Unit 6: The Mauryas - Subjective Questions

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire around 322 BCE and brought a large part of the Indian subcontinent under one political authority.

• Political background: The north-western regions were disturbed after Alexander's invasion, while the Nanda rulers of Magadha were reportedly unpopular.
• Role of Chanakya: According to literary traditions, Chanakya, also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta, trained and assisted Chandragupta in overthrowing the Nandas.
• Conquest of Magadha: Chandragupta defeated the last Nanda ruler and occupied Pataliputra, the wealthy and strategically located capital of Magadha.
• North-western expansion: He took advantage of the weakening of Macedonian authority after Alexander's death and gained control over parts of Punjab and Sindh.
• Conflict with Seleucus: Chandragupta defeated or compelled Seleucus I Nicator to conclude a treaty around 305 BCE. He received territories in the north-west and gave Seleucus 500 war elephants.
• Imperial consolidation: A centralized administration, a large army, efficient taxation and a network of officials helped him maintain the empire.

Thus, Chandragupta combined military ability, diplomacy and administrative organization to create the first extensive empire in ancient India.

Chandragupta Maurya's conquests transformed Magadha into a vast empire.

• He overthrew the Nanda dynasty and captured Pataliputra.
• He extended his authority over the Gangetic plain and other regions previously controlled by the Nandas.
• Taking advantage of the political confusion after Alexander's death, he removed or defeated Macedonian authorities in parts of Punjab and Sindh.
• Around 305 BCE, he fought Seleucus I Nicator, who attempted to recover Alexander's eastern possessions.
• The resulting treaty gave Chandragupta control over territories associated with Arachosia, Gedrosia and regions around the Hindu Kush, although the exact boundaries remain debated.
• Later literary evidence, especially Jain tradition and inscriptions from southern India, connects Chandragupta with Karnataka. However, the exact extent of his direct southern conquests is uncertain.

His achievements laid the territorial and political foundations of the Mauryan Empire.

The Mauryan administration under Chandragupta was highly organized and aimed at controlling a large empire.

Central government:

• The king was the supreme executive, military and judicial authority.
• He was assisted by ministers and high officials, often described collectively as the mantriparishad.
• The state maintained departments concerned with revenue, trade, mines, forests, agriculture, transport and military affairs.

Provincial and local administration:

• Important regions were governed from provincial centres such as Taxila, Ujjain, Tosali and Suvarnagiri.
• Princes or trusted officers could be appointed as provincial governors.
• Rural administration involved officials responsible for villages, revenue collection and record keeping.

Revenue and economy:

• Land revenue formed a major source of state income.
• Taxes were also collected from trade, crafts, mines, forests and customs.
• The state regulated weights, measures and several economic activities.

Army and security:

• Chandragupta maintained a large standing army consisting of infantry, cavalry, chariots and elephants.
• Spies and informers were employed to gather intelligence and supervise officials.

Accounts in the Arthashastra and Megasthenes' Indica are valuable, but they must be used critically because they may not describe only Chandragupta's reign.

Around 305 BCE, Seleucus I Nicator invaded the north-western region in an attempt to recover territories formerly conquered by Alexander.

• Chandragupta opposed Seleucus with the military resources of the expanding Mauryan state.
• The precise details of the war are unknown, but the settlement was favourable to Chandragupta.
• Seleucus ceded territories in the north-west, generally associated with regions west of the Indus and around the Hindu Kush. Their exact boundaries remain disputed.
• Chandragupta gave 500 war elephants to Seleucus. These elephants later strengthened Seleucus in his western campaigns.
• Classical accounts mention a marriage agreement, though it is uncertain whether it involved a royal marriage or a broader recognition of intermarriage.
• Diplomatic relations followed the settlement, and Megasthenes was sent as an ambassador to Chandragupta's court at Pataliputra.

The treaty secured the Mauryan north-western frontier and established peaceful diplomatic relations with the Hellenistic world.

Megasthenes was a Greek ambassador sent by Seleucus I to the court of Chandragupta Maurya. His work, the Indica, survives only through quotations in later Greek and Roman writings.

