Pariksha SaathiLesson 4 of 10 · Ancient and Medieval Indian History
The Mauryan Empire: Chandragupta, Bindusara and Ashoka
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Sources
The Mauryan age (about 321 to 185 BC) is the first period of Indian history with rich and varied sources. Kautilya's Arthashastra is a manual of statecraft in 15 books; Megasthenes' Indica survives only in quotations by later Greek writers such as Strabo and Arrian; Vishakhadatta's play Mudrarakshasa, written in the Gupta age, tells of Chandragupta's rise; Buddhist works such as the Divyavadana and the Sri Lankan chronicles Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa tell of Ashoka; and Ashoka's own inscriptions, first read by James Prinsep in 1837, speak in his voice. Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription adds that Chandragupta's governor Pushyagupta built the Sudarshana lake in Saurashtra.
Chandragupta Maurya
Guided by the Brahmin Kautilya (Chanakya or Vishnugupta), Chandragupta overthrew Dhana Nanda around 321 BC. In about 305 BC he fought Seleucus Nicator, Alexander's general; the treaty that followed gave Chandragupta the regions around Kabul, Kandahar and Balochistan in return for 500 elephants and was sealed by a marriage alliance, and Seleucus sent Megasthenes as ambassador to Pataliputra. Megasthenes described the city as ringed by a wooden wall with 570 towers and 64 gates and run by six committees of five members each, and divided Indian society into seven classes. Jain tradition says Chandragupta became a Jain, went south with Bhadrabahu during a famine, and ended his life by fasting (sallekhana) at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka.
Bindusara and Ashoka's rise
Bindusara (about 297 to 273 BC), called Amitraghata (slayer of enemies), kept up ties with the Seleucids; Antiochus I sent the envoy Deimachus to his court, and Bindusara is said to have asked for sweet wine, dried figs and a philosopher. His son Ashoka served as viceroy at Taxila and Ujjain, won a war of succession and was crowned around 269 BC. In the eighth year of his reign, about 261 BC, he conquered Kalinga. Rock Edict XIII says 1.5 lakh people were carried away, 1 lakh killed and many more died, and records his remorse. He turned to Buddhism, guided by the monk Upagupta in the northern tradition, and replaced bherighosha (the sound of war drums) with dhammaghosha (the call of dhamma).
Dhamma
Ashoka's dhamma was a moral code, not a sect: obedience to parents, respect for elders and teachers, kindness to slaves and servants, generosity to Brahmins and Shramanas, non-violence to living beings, and tolerance of all sects, the subject of Rock Edict XII. Rock Edict I banned animal sacrifice at festivals, Rock Edict V records the appointment of Dhamma Mahamattas to spread dhamma, and Rock Edict VIII tells how he replaced royal pleasure tours with dhamma yatras. The third Buddhist council at Pataliputra sent missionaries abroad: his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka, where King Devanampiya Tissa accepted Buddhism, Sona and Uttara to Suvarnabhumi and Majjhantika to Kashmir and Gandhara. Rock Edict XIII names five Greek kings, including Antiochus II of Syria and Ptolemy II of Egypt, and Rock Edict II names the Cholas, Pandyas, Satiyaputras and Keralaputras as neighbours.
The edicts by type and place
The edicts are in Prakrit, mostly in the Brahmi script; at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra in the north-west they use Kharoshthi, and at Kandahar Greek and Aramaic. The 14 Major Rock Edicts are found at Girnar, Kalsi, Dhauli, Jaugada, Sopara, Yerragudi, Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra; at Dhauli and Jaugada in Kalinga, two Separate Edicts replace numbers XI to XIII. The Minor Rock Edicts include Maski, Gujarra, Brahmagiri, Rupnath, Sahasram and Bairat; the Bhabru edict shows his faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha. The 7 Pillar Edicts appear together only on the Delhi-Topra pillar. Minor Pillar Edicts include the Sarnath schism edict and the Rummindei pillar at Lumbini, which cut the village's land tax to one-eighth. The four-lion capital of Sarnath became India's national emblem on 26 January 1950.
Administration
The Mauryan state was highly centralised. The king was advised by a council of ministers (mantriparishad); the Arthashastra lists 18 high officers called tirthas and many superintendents (adhyakshas) for trade, tolls, agriculture, mines and weights. The samaharta collected revenue and the sannidhata kept the treasury. Provinces were ruled by princes from Taxila in the north-west, Ujjain in the west, Tosali in Kalinga and Suvarnagiri in the south, with the centre ruled from Pataliputra; below them rajukas, pradeshikas and yuktas ran districts and the gramika the village. Land tax (bhaga) was usually one-sixth of the produce, spies (gudhapurushas) watched officials, and silver punch-marked coins were in use. Kautilya's saptanga theory names the seven limbs of the state: king, minister, territory, fort, treasury, army and ally.
Decline
Ashoka died around 232 BC. The empire was divided among weak successors, among them his grandson Dasharatha, who gave the Nagarjuni caves to the Ajivikas. The cost of a large army and bureaucracy strained the treasury, distant provinces broke away, and Bactrian Greeks pressed in from the north-west. Historians have also blamed a Brahmanical reaction against Ashoka's policies (H. P. Shastri) or his pacifism (H. C. Raychaudhuri), though both views are debated. The end came around 185 BC, when the commander Pushyamitra Shunga killed the last Mauryan king, Brihadratha, during an army review.
Key facts
- Kautilya (Chanakya, Vishnugupta) wrote the Arthashastra in 15 books; its saptanga theory names king, minister, territory, fort, treasury, army and ally.
- Seleucus Nicator ceded the regions around Kabul, Kandahar and Balochistan to Chandragupta for 500 elephants (about 305 BC) and sent Megasthenes, author of the Indica.
- Megasthenes: Pataliputra had a wooden wall with 570 towers and 64 gates and was run by six committees of five members; he wrote of seven classes in Indian society.
- Bindusara was called Amitraghata; Antiochus I sent Deimachus to his court; he patronised the Ajivikas.
- Kalinga war about 261 BC, in Ashoka's eighth regnal year; Rock Edict XIII records the deaths, deportations and his remorse.
- Rock Edict I bans animal sacrifice, V appoints Dhamma Mahamattas, VIII replaces pleasure tours with dhamma yatras, XII preaches tolerance of all sects, XIII describes Kalinga.
- Scripts of the edicts: Brahmi in most places, Kharoshthi at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra, Greek and Aramaic at Kandahar; James Prinsep first read the Brahmi script in 1837.
- All 7 Pillar Edicts are found together only on the Delhi-Topra pillar; the Rummindei pillar at Lumbini cut the village's land tax to one-eighth.
- Ashoka's missions: Mahendra and Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka, Sona and Uttara to Suvarnabhumi, Majjhantika to Kashmir and Gandhara.
- The last Mauryan, Brihadratha, was killed by his commander Pushyamitra Shunga around 185 BC.
Quick revision
Mauryas about 321-185 BC; Kautilya's Arthashastra (15 books, saptanga); Chandragupta defeated Seleucus, got Kabul-Kandahar for 500 elephants; Megasthenes' Indica (570 towers, 64 gates, committees of five); Chandragupta died at Shravanabelagola (Jain tradition); Bindusara Amitraghata; Kalinga about 261 BC in Rock Edict XIII; Dhamma Mahamattas in Rock Edict V; 14 rock edicts, 7 pillar edicts (Delhi-Topra); Brahmi, Kharoshthi, Greek, Aramaic; Prinsep 1837; Sarnath capital emblem 26 January 1950; Brihadratha killed by Pushyamitra.