The Mauryan Period

The Mauryan Empire (321–185 BCE) was the first large-scale political entity to unify most of the Indian subcontinent under a centralized administration. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya with the guidance of his advisor Chanakya, the empire expanded rapidly, covering vast territories from present-day Afghanistan to the Deccan Plateau.

Under Emperor Ashoka, the Mauryan state reached its peak, witnessing remarkable developments in governance, economy, and religion. Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism and his policy of Dhamma played a crucial role in spreading Indian culture across Asia. The empire had a well-organized bureaucracy, an efficient tax system, and advanced infrastructure, including roads and irrigation systems.

Literary Sources

The Arthashastra

• The work is attributed to Kautilya, the Prime Minister of Chandragupta.
• It is the most important literary source for the Mauryas as it provides clear and methodological analysis of economic and political conditions of the Mauryas.
• It deals with the kingship, government, state, war and peace and diplomacy.

Ashokavadana and Divyavadana

• Contain information about Bindusara, about Ashoka’s expeditions to Taxila to suppress a rebellion and about his conversion to Buddhism.

Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa

• Describe in detail the role played by Ashoka in spreading Buddhism in Sri Lanka

Mahavamsatika or Vamsatthapakasini

• Contains information about the origin of the Mauryas.

Sthaviravali Charita or Parisisthaparvan of Hemachandra (a biography of Chanakya)

• Provides very interesting information on Chandragupta Maurya, such as his early life, conquest of Magadha, famine in Magadha and conversion to Jainism.

Mudrarakshasa of Visakhadatta

• Gives an account of the prevailing socioeconomic conditions.  It also mentions Chandragupta Sabha (Council).
• It says that Chandragupta was ‘the king all over Jambudvipa’.

Archaeological Sources

• Ashokan Edicts: These edicts were deciphered by James Princep in 1837 AD. The majority of the edicts are mainly Ashoka’s proclamations to the public while few of them describes Ashoka’s acceptance of Buddhism.
• There are fourteen Major Rock Edicts. These Edicts of Asoka deal with Asoka’s Dhamma and also instructions given to his officials. The XIII Rock Edict gives details about his war with Kalinga. The Pillar Edict VII gives a summary of his efforts to promote the Dhamma within his kingdom.
• Material Remains: Material remains such as NBPW (Northern Black Polished Ware), silver and copper punch-marked coins throws light on Maurya period.

Mauryan dynasty

• Timeline: 322 BCE – 185 BCE
• First Ruler: Chandragupta Maurya  Last Ruler: Brihadratha

Chandragupta Maurya

• Chandragupta was Founder of Dynasty. Greeks called him Sandrokottos or Androkottos.
• With the help of Chanakya he became the king of Magadha. Pataliputra became his capital.  He defeated Seleucus Nicator who became his friend later. Nicator also sent an ambassador Megasthenes to Chandragupta’s court in 304 BC.
• Accounts of Megasthenes are found in a book written by him called Indica.

Bindusara (298 – 273 B.C.)

• Bindusara was called by the Greeks as “Amitragatha” meaning slayer of enemies.
• He is said to have conquered the Deccan up to Mysore. Taranatha, the Tibetan monk states that Bindusara conquered 16 states comprising ‘the land between the two seas.
• The Sangam Tamil literature also confirms the Mauryan invasion of the far south.The Mauryan Empire under Bindusara extended up to Mysore.
• Bindusara received Deimachus as ambassador from the Syrian king Antiochus I.
• Bindusara supported the Ajivikas, a religious sect. Bindusara appointed his son Asoka as the governor of Ujjain.

