9 The Mauryan empire

P. Bhaskar Reddy

epgp books

 

1. Introduction

 

The rise of the Mauryas in the fourth century BCE opened a new chapter in the history of ancient India. It was during the Mauryan age that the whole of India was politically united for the first time under the rule of one king. Under the dynamic rule of the Mauryas the Magadha imperialism became a reality. The credit of achieving political and cultural unification of India and establishing an empire in the true sense of term invariably goes to them. Moreover, the history writing has also become clear from this period due to accuracy in chronology and sources. The Mauryans brought qualitative changes in Polity, administration, economy, society, and religion.

 

2. Major Sources for the Mauryan History

 

The sources for the Mauryan period are more varied than those of earlier period. The history of their rule is rendered comparatively reliable on account of evidence obtained from a variety of sources. The Buddhist and Jaina traditions, early Dharmasastra texts, and the material retrieved from archaeological excavations continue to remain important base of historical reconstruction.

 

2.1. Literary Sources

  • The Vayu and the Vishnu Puranas gave us some useful information regarding the origin and early history of the Mauryas. The Puranas contained old traditions and provided chronology of the Mauryas which lacked clarity.
  • The Buddhist literature Ashokavadana and Divyavadana provided information regarding the early life of Ashoka
  • The Ceylonese chronicles Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa throw light on Ashoka’s succession to the throne and his role in spreading Buddhism. They further mention that Ashoka came to the throne 218 years after the Buddha’s Maha Parinirvana.
  • The Jain work Parisishtaparvan (a biography of Chanakya) of Hemachandra provide very interesting information on Chandragupta such as his early life, conquest of Magadha and conversion to Jainism in the later part of his life.
  • The Arthasastra of Kautilya is the most important literary source for the history of the Mauryas. It provided us valuable information regarding polity and general life of the Mauryan age. The Arthasastra also furnish information regarding taxation system, social structure, espionage system, and army organization.
  • Mudrarakshasa of Vishakadatta, a Sanskrit Drama written in 5th century CE, described how Chandragupta with the assistance of Kautilya overthrew the Nandas.
  • The Mauryan period saw a steady expansion of trade with the Western world and the exchange of emissaries between Maurya and Hellenistic kings. It is, hence, not surprising that Greeco-Roman accounts mention kings Sandrocottus (Chandragupta) and Amitrochates (Bindusara) and their capital Palimbothra (Pataliputra). The Greek account called Indica, written by Megasthenes, is another authentic source for the Mauryan period. Megasthenes was the Greek ambassador in the court of Chandragupya Maurya. Though the work, available in fragments, gives interesting details on Mauryan polity, particularly the capital city of Pataliputra and the military organization, its description on contemporary social and economic life of the age is notable.

 

2.2 Archaeological Sources

 

The Archaeological sources viz., inscriptions or edicts, coins and monuments form an important and authentic source for the study of Mauryan history.

 

2.2.1. Inscriptions

 

Ashoka was the first Indian emperor, who issued edicts or inscriptions. In this connection, it appears that he drew inspiration from the Persian emperor Darius. The edicts of Ashoka are the oldest, the best preserved and the most precisely dated epigraphic records of India. The Ashokan edicts remain valuable source for the study of Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire.

 

Pillar Edict at Feroz Sha Kotla

 

Ashoka’s inscriptions are divided into various categories. There are several ( i) Rock edicts, (ii) Pillar edicts and (iii) Cave inscriptions. Two main categories of them are the 14 major Rock edicts and 6 Pillar edicts. The minor Rock edicts are considered among the earliest inscriptions, followed later by major Rock edicts and Pillar edicts. The rock edicts are inscribed on rocks and they are found in the frontiers of Ashoka’s dominions. The Pillar edicts are inscribed on highly finished and polished monolithic Pillars and they are planted in different places of the Empire.

