Component-I (A) – Personal Details

Component-I (A) – Personal details: Component-I (B) – Description of module: Subject Name Indian Culture Paper Name Outlines of Indian History Module Name/Title The Mauryan empire Module Id I C/ OIH/ 9 Pre-requisites Pre-Mauryan history of India/ Sources of Mauryan empire Objectives Dynastic history provides an essential frame work for political history, but not for understanding other aspects such as social, economic or religious history. This chapter will focus on the political history of Mauryan empire as well as other aspects briefly. Keywords Maurya / Chandragupta / Bindusara / Ashoka E-text (Quadrant-I) 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. 2 § 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 Dasaratha Samprati Salisuka 232 BCE – 185 BCE Devavarman Satadhanvan Brihadratha 5 The Puranas state 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.

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