Historical importance:

• It describes Pataliputra, including its fortifications, roads and administrative organization.
• It provides information about the royal court and Chandragupta's personal security.
• It refers to municipal administration and committees concerned with urban affairs.
• It describes the army, agriculture, occupations and social divisions.
• It indicates that India possessed prosperous cities, productive agriculture and extensive state organization.

Limitations:

• The original text has been lost, and only fragments quoted by later authors survive.
• Megasthenes sometimes misunderstood Indian customs and institutions.
• His claim that Indian society was divided into seven groups does not correspond exactly to the traditional varna system.
• Some descriptions contain exaggerations and fabulous stories.

Therefore, the Indica is indispensable but must be compared with inscriptions, archaeology and Indian literary sources.

Bindusara, the son and successor of Chandragupta Maurya, ruled approximately from 297 to 273 BCE.

• Greek writers called him Amitrochates, probably derived from the Sanskrit title Amitraghata, meaning the slayer of enemies.
• He inherited a large and well-organized empire from Chandragupta.
• Later traditions credit him with extending Mauryan influence into the Deccan, although the exact extent of his conquests is uncertain.
• Taxila reportedly experienced revolts during his reign. Prince Ashoka is said to have been sent to restore order in one of these disturbances.
• Bindusara maintained diplomatic relations with Hellenistic kingdoms. Deimachus served as an ambassador at his court.
• A later Greek tradition records correspondence between Bindusara and Antiochus I concerning wine, figs and a philosopher.
• He preserved the centralized administration and military structure created by Chandragupta.

Although fewer sources are available for his reign, Bindusara played an essential role in maintaining and possibly expanding the Mauryan Empire.

Chandragupta and Bindusara made different but complementary contributions to Mauryan imperial development.

Chandragupta Maurya:

• Founded the Mauryan dynasty by overthrowing the Nandas.
• Conquered the Gangetic plain and gained control of Punjab and Sindh.
• Secured the north-west through his treaty with Seleucus I.
• Created a centralized administration and maintained a powerful army.
• Established Pataliputra as the centre of a large empire.

Bindusara:

• Inherited and preserved Chandragupta's imperial system.
• Is traditionally credited with extending Mauryan authority toward the Deccan.
• Suppressed or responded to unrest in important regions such as Taxila.
• Maintained diplomatic contacts with Hellenistic rulers.
• Provided political continuity between Chandragupta's conquests and Ashoka's reign.

Comparison: Chandragupta was primarily the founder and organizer, while Bindusara was mainly the consolidator and possible southward expander. Evidence for Chandragupta's achievements is stronger, whereas many details about Bindusara depend on later traditions.

Ashoka succeeded Bindusara in the third century BCE and became the most famous Mauryan ruler.

Accession:

• Buddhist traditions describe a struggle among Bindusara's sons after his death.
• Ashoka's accession is generally placed around 273 BCE and his coronation around 269 or 268 BCE, although the chronology is debated.
• Before becoming emperor, he may have served as a provincial governor at Ujjain and may have dealt with unrest at Taxila.

Major events:

• In the eighth year after his coronation, Ashoka conquered Kalinga, located mainly in present-day Odisha.
• Major Rock Edict XIII records immense suffering, including deaths, deportations and separation of families.
• Ashoka expressed remorse and declared that the conquest by Dhamma was superior to conquest by war.
• He promoted ethical conduct, religious tolerance, welfare measures and humane administration.
• He appointed Dhamma-mahamattas and communicated his policies through rock and pillar edicts.
• He maintained relations with neighbouring peoples and Hellenistic kingdoms.

Ashoka did not completely abandon the machinery of kingship, but he attempted to give imperial government a strong moral and paternal character.

The Kalinga War was fought in the eighth regnal year of Ashoka, conventionally dated to around 261 BCE.

Possible causes:

• Kalinga was an independent and strategically important region on the eastern coast.
• Its conquest could connect the lower Gangetic region with routes leading toward peninsular India.
• Its ports and commercial resources increased its political importance.

