The Puranas, earlier long poems on a variety of subjects, are also thought to have been committed to written texts around this period. Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural centre and established the region as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The period gave rise to achievements in architecture, sculpture, and painting that 'set standards of form and taste determined the whole subsequent course of art, not only in India but far beyond her borders'. Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era.

The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields. Many Hindu epics and literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were canonised during this period. The high points of this period are the great cultural developments which took place primarily during the reigns of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri Gupta the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, and Chandragupta II alias Vikramaditya. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by historians.

At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE.

Map of the gupta empire