Class – 6

Subject – History & Civics

Chapter – 5 ( The Mauryan Empire )

Importance of the Mauryan Empire

The establishment of the Mauryan empire is a very important event of Indian history for the following reasons –

• With the establishment of the Mauryan empire the chronological writing of the history of starts.

• The Mauryan rulers not only established a vast empire, they also provided a uniform efficient system of administration.

• The peace and prosperity during Mauryan rule resulted in the development of various arts.

How Mauryan Empire was Established

Magadha was a powerful kingdom. It was being ruled by Dhana Nanda at the time of Alexander’s invasion. His treasury was full and his army was mighty. However, he was unpopular among his subjects because of his habits.

Vishnugupta, more famous as Chanakya or Kautilya, was a learned Brahmana of Taxila. He had gone to , where he was humiliated by the Nanda king. He left in anger and decided to destroy his dynasty. On his way back to Taxila, he came across a young . Seeing the signs of greatness in the boy, Chanakya took him to his native town. He educated him and prepared him for the task which he had set in mind.

Sources of Mauryan History

We get a lot of information about the Mauryan empire from various sources. Megasthenes, who stayed in Pataliputra for many years and toured the Mauryan empire, wrote down his experiences in his book Indika. Another important source of information for this period is the Arthashastra of Kautilya.

Besides the above, inscriptions of provide a lot of authentic information about the various aspects of the Mauryan society and administration.

Achievements of Chandragupta

Chandragupta laid the foundation of a mighty Mauryan empire. His was a vast empire and included some areas which were not included even in the British empire. He abdicated his throne in his son ’s favour and himself went to Sravana Belagola (modern ). He adopted Jainism and ended his life by slow starvation, which was in accordance with the Jain principles.

Chandragupta’s Ideal of Kingship

• Kingship

• Taxation

• Military Organization

• Administration of the

Bindusara

King Bindusara ruled for about 25 years from 297 to 273 BC. Not much is known about his reign and his achievements. But different accounts conform that he continued his father’s policy of conquests and expansion. He maintained peace and order in his vast empire.

Ashoka, The Great

Bindusara was succeeded by his son, Ashoka, who ruled from 273 to 232 BC. For the first twelve years he did not follow the policy of expansion and conquest. But in 261 BC, he decided to extend his empire conquering Kalinga.

The

Kalinga was important because it controlled both the land and sea-routes to south India. Hence, Ashoka considered it necessary to make it a part of the Mauryan empire. Although Kalinga has a powerful army, Ashoka crushed it completely. However, Ashoka could not forget the horrors of the fierce battle. Thousands of people on both the sides had been killed. The sight of orphans and widows was all the more horrible.

Kalinga war was the turning point in Ashoka’s life. He resolved to renounce war as a means of conquest and became a follower of . From Digvijay he shifted all his energies to Dhammavijay. From this time onwards, Ashoka preached nothing but peace. He spent the rest of his life in the service humanity.

Ashoka’s Dhamma

Ashoka spent the rest of his life in philanthropic activities and the propagation of the doctrines of his Dhamma. Dhamma was the form of the word Dhamma, but it did not exactly mean religion. It was the gist of all religious faiths and an ideal code of conduct.

The main principles of his Dhamma were :-

• People should practice Ashima. He stopped the slaughtering of animals for the royal kitchen as well. • Father and mother should be obeyed and respected.

• Masters should treat their slaves and servants with kindness.

• People should show toleration for the religious beliefs of others.

Means adopted to spread Dhamma

• Principles of Dhamma were engraved on rocks and pillars.

• Ashoka ordered his officials to teach people about Dhamma.

• A special class of officers was appointed to monitor the morals of the citizens as well as spread Dhamma.

Ashoka’s Edicts

Orders issued by Ashoka were engraved on rocks, pillars and walls of caves. They are called his edicts. The edicts were spread over nearly the whole of India so that the maximum number of people could read them. These edicts were written in various forms of Prakit and the script used was Bramhi, from which Devnagri script developed.

Importance of Edicts

• The edicts tell us about Ashoka’s past life and his thought on religious as well as government policies.

• The edicts explain to us the fundamental principles of Dhamma.

• The source of information about the Kalinga war is from an edict.

• The edicts also tell us that or Prakit was the language of the people. They were written in .

The Mauryan Administration

The Arthashastra of Kautilya, the Indika of Megasthenes and edicts of Ashoka give a detailed account of the Mauryan administration –

• The Central Administration

• Provincial and Local Administration

• The City Administration

• Welfare Measures

• Social Conditions

• Economic Conditions

• Art and Architecture Decline of The Mauryan Empire

After the death of Ashoka around 232 BC, the Mauryan empire started to decline. There are several reasons for the break-up of the empire –

• Weak Successors

• Provincial Revolt

• Weakness of Economy

• Greek Invasions

• Ashoka’s Policies

Activities :-

• Collect pictures of Ashoka’s pillars. Paste them in your copy

Question and Answers :-

Ques-1) Who was Megasthenes?

Ans- Megasthenes was the ambassador of Seleucus Nikator and writer of ‘Indika’.

Ques-2) Who may be called the first historical emperor of India?

Ans- Chandragupta Maurya may be called the first historical emperor of India.

Ques-3) How do you associate the Lion Capital of the Pillar with modern India?

Ans- The Lion Capital of Sarnath has been adopted by the Indian Republic as its National Emblem.

Ques-4) Who was Chanakya? What were his other names?

Ans- Chanakya was a learned Brahmin of Taxila. His other names were Vishnugupta and Kautilya.

Ques-5) From which language is the word ‘Dhamma’ derived?

Ans- the word Dhamma is derived from the Prakit form of Sanskrit language.

Ques-6) Mention two means by which Ashoka tried to spread his ‘Dhamma’?

Ans- () Principles of Dhamma were engraved on rocks and pillars.

(ii) Ashoka ordered his officials to teach people about Dhamma.

Ques-7) Who were Dhamma Mahamatras?

Ans- A special class of officers was appointed to monitor the morals of the citizens as well as spread Dhamma. These officers were called Dhamma Mahamatras.

Ques-8) write a short note on merchant guides? Ans- Trade of Mauryan empire was in merchant guides ( and srenis). They used to mange both internal and external trade and industry on a large scale.

Ques-9) Why did Ashoka invade Kalinga? How did battle affect Ashoka’s life and policies?

Ans- Kalinga was important because it controlled both the land and sea-routes to south India. Hence, Ashoka considered it necessary to make it a part of the Mauryan empire. Although Kalinga has a powerful army, Ashoka crushed it completely. However, Ashoka could not forget the horrors of the fierce battle. Thousands of people on both the sides had been killed. The sight of orphans and widows was all the more horrible.

Kalinga war was the turning point in Ashoka’s life. He resolved to renounce war as a means of conquest and became a follower of Buddhism. From Digvijay he shifted all his energies to Dhammavijay.

Ques-10) What measures of public welfare had been taken by Ashoka?

Ans – (i) Ashoka treated his subjects as his own children. He worked for their physical and moral welfare.

(ii) He built hospitals for both men and animals.

(iii) Wells were dug and rest houses were constructed for the benefits of the travelers.

(iv) He allows the people to have their own religious beliefs. He treated the Jains, the Buddhists and the followers of other sects alike.