The Mauryas
The Mauryas
Chandragupta (321-297)
He was the founder of Maurya dynasty. He dethroned last Nanda ruler Dhananandha in 321 B.C. at the age of 25 with the help ofkautilya(Chanakya ,Vishnugupta). In north-west he involved in a campaign against Seleucus Nikator, which Chandragupta finally won in 303 B.C. Despite the campaign against Seleucids, there was considerable contact of a friendly nature between the two civilizations. Sandrocottos (Chandragupta) is frequently referred to in the Greek accounts. The treaty of 303 B.C. also included a marriage between Seleucuss daughter with Chandragupta Maurya. Seleucuss ambassador Megasthenes accompanied Chandragupta to his court and gives a interesting and informative account about him and Kautilya. Towards the end of his life, Chandragupta is supposed to have converted to Jainism and that he abdicated in favour of his son, Bindusara and became an ascetic.
Together with one of the Jain saints and many other monks, he went to south India, and there he ended his life by deliberate slow starvation in the orthodox Jain manner(Sallekhana).
Together with one of the Jain saints and many other monks, he went to south India, and there he ended his life by deliberate slow starvation in the orthodox Jain manner(Sallekhana).
Bindusara (297 -272)
To the Greeks, Bindusara was known as Amitrochates, perhaps the Greek translation of the Sanskrit Amitraghata, the destroyer of the foes. He asked Antiochus I, Seleucid king of Syria, to send him some sweet wine, dried figs and a sophist. He also sent Deimachus to the court of Bindusara. Bindusara campaigned in the Deccan, extending the Mauryan empire in the peninsula to as far as Mysore. He is said to have conquered the land between the two seas, presumably the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal except kalinga. A revolt took place in Taxila and it was suppressed by his son Asoka. Bindusara was a follower of Ajivika Sect.
Ashoka (268-232)
In 261 B.C., Ashoka conquered Kalinga (now known as Orissa), a region on the east coast of India. The conquest of Kalinga marked a turning point in Ashokas life and reign. His armies killed about 100,000 people in battle and took 150,000 prisoners. Horrified at the slaughter of the defenders of Kalinga, Ashoka decided to renounce warfare and became a ardent follower of Buddhism. He sent his son Mahendra and daughter sangamitra to Ceylon to spread Buddhism. Ashokan directly communicated to his subject through inscription engraved on rock, pillars and caves. They were mostly composed in prakrit and were written inBrahmi script. In north western part of empire they were written in Aramaic and in Afghanistan they were composed in both Greek and Aramaic. Asoka was known as Devanampiya piyadassi (beloved of Gods) in his inscriptions. His inscriptions was deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837.
Later Mauryas
The maurayan empire was dived into two parts after the death of Asoka. The western part was ruled by Kunala and then by Samprati. The eastern part by Dasratha. The subsequent rulers were Salisuka,Somavarman or Devavarman, satadhanvan and Brihadratha. The last ruler Brihadratha was assassinated by Pushyamitra Sunga, the Brahmana General of Maurya, the founder of Sunga dynasty.
Administration
Arthasatra mentions about the seven element (Saptanga) of the state. It emphasis the importance of the role of king in the administration. Kautilya advises the king to find happiness in the good of his people. Asoka in his major rock edict VI says Savve munisse paja mama(All men are my children). Mantrins were the ministers were the advisers of highest grade of the king. Together with mantriparishad , they constituted the Mauryan ministry. Amatyas filled the highest grade in administration like the present day civil servants. Samaharta( in charge of revenue) and Sannidhata (treasury officer) were other important officers of that period. According to Pliny, the mauryan army consisted 6 lakh infantry, 30 thousand cavalry, 9 thousand elephants and 8 thousand chariots. Megasthenes account 6 committees of 5 members of each to supervise the military department.
Asokan edicts talk about provincial administration and the empire was divided into 4 provinces under a Viceroy.