 

Figure-1.TIFF

 

The Script and Language of these inscriptions, except those found at north-western frontier, are of Brahmi and Prakrit. The Inscriptions found at Mansehra and Shabazgarhi are in the Prakrit language and Kharosthi Script. There are few inscriptions in Greek and Aramaic as well. A bilingual inscription in Greek and Aramaic was found at Shar-i-kuna near Kandahar in south-east Afghanistan. Two inscriptions in Aramaic character have been discovered at Taxila and Lagman (in east Afghanistan). A bilingual Prakrit- Aramaic inscription was found at Lampaka and another one at Kandahar. The Ashokan edicts were deciphered by James Prinsep (1837), a retired Civil Servant of the English East India Company.

 

Figure-2.TIFF

 

Importance of the Ashokan edicts

  • Provide details about the personal life of Ashoka
  • The find spots of the edicts enabled to fix the extent of Ashoka’s Empire
  • Mention relationship with contemporary foreign rulers; throw light about the temporal and spiritual relations maintained by Ashoka.
  • Narrates principle of Dhamma, Ashokan efforts to propagate it directly indicates his new allegiance to the Buddhist teaching and his close relationship with the Sangha.
  • The edicts furnish us information regarding the use of various scripts and languages in the Mauryan age.
  • Rock edicts supply information on Ashoka’s principle of Government and ethical system.
  • The Rock edict XIII, the most important one, provides us information about Kalinga war.
  • Pillar edicts enumerate the measures taken by Ashoka for the propagation of religious toleration, promotion of ethical policy and the welfare of his subjects.
  • The cave inscriptions record the gifts bestowed upon the Ajvikas-ascetics allied to Jainism.

 

2.2.2. Monuments & Archeological Remains

 

  • Archaeological remains from Kumrahar, Bulandibagh Taxila, Mathura and Bhita, displayed a greater diversity of artifacts highlighting urban features.
  • Material evidence in the forms of Viharas, Stupas and the Ashokan Pillars that are distributed in the Mauryan Empire, are the main sources to study the Mauryan art and architecture.

 

2.2.3. Coins

  • Mauryan emperors issued Punch-marked coins. These coins were of silver and copper. They had the symbol of peacock and hill and Crescent. They formed the imperial currency of Mauryas. Arthasastra referred to different denomination of Silver coins called Panas and Copper coins called Mashkas. They gave us valuable information regarding the economic conditions of the Mauryan age. The distribution of the coins indicates the extent of the Empire.
  • Thus the Arthasastra of Kautilya, the Indica of Megasthenes, the Mudrarakshasa of Visakadatta, the Puranas, the Buddhist and Jain literature, the edicts of Ashoka and the Mauryan Monuments and coins are the invaluable sources for the reconstruction of history of the Mauryan Age.

 

3.  Origin of the Mauryas

  • There is a great deal of controversy among the historians regarding the origin of the Mauryas. The brahmanical, Jaina and Buddhist traditions supply some details but differ widely about the origin. The brahmanical literature describes Chandragupta as base born, while Buddhist literature represent him as belonging to Kshatriya.
  • The Divyavadana refers to Bindusara, son of Chandragupta, as an anointed kshatriya. Mahavamsa refers to Chandragupta as a scion of the kshatriya clan called Moriya.
  • The Puranas, the earliest available sources did not contain any hint of Mauryan origin. The Puranas simply mention that the Nandas were uprooted by Kautilya, who anointed Chandragupta as a king.
  • Mudrarakshasa of Vishakhadatta, a work of later date, referred to Chandragupta as of sudra origin.
  • The Jaina work Parisishtaparvan, described Chandragupta as the grandson of a village headman. It added by way of explaining the title Maurya, that the village habituated by peacock tamers, Mayura-poshakas.

