6.Chapter 13.The Mauryan Dynasty.History

Chapter 13

The Mauryan Dynasty before the establishment of Mauryan empire, India was divided into many small kingdoms.  The disunity among them was the main cause of frequent foreign invasions.  In 326 BCE, Alexander, the son of King Philip of Macedonia, invaded India and defeated King Poras (Puru).  He wanted to capture Magadha but was not successful.  Before returning to Greece, he distributed his conquered territories in India among his Governors.  Alexander died in 323 BCE.  At that time Magadha was ruled by the Nanda ruler Ghananand.  He was an unpopular ruler.  A brahmin teacher Chanakya (known as Kautilya), who was insulted by Ghananand, vowed to destroy the empire of the Nandas.  He met Chandragupta Maurya.  They collected a group of soldiers and captured Sindh and Punjab.  Thereafter, they turned towards Magadha and defeated Ghananand and established the Mauryan rule under Chandragupta in 324 BCE.  Our knowledge about Chandragupta's early life is very limited.  The main source of information is Indica by Megasthenes, who was an ambassador of the Greek ruler Seleucus Nicator in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.  Selucus was the commander of alexander.  The other sources are- (i) Puranas, (ii) Buddhist and Jain literature, (ili) Kautilya's Arthashastra, (iv) Ashoka's edicts (inscriptions) on rocks and stone pillars and (v) Chanakya Remains of the monuments.  Do you know?  Megasthenes, the ambassador of Greek ruler Selucus, described the Court of Chandragupta.  He said that the king gave 'darshan' to the public on special occasions on a golden palanquin.  His personal guards were women and the food was tasted by special servants before the king ate.

THE MAURYAN EMPIRE (321-297 BCE THE MAURYAN EMPIRE PAROPANISADAE APACHODA ONS DEOROSIA S Dawn Love. Rua Chandragupta was the first Mauryan ruler to establish such a great empire it extended from north to South and east to west including Afghanistan and Balochistan (now in Pakistan  ). Chandragupta established his capital at Pataliputra. Chanakya was Chandragupta's guru as well as his Prime Minister Chanakya wrote Arthashastra, a famous book on political administration Bindusar succeeded Chandragupta in 297 BCE and judged up to 272 BCE. He was a brave king. He protected  the empire and developed good relations with the Greeks. He died in 272 BCE.  OCEAN succeeded his father in Mauryan empire 272 BCE but was crowned in 269 BCE. He is considered to be one of the greatest rulers in the world his  tory.  He conquered the state of Kalinga (Modern Odisha) to complete his rule over almost the whole of India Battle Kalinga was a very fierce battle.  There was huge loss of life and property.  The horror of war and crie of the widows and children deeply moved Ashoka.  He pledged never to resort to war.  The Kaling War proved to be a great turning point in Ashoka's life.  110

He adopted Buddhism after the Kalinga War and spent the rest of his life in propagating and preaching it, not only in India but also in many other countries of the world.  He advised his sons and grandsons not to conquer new countries.  They were advised to go in for Dharma Vijay, i.e.  winning the hearts of the people.  Ashoka got his teachings engraved on rocks and stone pillars in local languages ​​like Kharoshthi, Prakrit, Greek and Aramaic.  These teachings are known as his edicts.  Ashoka's Buddhism or Dhamma (a Prakrit word for the Sanskrit term dharma which means 'moral values') is a little different from classical Buddhism.  Two main features of Ashoka's Dhamma related to social and ethical code of conduct are 1. Everybody should serve parents;  care and love all living creatures and animals;  follow and adopt the path of truth;  be kind to slaves, servants and workers, respect all elders, brahmins, teachers, monks, follow non - violence;  have tolerance and peace.  2. Everybody should avoid arrogance, enemity, sacrifice of animals, fighting for religion and land.  He wanted that his people should live in harmony with each other.  He respected and patronised all religions.  Ashoka's state was really a welfare state.  He treated his people as a father would treat his children.  He gave maximum facilities to his people.  Trees were planted on both the sides of the roads, wells were dug, hospitals for people and animals were opened, orphanages and old age homes were also established during his rule.  He appointed Dhamma Mahamatta who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma.  Administration The Mauryan administration was run under the guidance of Chanakya.  The King was the Head of the State and enjoyed supreme powers of military, judiciary and civil administration.  He had a Mantri Parishad (Council of Ministers) to advise and assist him.  However, the king was not bound to follow their advice.  The ministers were appointed on the basis of merit.  He kept ladies as his body guards.  Amatya, Mahamatra Adhyaksha, Purohita, Senapati, Yuvraj were some of the officers in his court.  There was a very efficient espionage system.  The whole empire was divided into smaller units for efficient administration.  The city administration was under Nagradhyaksh or Nagrik (like mayor).  He was helped by 30 members.  They were divided into six boards of five members each.  Each board was assigned different duties to be performed.  The village administration was run by a group of officers.  They kept records of the people, collected taxes and maintained law and order in their village.