Ashoka (269 to 232 BC)

• Ashoka fought Kalinga war around 261 BC in which according to the inscriptions 1,00,000 people were killed and many disappeared.
• The bloodshed melted his heart and therefore he abandoned the policy of military expansion and declared that he would replace Bherighosa, the war drum and DhammaGhosa (Drum of Dhamma).
• The Last King Brihadratha was assassinated by his military chief Pushyamitra sung around 187 BC and Mauryan empire disappeared Ashoka’s dhamma.
• Ashoka spent the rest of his life in spreading the policy of dhamma. He also sent missionaries to the Sri Lanka and Central Asia
• Ashoka’s dhamma was the code of conduct which he appealed to his subjects to follow the tenets of dhamma include Compassion Charity Truthfulness Purity Gentleness
• He left several inscriptions or edits which are called Dhammalipi. They cover religion and morality and also the social and administration matters.
• Rock edict 1 calls for a ban on animal sacrifices, message of non-violence.
• Rock edict 2 mentions about the measures to be taken for the construction of hospitals, Roads, wells and planting the Shed giving trees.
• Rock edicts 3, 4 and 12 ask the people to respect parents, relatives, brahmanas and Shramans, the monks.
• Seventh edict: Ashoka gives the message of religious tolerance.
• Ninth edict also Ashoka instructs his subjects not to waste money on social ceremonies.  Thirteenth edict: Ashoka mentions the details of Kalinga War.
• The 12th rock edict calls him Devanaam Piyadassi, the beloved of the god.
• Ashok appointed officials called him Dhamma Mahamatras who has to oversee and supervise the peaceful function of the principles of dhamma.
• Most of his inscriptions have the Brahmi script but some non-Indian in scripts has Kharosthi, Arabic and Greek.
• The language of inscriptions includes Prakrit, Greek and particularly in the Aramaic which was Semitic language in ancient Syria.

Ashoka’s Dhamma

• Service to father and mother, practice of ahimsa, love of truth, reverence to teachers and good treatment of relatives.
• Prohibition of animal sacrifices and festive gatherings and avoiding expensive and meaningless ceremonies and rituals.
• Efficient organization of administration in the direction of social welfare and maintenance of constant contact with people through the system of Dhammayatras.
• Humane treatment of servants by masters and prisoners by government officials.
• Consideration and non-violence to animals and courtesy to relations and liberality to Brahmins.
• Tolerance among all the religious sects.
• Conquest through Dhamma instead of through war.

Mauryan administration

• Megasthenes has left detailed accounts of the system of government under Chandragupta. His account can be supplemented by that of Kautilya.

Political

• Administration: Highly centralised administration. King emerged as supreme head of state military, judicial, executive and legislative functions. King was assisted by Council of Ministers called Mantri parishad
• Law: The concept of law as the legal expression of socio-economic and political rules, customs was made subordinate to the concept of royal decree, having an independent validity of its own.
• Other six elements of state: As mentioned in the Arthashastra of Kautilya are, amatya or bureaucracy, anapada or territory, durga or the fortified capital, kasha or the treasury, danda or the coercive machinery and mitra or the allied powers.

Officers Description/Duty

• Bhandagaradhikreta: Head of the royal treasury
• Cahapaksha-Patalik: Head of the account department  Dandapashika: Head of the Police department
• Khadyakpakika: Inspector of royal kitchen  Mahadandanayak: Chief Justice
• Mahamahipilapati: Controller and executor of elephantry  Mahanarpati: Head of foot soldiers (infantry)
• Mahapratihar: An official to maintain the royal palace
• Mahasandivigrahak: An official for post-war conciliation  Mahaswapati: Controller or cavalry
• Manabaladhikritas: Commander-in-chief
• Ranabhandagarika: Inspector for the all-central departments
• Sarvadhyaksha: Official to present different guests at king’s court  AntaPala: Responsible for the security of frontier Fort

Revenue Administration

• Samharta: The chief of the Revenue Department, was in charge of the collection of all revenues of the empire.
• Source of revenue: The revenues came from land, irrigation, customs, shop tax, ferry tax, forests, mines and pastures, license fee from craftsmen, and fines collected in the law courts.
• Land revenue: The land revenue was normally fixed as one sixth of the produce.
• Expenditure: The main items of expenditure of the state were related to king and his household, army, government servants, public works, poor relief, religion, etc.

Provincial and Local Administration

• The capital of empire was at Pataliputra and the empire was divided into 4 other provinces with the capital at:
• Taxila – north-western India Suvarnagiri – Southern India Tosali – Eastern India Ujjain – Western India
• Province administration: were controlled by the royal Princess called Kumar
• District administration: Under the charge of Rajukas, whose position and functions are similar to modern collectors. He was assisted by Yuktas or subordinate officials.
• Village administration: Was in the hands of Gramani and his official superior was called Gopa who was in charge of ten or fifteen villages.

