THE MAURYAN EMPIRE

1. Introduction

The foundation of the Mauryan Empire opens a new era in the history of India. For the first time, the political unity was achieved in India. Moreover, history writing has also become clear from this period due to accuracy in chronological and sources. Besides plenty of indigenous and foreign literary sources, several epigraphical records are also available to write the history of this period.

2. Literary Sources

• Kautilya’s Arthasastra: This book in Sanskrit was written by Kautilya, a contemporary of Chandragupta Maurya. Kautilya was also called ‘Indian Machiavelli’. The manuscript of Arthasastra was first discovered by R. Shama Sastri in 1904. The Arthasastra contains 15 books and 180 chapters but it can be divided into three parts: the first deals with the king and his council and the departments of government; the second with civil and criminal law; and the third with diplomacy and war. It is the most important literary source for the history of the Mauryas.
• Visakadatta’s Mudrarakshasa: The Mudrarakshasa written by Visakhadatta is a drama in Sanskrit. Although written during the Gupta period, it describes how Chandragupta with the assistance of Kautilya overthrew the Nandas. It also gives a picture of the socio-economic condition of the Mauryas.
• Megasthenes’ Indica: Megasthenes was the Greek ambassador in the court of Chandragupta Maurya. His book Indica has survived only in fragments.
• Other Literature: Apart from these three important works, the Puranas and the Buddhist literature such as Jatakas provide information on the Mauryas.

3. Archaeological Sources

Edicts of Asoka

• The inscriptions of Asoka were first deciphered by James Princep in 1837. They are written in Pali language and in some places Prakrit was used.
• The Brahmi script was employed for writing. In northwestern India, Asokan inscriptions were found in Karoshti script.
• There are fourteen Major Rock Edicts.  The two Kalinga Edicts are found in the newly conquered territory. The XIII Rock Edict gives details about his war with Kalinga. The Pillar Edict VII gives a summary of his efforts to promote the Dhamma within his kingdom.

4. Political History of the Mauryas

 Chandragupta Maurya (322 – 298 B.C.)

• The beginnings of Chandragupta are shrouded in mystery. The Greek texts (the earliest) identify him as being of non-warrior ancestry.
• According to Hindu texts, he was a Kautilya disciple of lowly origin (probably born to a Shudra woman). According to most Buddhist texts, he was a Kshatriya. It is often assumed that he was an orphaned youngster from a poor home who was tutored by Kautilya.
• Sandrokottos is the name given to him in Greek records. Alexander abandoned his invasion of India in 324 BC, and within a year, Chandragupta had beaten several of the Greek-ruled towns in the country's northwestern region.
• Kautilya devised the approach, which Chandragupta carried out. They had formed their own mercenary army. They then proceeded eastward towards Magadha.
• In around 321 BC, he destroyed Dhana Nanda in a series of conflicts, laying the groundwork for the Maurya Empire. In 305 BC, he signed a deal with Seleucus Nicator in which he obtained Balochistan, eastern Afghanistan, and the land west of the Indus. He also married the daughter of Seleucus Nicator.
• Except for a few locations like Kalinga and the far south, Chandragupta spearheaded an expansionist programme that brought practically the whole of present-day India under his rule. From 321 BC until 297 BC, he ruled.
• He abdicated in favour of his son, Bindusara, and travelled to Karnataka with the Jain monk Bhadrabahu. He had converted to Jainism and is claimed to have starved himself to death in Shravanabelagola according to Jain legend.

Bindusara (298 – 273 B.C.)

• Bindusara was called by the Greeks as “Amitragatha” meaning slayer of enemies. He is said to have conquered the Deccan up to Mysore.
• Taranatha, the Tibetan monk states that Bindusara conquered 16 states comprising ‘the land between the two seas’.
• The Sangam Tamil literature also confirms the Mauryan invasion of the far south.
• Bindusara received Deimachus as ambassador from the Syrian king Antiochus I. Bindusara wrote to Antiochus I asking for sweet wine, dried figs and a sophist.
• The latter sent all but a sophist because Greek law prohibited sending a sophist. Bindusara supported the Ajivikas, a religious sect. Bindusara appointed his son Asoka as the governor of Ujjain.

Asoka the Great (273 – 232 B.C.)

• Son of Mauryan Emperor Bindusara and Subhadrangi. Chandragupta Maurya's grandson. His other names were Devanampiya (Sanskrit Devanampriya, which means Beloved of the Gods) and Piyadasi. One of India's greatest monarchs.
• He was born in 304 BC. His rule lasted from 268 BC until 232 BC when he died. As a young prince, Ashoka was a superb commander who suppressed revolts in Ujjain and Takshashila.
• As emperor, he was ambitious and aggressive, re-establishing the Empire's supremacy in southern and western India. But it was his conquest of Kalinga (262–261 BCE) that proved to be the defining event of his life.
• He became a Buddhist. A Buddhist monk named Moggaliputta Tissa became his guru. In 247 BC, Ashoka presided over the third Buddhist Council in Pataliputra, which was presided over by Moggaliputta Tissa.

5. Asoka and Buddhism

• About 261 B.C. Asoka became a Sakya Upasaka (lay disciple) and two and a half years later, a Bikshu (monk).
• Then he gave up hunting, visited Bodh-Gaya, and organized missions. He appointed special officers called Dharma Mahamatras to speed up the progress of Dhamma.
• In 241 B.C., he visited the birthplace of Buddha, the Lumbini Garden, near Kapilavastu.
• He also visited other holy places of Buddhism like Sarnath, Sravasti and Kusinagara. He sent a mission to Sri Lanka under his son Mahendra and daughter Sangamitra who planted there the branch of the original Bodhi tree.
• Asoka convened the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra in 240 B.C. to strengthen the Sangha. It was presided over by Moggaliputta Tissa.

