rulers of the Magadha state in northeastern India, later Bih─r. They maintained an empire over northern and parts of central and western India from the early 4th to the late 6th century AD. The founder was Candra Gupta I (q.v.). The Gupta era produced the decimal system of notation and great Sanskrit epics and Hindu art and contributed to the sciences of astronomy, mathematics, and metallurgy. See Samudra Gupta.