With the accession of Buddhagupta in AD 476-77, the history of the imperial Guptas stands again on a firm ground. The records of his reign prove beyond doubt that he ruled over extensive regions. But it was during his reign that the Gupta Empire showed signs of visible decay.
The Maitrakas of Valabhi, ruling in Kathiawar and the Parivrajaka maharaja Hastin of Bundelakhand refer in vague general terms to the paramount power.
Similarly Maharaja Subandhu of Mahishmati does not refer to the Gupta Sovereign in his land grants. Governors of North Bengal were now called uparika-maharaja instead of only uparika used earlier. Governors of Malwa and Surashtra also assumed the title maharaja. The coins of Buddhagupta too reflect the decline. His gold coins are very rare, and he discontinued issuing the type of silver coins current in Gujarat and Kathiawar.
Buddhagupta’s reign thus ushered in the first stage of decay of the Gupta Empire. The imperial structure remained intact, but its vitality was weakened by the fatal tendency to local autonomy which slowly but steadily gathered force among the provincial governors and feudatory rulers. There is nothing to show that Buddhagupta was in any way especially responsible for this.
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The Gupta Empire followed the way of all empires, not only in India but also outside it, though some historical incidents such as the Huna invasion civil war or the Vakataka invasion might have hastened the process. Buddhagupta died c. AD 500.
The imperial dynasty after Buddhagupta becomes all the more uncertain. However, it appears that Vainyagupta, Bhanugupta, Narasimhagupta Baladitya, Kumaragupta III, Vishnugupta etc. i uled at sometime or the other. The Guptas continued to rule till about 550 AD; but by then their power had already become very insignificant.
It is also not known whether all of them were ruling from the royal capital. Vainyagupta seems to have been ruling from Samatata and Nalanda whereas Bhanugupta from Eran. The other Bhanugupta known from a single inscription of Eran fought a famous battle in which his general Goparaja died and his wife committed sati. This is the first inscriptional evidence of sati in India.