The Gupta Empire Trilogy: Filling a Gaping Hole in Indian Historical Fiction

“The story of the Gupta emperors was indeed lost for many, centuries, even though the Gupta Age was India’s ‘first spring’. . . It was economically prosperous, politically strong, vibrant, cosmopolitan, cultured, liberal and enlightened. However, the Gupta Emperors have, unfortunately, not received the kind of interest or patronage that turned Emperor Ashoka before them and the Mughals after into an intrinsic part of our cultural consciousness.”

That is Nandini Sengupta writing in her foreword to her third book in the Gupta Empire trilogy, The Ocean’s Own. The other two are The King Within and The Poisoned Heart. All three have been published by Harper Collins.

The Ocean’s Own is the story of Samudragupta, his ascension to power after his father Chandragupta’s death, how he secures his empire and expands it to encompass the Dakshin (southern) kingdoms of Kanchi and Palakka. It is also about his turbulent and complicated relationship with Angai, the warrior princess from Kanchi.  

Though this book is the third in the series, the other two are about Samudragupta’s descendants. The King Within is about his son, Chandragupta Vikramaditya and The Poisoned Heart is about his great grandson (Chandragupta Vikramaditya’s grandson), Skandagupta. So if someone is interested in reading the trilogy and has not already read the first two, it is best to start with the third book first.

Nandini Sengupta has very deftly interwoven historical facts with a bit of fiction (and historical figures with fictional characters) to give three wonderful stories. Each story has a woman character with whom the emperor has a complicated relationship – Angai in the case of Samudragupta, Darshini, the courtesan-turned-Buddhist in the case of Chandragupta and Rohini, the half-Hun enigma in the case of Skandagupta.

Between the three books, the Gupta era and the social mores, the governance, the attire and fighting techniques are depicted wonderfully. The research is stupendous. What’s more, details are woven in so deftly into the narrative that at no point does the interest flag.   

In the preface, Nandini Sengupta lamented the lack of attention to the Gupta era. This trilogy is certain to pique interest in the Gupta dynasty and the period during which it ruled. More importantly, it also fills a gaping hole in Indian writing in English – fiction set in ancient India.