Consequences:

• Major Rock Edict XIII states that about 100,000 people were killed, 150,000 were deported and many more died from related causes.
• Ashoka expressed deep sorrow over the suffering of soldiers, civilians, Brahmanas, Shramanas and families.
• He began to emphasize Dhamma-vijaya, or conquest through morality, instead of military conquest.
• He promoted welfare, restraint, non-violence and religious tolerance more actively.

Significance:

• It is one of the earliest wars for which an ancient ruler publicly recorded remorse.
• It influenced the ethical direction of Ashoka's kingship.
• However, Ashoka retained his army and warned frontier peoples that punishment remained possible. Therefore, the change was toward restrained and moral governance rather than complete pacifism.

Ashoka's Dhamma was a practical code of ethical and social conduct communicated through his inscriptions. It was not a complete philosophical system or a new organized religion.

Main principles:

• Respect for parents, elders, teachers and religious persons.
• Kindness toward servants, dependants and the poor.
• Generosity toward Brahmanas, Shramanas, friends and relatives.
• Truthfulness, purity, gratitude and self-control.
• Avoidance of unnecessary violence and restraint in killing animals.
• Moderation in ceremonies, expenditure and possessions.
• Tolerance and respect among different religious sects.

Nature of Dhamma:

• It drew upon ethical values shared by several Indian traditions.
• It emphasized conduct rather than rituals, theology or metaphysical doctrines.
• It was compatible with Ashoka's personal commitment to Buddhism but was addressed to all his subjects.
• It combined personal morality with principles of public administration.

Objectives:

• To reduce social conflict in a diverse empire.
• To encourage harmonious relations among religious communities.
• To promote humane government and responsible behaviour.
• To create moral unity without imposing a single religion.

Thus, Dhamma was both an ethical programme and an instrument of imperial integration.

Ashoka's Dhamma was influenced by his Buddhist beliefs, but it was not identical to Buddhism.

Ashoka's Dhamma:

• It was a general moral code intended for all subjects.
• It emphasized respect for parents, humane treatment of servants, generosity, truthfulness and religious tolerance.
• It did not require belief in specifically Buddhist doctrines.
• It aimed at social harmony and responsible imperial administration.

Buddhism:

• It is a distinct religious and philosophical tradition founded on the Buddha's teachings.
• Its central ideas include the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, karma, rebirth and nirvana.
• It developed a monastic order known as the Sangha.
• It prescribed specific forms of spiritual discipline and meditation.

Ashoka personally supported Buddhism, visited Buddhist sacred places and issued inscriptions concerning the Sangha. Nevertheless, his general edicts avoided imposing Buddhist theology. Dhamma can therefore be understood as a broad public ethic inspired partly by Buddhism but designed for a religiously diverse empire.

Ashoka's edicts communicate a set of moral and social duties intended to improve both individual behaviour and public life.

• Family duties: Children should obey and respect their parents, while people should honour elders and teachers.
• Social responsibility: Servants, workers, prisoners and dependants should receive humane treatment.
• Generosity: Gifts and respect should be extended to Brahmanas, Shramanas, relatives, friends and the needy.
• Non-violence: Ashoka discouraged unnecessary slaughter, animal sacrifice and excessive hunting.
• Self-discipline: He praised truthfulness, purity, gratitude, moderation and control over anger.
• Religious tolerance: People were instructed not to glorify their own sect by condemning others without reason.
• Moral self-examination: Ashoka encouraged individuals to recognize their faults and improve their conduct.
• Public welfare: Medical aid, wells, trees and resting places were presented as expressions of concern for living beings.

These teachings show that Ashoka's Dhamma linked private morality with social harmony and good government.

Ashoka used administrative, communicative and personal methods to propagate Dhamma throughout his empire.

Inscriptions:

• He engraved messages on rocks, pillars and cave walls.
• These edicts were placed along routes, near settlements and at important religious or administrative centres.
• They were generally written in languages and scripts accessible to local populations.

Officials:

• He appointed Dhamma-mahamattas to promote moral welfare and attend to different social and religious groups.
• Rajukas, Pradesikas and Yuktas were instructed to undertake tours and communicate Dhamma.