Social Condition 
VARNAS 1. Brahman  Kshatriya 3. Vaishya  4. Shudra 
ASHRAMS - 1. Brahmacharya  2. Grihastha  3. Vanprastha  4.Sanyas 
The life of people was peaceful and prosperous in the society. 
Varna and Ashram systems of Rig Vedic period were in practice.Kautilya outlined the duties of each Varna under each Ashram.Most people married within their own caste and followed their parental trade or profession.People lived peacefully and harmoniously with each other and obeyed laws.
Economic Condition 
Agriculture was the basis of the village economy.  Many dams and lakes were constructed to provide irrigational facilities.  Canals were also dug.  
Sudarshan Lake, built by Chandragupta Maurya, is a good example of the irrigation system that was prevalent at that time.  
The state also gave financial help to the cultivators and traders.  Proper attention was paid to cattle - rearing and pastures.  
Forests, wild animals, mines and natural resources were considered as public property and protected by the state laws.  
Heavy punishment was given to those who cut down green trees.  
Promotion of trade was ensured by government officials.Cotton, wool, silk and jute products were the main items of internal and foreign trade.  The traders had to pay various taxes to the government. Their products were thoroughly checked.  Kashi, Kalinga and Madurai were the main centers for textiles,spices and ivory goods,etc. were the main items for export.
Do you know?  Along with taxes 'tribute' was collected in the form of goods. Tribute is believed   to be a willing or voluntary donation.  
  ,  Art and Architecture Five types of architectural monuments were prevalent during that period.  They were - (i) Palaces (ii) Stupas (iii) Caves (iv) Pillars (v) Rock edicts.  Do you know?  A Stupa is a Buddhist temple.  It is famous as a 'Spiritual Monument.  It has a dome or a pagoda where the sacred relics of enlightened beings and religious texts are kept.  Cave temples are called Viharus and prayer halls are called Chaityas.  L12

were crown 1. The palace of Ashoka was exquisitely beautiful.  Fa - hien, a Chinese traveler was astonished to see it and remarked that the palace must have been constructed by gods, not by men.  2. The Stupa of Sanchi and its gateway is the best example of the architecture of that period.  3. The Mauryan rulers dug many caves for the monks to live in.  Such caves have been found in Barabar and Nagarjuna hills and Yakshi at Didargunj near Patna, 4. The finest examples of architecture can be seen in the form of stone pillars with shining surfaces.  These pillars with animal figures and Dharmachakra.  The top (capital part) of a stone pillar, with four lions and a Dharmachakra has been adopted as our National Emblem.  Ashoka's pillar can also be seen in Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.  Topra (Ambala), Kaushambi (Allahabad), Loria (Nandgarh), Sarnath (UP) and Ashoka Pillar Sarnath Sanchi (MP) are also such pillars.  

Do you know?  The seal of the four lions (National emblem) can be seen on all official papers, notes and coins of India.  5. Rock edicts were found in Rupnath (central province), Sahasrama (Bihar) and Bairat (Rajasthan).  6. Later on, monasteries were made for the monks to live in.  While Ashoka was making every effort to spread the message of peace to the neighboring countries, the Chinese emperors were building 'the Great Wall' to protect their boundaries by forcing thousands of people to work on the construction in extreme weather condition, National Emblem of India

Decline of the Mauryan Empire The decline of Mauryan empire started after the death of Ashoka in 232 BCE.  It is said that Ashoka's military policy of not waging any war was, perhaps, the main reason for the decline of his empire, Brihadratha was the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty.  He was killed by his Commander - in - Chief, Pushya Mitra Sunga in 185 to 73 BCE who captured the throne.  He founded a new dynasty called Sungas dynasty and was succeeded by Agni Mitra (147–139 BCE).  The last ruler of Sunga dynasty, Devabhuti, was killed by Vasudeva, who established Kanva dynasty in 72 BCE.  Do you know?  A dynasty rule means that the members of the same family become rulers, usually the son come to the throne after the death of his father.  The Mauryan Dynasty had three important rulers: 1. Chandragupta 2. Bindusar 3. Ashoka 

Keywords 
architectures the art or science of designing and building a structure.  
dhamma: a Prakrit word for the Sanskrit term dharma.  dynasty a series of Icings from the same family edict: an official order or proclamation issued by a person in authority, espionage system: sples.  Welfare state: a concept of government in which state plays a key role in the development protection and promotion of the socio - economic and cultural wellbeing of the citizens.