A Marxist History of the World part 24: Hindus, Buddhists, and the Gupta Empire Resource Type: Article Published: 2010 More than half a millennium separated the fall of India’s Mauryan Empire in the late 3rd century BCE (before the common era) from the rise of the Gupta Empire in the early 4th century CE (common era). Economic and social change during the interval altered the foundations of imperialism.