 

4.  Chronology of the Mauryas

 

The Chronology of the Mauryas hinged around the date of the Buddha’s death or the parinibbana of Buddhist literature, popularly known as Maha parinirvana. Though three dates widely support the Buddhist nirvana, the year 486 BCE is the most logical one corroborated by many evidences. According to Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa, Ashoka came to the throne after 218 years, i.e. after the Budddha ’s parinirvana. Hence Ashoka’s accession to the throne may be placed in 268-269 BCE. It was also evident that there was a gap of four years between the formal accession and actual celebration of the coronation and hence Ashoka might have occupied the throne in the year 273 BCE.

 

King Period
Chandragupta 322 BCE – 298 BCE
Bindusara 298 BCE – 273 BCE
Ashoka 273/269 BCE – 232 BCE
Later Mauryan kings
Kunala 232 BCE – 185 BCE
Dasaratha
Samprati
Salisuka
Devavarman
Satadhanvan
Brihadratha

 

that the Mauryan dynasty lasted for 137 years. The list contains the rule of Chandragupta (24 years), Bindusara (25 years) and Ashoka (36 years) and after which mention the names of less important rulers. This information helps to arrange Mauryan chronology.

 

5. Political History

 

5.1 Chandagupta 322 BCE- 298 BCE

 

Chandragupta was the founder of the Mauryan empire. He succeeded at the age of twenty-five, to the Nanda throne in about 322 BCE. He took advantage of the growing weakness and unpopularity of the Nandas and captured Pataliputra from the last king Dhanananda. In this, he was assisted by Kautilya, who was also known as Chanakya. The machinations of Chanakya against the enemies of Chandragupta were described in the Mudrarakshasa, a drama written by Visakhadatta in Ninth century.

 

While Chandragupta was busy in laying the foundation of his Empire, the Greek King Seleucus Nicator gained control of most of the provinces of the Macedonian Empire. Seleucus reached the Sindhu in 305 B.C. and seem to have met Chandragupta in a battle. The available sources do not give the details of the conflict, but merely record the result. They signed a treaty by ceding to Chandragupta the territories then known as Aria, Arachosia and Paropanisadae and Gedrosia. The Cities are known respectively as Herat, Kandahar, Kabul and Baluchistan. Chandragupta on his part presented 500 war elephants to Seleucus. The two also entered into matrimonial alliance, but it is not very clear who married whose daughter. Seleucus further cemented this alliance by sending Megasthenes as his ambassador to the Mauryan court. Megasthenes lived in the Capital Pataliputra and wrote Indica, which contained a fair account of political, social and economic institutions of the empire.

 

The Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman indicates Chandragupta’s conquests extended up to Saurastra in Gujarat. The Tamil poem Anananuru (Akam 251) composed by the Sangam poet Mamulanar refers to his association with Deccan. It is evident from the above that the Chandragupta was the chief architect of the huge Mauryan empire. According to Plutarch, he overran and subdued the whole of India with an army of 6,00,000 men. It was also referred to his mastery over the subcontinent.

 

According to the Jain tradition Chandragupta embraced Jainism towards the end of his life and stepped down from the throne in favour of his son Bindusara. He went to Sravanabelagola near Mysore along with Bhadrabahu, a Jain saint, and several other Jain monks. He deliberately starved unto death by Sallekhana, an approved Jaina faith.

 

Chandragupta Maurya introduced a systematic administration throughout his empire.Mauryan administration became the basis for successive rulers of many other dynasties.(I) The empire was divided into four provinces. (II) Each province was kept under a governor who generally belonged to the royal family. (III) An efficient spy system was established. (IV) The creation of a standing army was also useful for purposes of security and defense of the state. (V) The land revenue collection was centralized. (VI) The levy and collection of taxes on internal trade and foreign trade. (VII) A single currency system for the entire empire was introduced by Chandragupta Maurya.

 

5.2 Bindusara 298 BCE- 273 BCE

 

In 298 BCE Chandragupta was succeeded by his son Bindusara. He was known to the Greeks as Amitrochates which is derived from the Sanskrit word Amitraghata or slayer of foes. The Greek historians say little about the internal affairs of India during the time of Bindusara. Bindusara maintained a vast Empire which he had inherited from his father and also continued friendly relations with the Greek rulers of the west.