The provinces were
The provinces were
- Uttarapatha ( capital – Taxila)
- Avintirapatha (ujjain)
- Dakishinapatha (Suvarnagiri)
- Kalinga (Tosali)
. The mauryan empire was divided into provinces, districts, Intermediate level (5 to 10 villages) and village. Megasthenes gives good description of municipal administration. He mentions about 6 committees of 5 members each to look after the municipal adminstrtion.
Economy of Mauryas
The state had participated in certain industrial activities likemining, armour , weapon making , brewing of liquor, shipbuilding etc. and controlled almost all the economical activities. In this period we hear large scale land holders and state farms. The land revenue varied from 1/4th to 1/6th of the produce. The Rummindeiinscription of Asoka refers to the taxation prevailing and says that it was paying 1/8th of the produce because it was the birth place of Budhha. The state took efforts to establish new agricultural settlements. Arthasastra refers to the deportation of sudras to new settlements. As regards the Industrial crafts metallurgy, woodwork, stone cutting and polishing, textiles and pottery flourished. Several pots and potsherds of NBPW were found at mauryan sites. The system of Guilds developed and stablised under mauryas and they had some rights as well as some obligations. This period refers Karmakara and bhritakas who were free labours working for wages and dasas who were slaves.
The major imports of this period were horses,gold,glass,linen etc and the major exports were spices,pearls, diamonds, cotton textiles, conch shells, ivory works, skins etc . Bharukachchha (Broach,Gujarat) was an important port during the period. The trade tax was 1/5th of the produce. Special attention was given to roads through officers called agranomoi (megasthenes) . The important trade route of this period was royal highway from the North West to Pataliputra. The mauryans used metallic currencyin the form of punch marked coins made of silver and copper coins. Money lending was mentioned in the literatures howevermegasthenes failed to notice it.
The major imports of this period were horses,gold,glass,linen etc and the major exports were spices,pearls, diamonds, cotton textiles, conch shells, ivory works, skins etc . Bharukachchha (Broach,Gujarat) was an important port during the period. The trade tax was 1/5th of the produce. Special attention was given to roads through officers called agranomoi (megasthenes) . The important trade route of this period was royal highway from the North West to Pataliputra. The mauryans used metallic currencyin the form of punch marked coins made of silver and copper coins. Money lending was mentioned in the literatures howevermegasthenes failed to notice it.
Society
The vedic four fold system continued but the improvements in economic position of vaishyas and sudras created social tension during this period. It is assumed that these tensions made asoka to propagate his Dhamma which was intended to create social responsibility and stability. Megasthenes divided the society into 7 classes. Brahmanical literature assigned a low status to women but the Buddhist literature gives them a middle position.Women employed as palace guards , spies etc. Polygamy was prevalent and widows were permitted to remarry. According to megasthenes the slaves were absent however other literature of this period confirm slavery.
Mauryan Art
The artistic remains of the Mauryan period may be studied under the following headings.
- 1) Pillars and Sculpture: The pillar has three parts : The prop under foundation, the shaft or the column and the capital. The shaft is made of one piece of sandstone quarried in chunar near Banaras and Mathura. This shaft supports the capital and is highly polished . The capital has some finely executed animal figures such as lion or elephant or dharmachakra or inverted or bell shaped lotus. The Saranath Pillar is typical example of this kind of Mauryan art . The sculpture of the mauryan period is represented in the following areas.
- The yakshi of Besanagar (M.P)
- the yaksha of Parkham (Mathura) ,
- The chauri bearer of Didarganj(Bihar)
- stone elephant from Dauli.
- 2) Stupa: It is a domical structure of brick or stone resting on a round base. These stupa was surrounded by a plain or ornamented gateways. The purpose of stupa was to keep the relics of Buddha or some great Buddhist monk or to commemorate some Buddhist sacred place. The famous example of these Stupa was found at Sanchi (Bhopal).
- 3) Caves: These were residence of monks ( Viharas) and assembly halls (Chaityas) of monks. Asoka and Dasaratha built caves in Barabar hills near Bodh Gaya and donated them to Buddhism and Ajivika sect.
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