Army

• According to Greek author Pliny, the Mauryan army consisted of six lakh infantry, thirty thousand cavalry, nine thousand elephants and eight thousand chariots.
• The Mauryan army was well organized and it was under the control of Senapati.
• It seems that the six wings of the armed forces the army, the cavalry, the elephants, the chariots, the navy and the transport, were each assigned to the care of a separate committee.Judicial and Police Departments
• The king was at the head of the judicial administration and constituted the highest appellate court in the realm.
• In villages and towns, cases were settled by the gramavradha and nagara vyavaharika mahamatra respectively.
• Kautilya mentions the existence of both civil and criminal courts: dharmasthiya and kantakashadhana.
• The chief justice of the Supreme Court at the capital was called Dharma thikarin.
• Different kinds of punishment such as fines, imprisonment, mutilation and death were given to the offenders.
• Police stations were found in all principal centres.
• Remission of sentences is also mentioned in Asoka’s inscriptions.

Pillars

• The pillars erected by Asoka furnish the finest specimen of the Mauryan art.
• Ashokan pillars with inscriptions were found in places like Delhi, Allahabad, Rummindai, Sanchi and Sarnath.
• Their tops were crowned with figures of animals like lion, elephant and bull.
• The Saranath pillar with four lions standing back to back is the most magnificent. The Indian government adopted this capital with some modifications as its state emblem.

Stupas

• Ashoka built a number of stupas throughout his empire but majority of them were destroyed during foreign invasions.
• The best example is the famous Sanchi stupa with massive dimensions. It was originally built with bricks but later enlarged after the time of Asoka.

Caves

• The caves presented to the Ajivikas by Ahsoka and his son Dasaratha remain important heritage of the Mauryas.
• Their interior walls are polished like mirror. These were meant to be residences of monks.
• The caves at Barabar hills near Bodh Gaya are wonderful pieces of Mauryan architecture.

Decline of Mauryan empire

• The Mauryan empire soon after death of Asoka got divided into 2 parts Dasaratha controlled the eastern part
• Sampriti controlled the western part
• A section of historians argued that Ashoka under the influence of Buddhism became a pacifist and weakened his army
• Due to the Bactrian invasions, the western part of the empire collapsed.
• However even though Asoka followed a policy of peace and harmony but he did not disband his army and was always prepared for to face any eventuality.
• Some other argues that banning the animal sacrifice and the religious policy of Asoka antagonise the brahmanas which affected them.
• Therefore, the Pushyamitra the brahmana chief of army killed the last Mauryan king.
• However, the study of Ashokan inscriptions revealed that Ashoka paid full respect to the brahmanas who is this can’t be held true.

Reason for decline

• The succession of weak rulers.
• Mauryan rule may have suffered an economic crisis as reflected in the debasement of some coins of the period.
• The inherent centralised structure of the empire meant that the successor of Ashoka could not maintain the balance between the centre and various provinces governor of the empire.
• Ashoka’s policy of non-violence reduced the fighting spirit of his army was another charge against him.
• The provincial governors declared themselves independent and thus give rise to the several regional Kingdom in post Mauryan era.
• Kalinga declared its independence and in the further south, the Satavahanas established their independent rule.
• The Mauryan rule was confined to the Gangetic valley and it was soon replaced by the Sunga dynasty.

The Mauryan Empire (321–185 BCE) was a landmark in Indian history, setting the foundation for centralized governance, efficient administration, and economic prosperity. From Chandragupta Maurya’s military conquests to Ashoka’s transformative policies of Dhamma, the empire demonstrated both strength and vision. Its well-structured bureaucracy, extensive trade networks, and diplomatic ties with foreign kingdoms highlight its significance as one of the most organized states of the ancient world.

Though the empire eventually declined due to weak successors and regional revolts, its legacy endured. The Mauryan model of administration influenced later dynasties, while Ashoka’s promotion of Buddhism left a lasting cultural and religious impact across Asia.

 

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Subject: Ancient History

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