 

Bindusara had maintained contacts with Antiochus I, the Seleucid king of Syria whose ambassador Deimachus was said to have been at the Mauryan court. Bindusara, a man of wide tastes and interests, requested Antiochus to send him some wine, dried pigs, and a sophist, the last being not meant for export, was not sent Pliny mentions that Ptolemy I Philaldelphus, king of Egypt, sent Dionysius as his ambassador to India.

 

According to the Tibetan Buddhist monk Taranatha, Bindusara conquered 16 states ‘the land between the two seas’. Therefore, it can be said that the Mauryan empire under Bindusara was extended up to Mysore region.

 

According to Divyavadana, Bindusara appointed his eldest son Sumana as his Viceroy at Taxila and Ashoka at Ujjain. It refers the story of a revolt in Taxila. When it went out of control for Sumana, Bindusara deputed Ashoka to restore order. In the religious sphere, Bindusara was more interested in the Ajvika sect than in other heterodox sects.

 

5.3 Ashoka 273 BCE – 232 BCE

 

Ashoka, the third monarch of the Mauryan dynasty, had come to be regarded as one of the most exemplary rulers of the world. H.G Wells in his Outline of History described him as “The greatest of kings” and that not because of the physical vastness of his Empire, but because of his character as a man, the ideals for which he stood, and the principles by which he governed. As a king, he ruled over the greatest Empire known in Indian History. His reign marked new epoch in political and cultural history of India.

 

A unique feature of his history is that he has himself left a record of it in a permanent form in inscriptions engraved on natural rocks as well as monolithic pillars constructed by him which stand to this day as remarkable monuments of Indian architecture and engineering skill. In his edicts emperor Ashoka was referred to as “Devanampiya and Piyadasi” which may be literally translated as “beloved of the gods and one of amiable look”.

 

5.3.1 Early Life

 

There is little information regarding the early life of Ashoka. He served as governor of Ujjain and also suppressed the revolt in Taxila during his father Bindusara’s reign. It appears from the available Buddhist literature that there was a struggle for the throne among the princes after the death of Bindusara. The Ceylonese Chronicles, Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa mention that Ashoka captured the throne after killing his 99 brothers including his elder brother Sumana. The chronicles further state that Ashoka’s formal coronation took four years after his accession. As the inscriptions of Ashoka date the events of his reign with reference to his coronation most scholars have accepted that statement as historical. There is no substantiated evidence of such struggle. The narration was credited as true. It was obviously intended to glorify Buddhism by drawing a glaring contrast between the career of Ashoka before and after his conversion.

 

5.3.2 Kalinga war and its impact

 

The most important event of Ashoka’s reign was the conquest of Kalinga in the eighth year after his coronation (261 BCE). Ashoka himself describes the horrors and miseries of this war in the XIII rock edict. It was stated that ‘a hundred and fifty thousand persons were killed.’ And it was also mentioned that many times that number had perished. The war brought to the purohits, brahmana priests and the Buddhist monks great suffering, which caused Ashoka much grief and remorse. In the edict Ashoka expresses genuine remorse for the sufferings caused by the war in the most touching language, reflecting such a deep sincerity and conviction. Kalinga was completely conquered, and Ashoka’ s vast dominions were rounded off and secured a more suitable frontier in the south-east. The Kalinga war had a profound effect on the public policies and personality of Ashoka. After this war he decided not to wage any other war and also instructed his sons and grandsons never to wage such. So he abandoned the policy of digvijaya, military conquest, in favour of a policy of dharmavijaya, cultural conquest. In other words, ‘Bherighosa was replaced by Dhammaghosa’.