Royal example:

• Ashoka replaced many pleasure tours with Dhamma-yatras, during which he met religious people and ordinary subjects.
• He reduced animal slaughter in the royal household and encouraged restraint in ceremonies.

Welfare measures:

• Medical facilities, medicinal plants, wells, trees and resting places were provided for humans and animals.
• Humane treatment of prisoners and periodic release or relief were encouraged.

External communication:

• Edicts mention the spread of moral ideas among neighbouring peoples and Hellenistic rulers.
• Buddhist traditions also associate his reign with missions to regions such as Sri Lanka.

The propagation of Dhamma therefore combined moral persuasion, administration, public welfare and royal example.

Ashoka's inscriptions are the most direct and reliable contemporary sources for his reign.

Types of inscriptions:

• Major and Minor Rock Edicts.
• Major and Minor Pillar Edicts.
• Separate Rock Edicts and cave inscriptions.

Languages and scripts:

• Most inscriptions use Prakrit written in the Brahmi script.
• In the north-west, some were written in Kharoshthi.
• Greek and Aramaic inscriptions have also been discovered in Afghanistan.

Historical value:

• They reveal Ashoka's ideas of kingship, Dhamma, religious tolerance and public welfare.
• Major Rock Edict XIII provides evidence about the Kalinga War and Ashoka's remorse.
• They mention administrative officers, inspection tours and measures concerning prisoners and animals.
• Their geographical distribution helps historians estimate the extent and communication network of the empire.
• References to Hellenistic rulers assist in establishing chronology.

Limitations:

• The edicts present the ruler's official viewpoint and do not provide a complete political narrative.
• They reveal little about court conflicts, taxation or the everyday operation of all institutions.
• Their messages varied according to region and audience.

Despite these limitations, the inscriptions provide exceptional evidence in Ashoka's own official voice.

The Dhamma-mahamattas were special high officials appointed by Ashoka, reportedly in his thirteenth regnal year, to promote and supervise matters connected with Dhamma.

Functions:

• They encouraged ethical conduct among different sections of society.
• They worked for the welfare of Brahmanas, Shramanas, householders, the aged and the poor.
• They attended to the interests of communities within the empire and peoples in frontier regions.
• They assisted prisoners and could recommend relief when age, family responsibilities or other circumstances justified it.
• They promoted harmony among different religious sects.
• They helped communicate the emperor's moral instructions to the population.

Importance:

• Their appointment gave an administrative foundation to Ashoka's ethical policy.
• They connected the central government with diverse social and religious groups.
• They represented Ashoka's attempt to combine political authority with moral welfare.

However, their role was not simply to preach Buddhism. They were imperial officers concerned with a broad and inclusive policy of Dhamma.

Ashoka sought to extend moral influence beyond the political boundaries of the Mauryan Empire.

• Major Rock Edicts II and XIII refer to Hellenistic rulers, including Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Magas and Alexander.
• Ashoka claimed that arrangements for medical treatment and useful plants extended to neighbouring regions.
• The edicts describe Dhamma-vijaya, or moral conquest, among border peoples and southern kingdoms such as the Cholas, Pandyas, Satiyaputras, Keralaputras and Tamraparni.
• Buddhist chronicles state that missions were sent to various regions after the Third Buddhist Council, though the details belong to later tradition and require critical assessment.
• According to Sri Lankan chronicles, Mahinda, traditionally regarded as Ashoka's son, introduced Buddhism to Sri Lanka.
• Sanghamitta is said to have carried a branch of the Bodhi tree to Sri Lanka and helped establish the order of Buddhist nuns there.

These contacts promoted Ashoka's international reputation and contributed to the expansion of Buddhism, especially in Sri Lanka. Nevertheless, the edicts directly emphasize moral communication more clearly than organized Buddhist missionary activity.

Religious tolerance was a central element of Ashoka's Dhamma.

