History Quiz: The Mauryan Empire | 8th Dec, 2020

The play Mudrarakshasa by Visakhadatta was written during the Gupta period, sometime after the 4^th century CE.

It narrates Chandragupta’s accession to the throne of the Magadha Empire and the exploits of his chief advisor Chanakya or Kautilya by listing the strategies he used to counter an invasion against Chandragupta.

This play is often cited as a corroborative source since it supports the information gathered from other contemporary sources about Chandragupta.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 59.

Contemporary accounts by Greek historians show that Chandragupta was a youth living in Taxila when Alexander invaded India. Greek historians have recorded his name as “Sandrakottus” or “Sandrakoptus”, which are evidently modified forms of Chandragupta.

Inspired by Alexander, Chandragupta led a revolt against the Nandas years later and overthrew them.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 63.

The defining event of Ashoka’s rule was his campaign against Kalinga (present-day Odisha) in the eighth year of his reign. This is the only recorded military expedition of the Mauryas. The number of those killed in battle, those who died subsequently, and those deported ran into tens of thousands.

The campaign had probably been more ferocious and brutal than usual because this was a punitive war against Kalinga, which had broken away from the Magadha Empire (the Hathigumpha inscription speaks of Kalinga as a part of the Nanda Empire).

Hathigumpha inscription at Udayagiri caves is the main source of information about Kalinga ruler Kharavela. This inscription, consisting of seventeen lines has been incised in deep cut Brahmi script.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 64.

One of the major events of Ashoka’s reign was the convening of the Third Buddhist sangha (council) in 250 BCE in the capital Pataliputra. Ashoka’s deepening commitment to Buddhism meant that royal patronage was extended to the Buddhist establishment. An important outcome of this sangha was the decision to expand the reach of Buddhism to other parts of the region and to send missions to convert people to the religion.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 66.

At the head of the administration was the king. He was assisted by a council of ministers and a purohita or priest, who was a person of great importance, and secretaries known as mahamatriyas. The capital region of Pataliputra was directly administered.

Revenue collection was the responsibility of a collector-general (samaharta) who was also in charge of exchequer that he was, in effect, like a minister of finance.

At the next level of administration came the districts, villages and towns. The district was under the command of a sthanika, while officials known as gopas were in charge of five to ten villages. Urban administration was handled by a nagarika. Villages were semi-autonomous and were under the authority of a gramani, appointed by the central government, and a council of village elders.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 67 and 68.

The capital region of Pataliputra was directly administered. The rest of the empire was divided into four provinces based at Suvarnagiri (near Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh), Ujjain (Avanti, Malwa), Taxila in the northwest, and Tosali in Odisha in the southeast. The provinces were administered by governors who were usually royal princes.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 67.

Ashoka’s rule gives us an alternative model of a righteous king and a just state. He instructed his officials, the yuktas (subordinate officials), rajjukas (rural administrators) and pradesikas (heads of the districts) to go on tours every five years to instruct people in dhamma (Major Rock Edict 3).

Ashoka realised that an effective ruler needed to be fully informed about what was happening in his kingdom and insisted that he should be advised and informed promptly wherever he might be (Major Rock Edict 6).

He insisted that all religions should co-exist and the ascetics of all religions were honoured (Major Rock Edicts 7 and 12).

Providing medical care should be one of the functions of the state, the emperor ordered hospitals to be set up to treat human beings and animals (Major Rock Edict 2).

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 68,69.

The highly centralized administration became unmanageable when Ashoka’s successors were weak and inefficient. The last ruler Brihadratha was killed by his commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Sunga who founded the Sunga Dynasty that ruled India for over hundred tears.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 73

Around 40 km from Bodh Gaya lies a cluster of four caves, namely Karan Chaupar, Lomas Rishi, Sudama and Visvakarma, known as the Barabar Caves. Carved out from a monolithic granite rock, these are supposed to have been constructed by emperor Ashoka for the use of Ajivaka ascetics. The most unique cave is Lomas Rishi, whose façade is an exact replica of the wood and thatch huts of monks. The interior of the cave has a remarkable glass-like polish.

Source: Old NCERT page 133

The names of Chandragupta and his two successors in the Mauryan period are well known now. But reconstructing their lives and careers was a laborious and difficult process for the earlier historians.

There are hardly any comprehensive contemporary accounts or literary works which refer to the Mauryan emperors though they are mentioned in various Buddhist and Jain texts as well as in some Hindu works like the brahmanas.

The Mahavamsa, the comprehensive historical chronicle in Pali from Sri Lanka, is an important additional source.

The scattered information from these sources has been corroborated by accounts of Greek historians who left their accounts about India following Alexander’s campaign in north-western part of the country.

Source: Tamil Nadu state board class 11, page 59