 

5.3.3 Ashoka’s Dhamma

 

After the war, the greatest objective before Ashoka was the propagation of Dhamma. The salient features of Ashoka’s Dhamma are

  • The Dhamma was neither a new religion nor a political philosophy.
  • It was a way of life, a code of conduct and a set of principles to be adopted and practiced by the people at large.
  • Ashoka’s Dhamma is primarily an ethic of social conduct. It embraced benevolence.
  • It is primarily human and simple practices in character. Its appeal is universal and approach is non-sectarian.
  • It was in essence an attempt of Ashoka to suggest a way of life which was both practical and convenient as well as being highly moral; and it was not to be identified with any of the prevalent.
  • In other words, the Dhamma of Ashoka dealt with the social responsibilities of the human beings in the society based on humanistic spirit.
  • His Dhamma consisted of charity, mercy, truthfulness, ahimsa, religious tolerance, and respect to elders.

 

Ashoka set a very high ideal for himself and this was the ideal of paternal kingship. He repeatedly asked his officials to tell the subjects that the king looked upon them as his children. In his own words “ All men are my children, just as desire for my children that they may enjoy every kind of prosperity and happiness in both this world and the next, so, also I desire the same for all men.”

 

To implement this policy of Dhamma, Ashoka created new class of officers known as ‘Dhamma Mahamatras’. They were active in the country even in the remote areas and among the neighbouring peoples. These officers were directly responsible for the propagation of the Dhamma. He appointed ‘Rajukas’ for the administration of justice in his empire. His religion of non-violence led Ashoka to enforce by law the sanctity and security of all living creatures. Ashoka also tried to propagate his ideas through his edicts.

 

5.3.4 Ashoka and Buddhism

 

Ashoka was converted to Buddhism by the influence of monk Upagupta probably more than two and half years after the Kalinga war. According to tradition he became a Sakya-upasaka(lay deciple), made huge gifts to the Buddhists. He visited Buddhist shrines at Bodh-Gaya, Lumbini garden (the birth place of buddha), Saranath, Sravasthi and Kusinagara. He sent mission to Srilanka under his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra, who planted there a branch of the original Bodhi tree.

 

The fact of his visiting the Buddhist shrines is also suggested by the Dhammayatras mentioned in his inscriptions. The third Buddhist Council was held in 250 BCE at Pataliputra which was presided over by his brother Moggaliputta Tissa. This Council deputed missionaries to the other parts of India and even to other countries, Mysore, Kashmir, Gandhara, Maharashtra, Varanasi, Burma, Ceylon, and Greece to propagate Buddhism. Though Ashoka was a devout Buddhist in religious matters, he was tolerant and believed in the basic unity of all religions.

 

 

 

5.3.5. Ashoka’s place in History

 

Ashoka was certainly the greatest of all the kings ever ruled over. The credit of uniting the country both politically and culturally goes to Ashoka. He was an example in history for his benevolent administration and also for following the policy of non-aggression, even after victory in a great successful war. His service to the humanity had been unique. Ahoka introduced a great innovation in the administrative system by instituting quinquennial and triennial tours. These tours enabled the emperor an opportunity to know the conditions of the people and improve the efficiency in administration.

 

Ashoka bound it further by one Dhamma, one language and practically one script, which was used in most of his inscriptions. He was an artificer of cities and palaces, stupas and viharas, rock-cut caves and monolithic pillars which bear eloquent testimony to the skill and artistic merits of the Mauryan age. The best specimens of contemporary art were the tall monolithic, highly polished columns, standing free in space, crowned with animal figures. Thus H.G Wells rightly observed – “Amidst the tens and thousands of monarchs that crowd the columns of History … the name of Ashoka shines and shines alone almost as a Star.”

 

6. Successors of Ashoka & Decline of the Mauryan empire

 

The Mauryan empire began to decline with the death of Ashoka in 232 BCE. While the history of Ashoka is illuminated by so many facts and details, that of his successors is shrouded in obscurity. The Puranas mention the names of later Mauryas and assign 47 years of their rule. The details vary, but it is clear that they had relatively short reigns. The Vayu, Matsya and Vishnu Puranas have own list of kings. It is difficult to evolve correct history out of these divergent details.