• Ashoka offered respect and support to both Brahmanas and Shramanas.
• Major Rock Edict XII warns people against praising their own sect while condemning other sects without justification.
• He argued that respectful listening and dialogue promoted the growth of every religious tradition.
• He supported Buddhist institutions but also donated caves to the Ajivikas, demonstrating patronage beyond Buddhism.
• Dhamma-mahamattas were instructed to concern themselves with different religious and social communities.
• His policy aimed to promote the essential moral principles common to religious traditions rather than doctrinal uniformity.

Ashoka's tolerance did not imply that he lacked personal religious convictions. He was personally committed to Buddhism, but as emperor he presented Dhamma as an inclusive public ethic. The policy was both morally motivated and politically useful in maintaining harmony within a diverse empire.

Ashoka transformed Mauryan kingship by emphasizing the ruler's moral responsibility toward all subjects.

Paternal kingship:

• In his edicts, Ashoka declared that all people were like his children.
• He wished for their welfare in this world and the next.
• Officials were instructed to report public affairs to him at all times.

Administrative measures:

• Rajukas received important responsibilities in rural administration and justice.
• Pradesikas, Yuktas and other officials undertook inspection tours.
• Dhamma-mahamattas supervised moral and social welfare.
• Ashoka encouraged fairness in punishment and allowed periods of grace for some condemned prisoners.

Public welfare:

• Medical treatment was arranged for humans and animals.
• Medicinal herbs were planted where necessary.
• Wells were dug and trees planted along roads.
• Resting places and other facilities assisted travellers.
• Restrictions were imposed on certain forms of animal slaughter.

Ashoka retained centralized royal authority, taxation, officials and an army. His innovation lay in presenting government as a moral duty directed toward welfare, justice and restraint.

Ashoka died around 232 BCE. The history of his successors is uncertain because inscriptions, Puranic lists, Buddhist texts and Jain traditions provide differing accounts.

Successors:

• Dasharatha, probably Ashoka's grandson, ruled part of the empire and dedicated caves at the Nagarjuni Hills to the Ajivikas.
• Samprati is remembered especially in Jain tradition as a patron of Jainism.
• Puranic traditions mention rulers such as Salisuka, Devavarman and Satadhanvan, though their chronology varies.
• Brihadratha was the last Mauryan ruler. Around 185 BCE, he was killed by his general Pushyamitra Shunga, who founded the Shunga dynasty.

Causes of decline:

• Weak and short-lived successors could not exercise Ashoka's authority.
• The empire may have divided into separate branches or regional centres.
• Its vast size created serious difficulties in communication and administration.
• Powerful provincial officials and governors may have become increasingly independent.
• Maintenance of the army and bureaucracy imposed substantial financial demands.
• North-western territories faced pressure from external groups and changing regional politics.
• Local powers revived as central control weakened.

The theory that Ashoka's non-violence alone caused the decline is inadequate. The collapse resulted from a combination of dynastic, administrative, economic and regional factors.

Ashoka occupies a unique place in ancient Indian history because he combined imperial power with an explicitly moral conception of government.

Political legacy:

• He ruled one of the largest empires in the history of the Indian subcontinent.
• His inscriptions provide evidence of extensive administration and communication across diverse regions.
• He presented kingship as a responsibility for the welfare of subjects.

Ethical legacy:

• His Dhamma promoted compassion, self-control, tolerance and respect for different communities.
• His remorse after the Kalinga War represents an exceptional public criticism of the human cost of conquest.
• His policy did not amount to complete pacifism, since he retained coercive authority and an army.

Religious and cultural legacy:

• His patronage gave major support to Buddhism and helped its expansion within and beyond India.
• Pillars, stupas, inscriptions and artistic traditions associated with his reign influenced later Indian culture.
• The Lion Capital at Sarnath became the state emblem of modern India, while the Ashoka Chakra appears on the national flag.

Critical assessment:

• The edicts express royal ideals and do not prove that every policy was fully implemented.
• Ashoka did not create a new religion; Dhamma was a broad civic and moral ethic.
• The empire declined after his death, but this does not erase the significance of his reforms.

Ashoka's enduring importance lies in his effort to reconcile political authority with ethical restraint, welfare and religious coexistence.