Asoka’s Dhamma

Although Asoka embraced Buddhism and made efforts to spread Buddhism, his policy of Dhamma was a still broad concept. The main features of Asoka’s Dhamma as mentioned in his various Edicts may be summed as follows:

• Service to father and mother, practice of ahimsa, love of truth, reverence to teachers and good treatment of relatives.
• Prohibition of animal sacrifices and festive gatherings and avoiding expensive and meaningless ceremonies and rituals.
• Efficient organisation of administration in the direction of social welfare and maintenance of constant contact with people through the system of Dhammayatras.
• Human treatment of servants by masters and prisoners by government officials.
• Consideration and non-violence to animals and courtesy to relations and liberality to Brahmins.
• Tolerance among all the religious sects.
• Conquest through Dhamma instead of through war.

6. Later Mauryas

Asoka’s death in 232 B.C. was followed by the division of the Mauryan Empire into two parts – western and eastern. The western part was ruled by Kunala, son of Asoka and the eastern part by Dasaratha, one of the grandsons of Asoka. Due to the Bactrian invasions, the western part of the empire collapsed. The eastern part was intact under Samprati successor of Dasaratha. The last Mauryan king was Brihatratha, who was assassinated by Pushyamitra Sunga.

7. Mauryan Administration

Central Government

• The Mauryan government was well-known for being very centralised. It all started with the Emperor possessing enormous power and exerting all authority. The state was ruled by a council of ministers known as the 'Mantriparishad,' and the ministers were known as 'Mantris' during the time.
• The 'Mantri Parishad-adhyaksha' presided over this Mantri council. Mahamattas are titles bestowed upon some of the highest-ranking officials. There were also Amatyas or high-ranking officials who worked in administrative and judicial positions. The Adhyakshyas were organised into departments and a secretariat was formed.
• The government monitored and documented manufacturing, births and deaths, industries, foreigners, product trade and sale, and sales tax collection to ensure smooth operations. Many Adhyakshyas are mentioned in Arthashastra for trade, storehouses, gold, ships, agriculture, cows, horses, city, chariots, mint, infantry, and so on.

Yuktas are subordinate officers in charge of the Empire's income.

1. Rajjukas: Land measuring and boundary-fixing officers.
2. Sanstha Adhyaksha: Mint Superintendent
3. Samastha Adhyaksha: Market Superintendent
4. Sulka Adhyaksha: Toll Superintendent
5. Sita Adhyaksha: Agriculture Superintendent

Navadhyaksha is a ship's superintendent.

1. Loh Adhyaksha: Iron Superintendent
2. Pauthavadhyakhsa: Weights and Measures Superintendent
3. Mine Superintendent: Nagaradhyaksha
4. Vyavaharika Mahamatta: Members of the judiciary

Public relations officers in Pulisanj. 

The administration was in charge of birth and death registration, foreigners, industry, commerce, manufacturing and sale of commodities, and sales tax collection.

Judicial and Police Departments

• Kautilya mentions the existence of both civil and criminal courts. The chief justice of the Supreme Court at the capital was called Dharmathikarin. There were also subordinate courts at the provincial capitals and districts under Amatyas.
• Different kinds of punishment such as fines, imprisonment, mutilation and death were given to the offenders. Torture was employed to extract the truth. Police stations were found in all principal centres. Both Kautilya and Asokan Edicts mention jails and jail officials.
• The Dhamma Mahamatras were asked by Asoka to take steps against unjust imprisonment. The remission of sentences is also mentioned in Asoka’s inscriptions.

8. Provincial and Local Administration

Aside from the directly managed metropolitan zone, the empire was divided into four provinces, each of which was commanded by a prince or a member of the royal family (Kumara or Aryaputra).

Under Asoka, there were four provinces:

1. the Northern Province (Uttarapatha), which had Taxila as its capital,
2. the Western Province (Avantiratha), which had Ujjain as its capital,
3. the Eastern Province (Prachyapatha), which had Tosali as its centre, and
4. the Southern Province (Dakshinapatha), which had Suvarnagiri as its capital.

The kingdom's headquarters were in the central province of Magadha, with its capital at Pataliputra. He nominated some of the viceroy's officers, including the Mahamattas, who went on tour every five years. The village was the smallest administrative entity.

Gramika Villages had a lot of liberty as a leader. The province governors or district magistrates were known as Pradeshika.

1. Sthanika: Tax collectors who report to Pradeshikas.
2. Durgapal: Fort Governors.
3. Antapala: Frontier governors.
4. Akshapatala: General Accountant Lipikaras.

9. Mauryan Art and Architecture

The monuments before the period of Asoka were mostly made of wood and therefore perished. The use of stone started from the time of Asoka.

10. Causes for the Decline of the Mauryas

• For the next 50 years, Ashoka was succeeded by a succession of lesser monarchs. Dasaratha Maurya, Asoka’s grandson, took his place. None of Ashoka’s sons could succeed him to the throne.
• His firstborn, Mahinda, was on a mission to preach Buddhism throughout the world. Kanula Maurya was blind and hence unable to attain the throne, and Tivala, son of Kaurwaki, died even before Ashoka. Another son, Jalauka, does not have much of a backstory. Dashartha lost several regions, which were eventually reclaimed by Kunala’s son, Samprati.
• Following Samprati, the Mauryas gradually lost several regions. Brihadratha Maurya was slain in a military display by his general Pushyamitra Shunga in 180 BCE, leaving no successor. As a result, the vast Maurya Empire came to an end, giving rise to the Shunga Empire.