered into ‘warring kingdoms’ and each tried to become a sovereign power.
The basis of this sovereignty was distinct regionalism and localism that achieved a clear picture and structure in later centuries. The political heirs to the Gupta political power attempted to recreate an empire but, with the exception of the Pratihara kingdom, the attempts of others remained only a distant dream.
The ability to establish large kingdoms and empires appears to have shifted to the region beyond the Vindhyas, i.e., the powers of the Deccan and the Tamil country. These powers of the Deccan and the south, the Chalukyas, the Rashtrakutas, the Pallavas and the Cholas showed the greatest vitality in the evolution of the classical Indian civilization.
The decline of the Gupta kingdom in the 6th century AD slowly and gradually led to the growth of many small kingdoms.
In this process, certain regions witnessed the emergence of new kingdoms; and in other regions, the erstwhile Gupta vassals freed themselves from the sovereignty of the Guptas, founding independent kingdoms.
Of the new political powers that emerged, the important ones are kings like Yasodharman, and powers such as the Maukharis, the Hunas and the later Magadhan Guptas.
Along with these new powers, the Pushyabhutis, the Gaudas, the Varmans and the Maitrakas also became important powers to be reckoned with at that time.
The political scenario of this period is to be understood against this background of the emergence of regional identities represented by the new political powers. The first to be studied is Yasodharman.
Later Guptas or Magadhan Guptas:
A.L. Basham observes, “By the middle of the sixth century a line of rulers with the same surname, but not connected in their official geneology with the imperial line, ruled in Bihar and parts of Uttarapradesh”. The Aphsad epigraph of Aditya Sena gives the following names as belonging to the Gupta line of Magadha.
They are:
(1) Krishna Gupta,
(2) Harsha Gupta,
(3) Jivita Gupta,
(4) Kumaragupta,
(5) Damodara Gupta,
(6) Mahasena Gupta,
(7) Madhava Gupta, and
(8) Aditya Sena.
These rulers are said to have ruled between the 6th and 7th centuries AD. Their rule appeared to have been confined to Magadha and sometimes to Malwa also. Most of the time, they had hostile relations with their western neighbours namely the Maukharies of the upper and middle Gangetic valley. Finally, the Gaudas of Bengal, who in turn were overthrown by Yasodharman of Kanauj, overthrew the later Guptas.
Besides these powers, the Maitrakas of Valabhi ruled the Kathiawar region in western India. The Maitrakas were also originally the subordinates of the Guptas but they asserted themselves after the decline of the Gupta political power.
The Gurjaras ruled in Rajaputana and Gujarat. Harishchandra was the founder of this line and his three successors ruled until AD 640.
Gauda, the region of north and north-west of Bengal was under Sasanka, which, as an independent kingdom became prominent in Orissa. However, both these kingdoms faced setbacks because of the rise of Sasanka of Gauda and Harshavardhana of Kanauj.