 

After the death of Ashoka the Empire was divided into western and eastern parts. The western part came to be ruled by Kunala and then for a short while by Samprati. The Empire became weak and fragmented and suffered an invasion by the Bactrian Greek kings in the north-west. In the south the Satavahanas established independent dynasty. The eastern part of the Empire with its capital at Pataliputra came to be ruled by Dasaratha. The king Dasaratha, the grandson of Ashoka, is the only the later Maurya, who issued inscriptions and used Ashoka’s title ‘Devanampiya’. Three short inscriptions incised on the walls of the rock-cut caves record that the king Dasaratha dedicated the caves in the Nagarjuni hills (near Barabar in Bihar) to the Ajvikas after his Coronation. The last Mauryan ruler Brihadratha was overthrown by his commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Sunga in 185 BCE.

 

7. Causes of Decline

 

The decline of the Mauryan Empire took almost immediately after the death of Ashoka. The tragic end occurred within half a century of its glorious rule. It tempted scholars to speculate on varied reasons.

 

The causes of the decline of the Mauryan Empire had been very widely debated by scholars.

 

Ashoka was responsible for the collapse of the Mauryan Empire.

 

Brahmanical revolt against the pro-Buddhist policy of Ashoka and his successors.

 

Weak successors of Ashoka completely disrupted the Mauryan administration and they failed to continue the earlier policies of the Mauryas.

 

Mauryan imperial officers, especially after the death of Ashoka, followed the policy of oppression and exploitation.

 

The highly centralized monarchical and bureaucratic character of the Mauryan polity under inefficient rulers resulted in the fall of the Mauryas.

 

Ashokan policy of north-western frontier after the death of Ashoka, enabled the Greeks and Parthians to invade the Mauryan Empire.

 

The economic crises resulted from the enormous expenditure on army, burdensome payment to bureaucracy was another cause of decline.

 

Oppression of provincial governments etc., were the other factors of importance contributing to the decline of the Mauryan Empire

 

A combination of these factors speed up the breakup of Mauryan Empire which facilitated Pushyamitra Sunga to drive away the last Mauryan ruler and establish the Sunga dynasty

 

  1. Summary

 

The Mauryan empire which was founded by Chandragupta and Bindusara reached its pinnacle during the reign of Ashoka. The Mauryas achieved political supremacy over the whole of India [except the extreme south] and the north western frontier extended up to Afghanistan. The Mauryan State thus exercised its influence over a vast territory. Such a large Empire required new strategies of governance. A new form of government, highly organized, centralized and bureaucratic one was introduced. The Social and Economic processes of agrarian expansion and urbanization of the preceding centuries continued under their rule. Their period witnessed tremendous acceleration in trade and commerce, money economy and growth of cities. The Mauryan Age opened a new chapter in the annals of ancient Indian polity. Their imperial power was visible in monumental stone sculpture and structures. This was an important beginning in Rock- cut and stupa architecture in Indian Architecture.

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Web links

  • http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurya_empire.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chandragupta_Maurya
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bindusara
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka
  • http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Capital_of_Ashoka
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaishali_%28ancient_city%29
  • http://competentauthoritydelhi.co.in/MonumentViewer.aspx?ID=159
  • http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/rise-chandragupta-maurya-and-golden-agemauryan-empire-002277
  • http://www.urbandharma.org/pdf/king_asoka.pdf
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Asoka_Pillar_Lumbini.jpg
  • http://www.pbs.org/thestoryofindia/gallery/photos/6.html
  • http://deshgujarat.com/2014/07/19/ashoka-rock-inscription-at-girnar-junagadh-not-damaged/
  • http://asibengalurucircle.org/Chitradurga-1.html