HISTORY PROJECT MAURYAN DYNASTY
11/2/2012 Rishabh singh 90
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I take this opportunity to thank my History lecturer Mr. Dr.Viswachandra Nath Madasu for giving me his chance of doing a project on the famous topic mauryan dynasty in which I chose the administrative and historical side of the book and the period of Maurya. That proved to be a learning experience by which I could do deep into the finer aspects of the topic. I thank our librarian Mr Burra Manikya Rao for guiding me with the right books to search at the right time I wanted. And at the end I thank all those who supported me for the successful completion of the project .And to end I take the name of almighty for helping me throughout the journey.
NAME- rishabh singh COURSE- B.A, L.LB SECTION- b ROLL NO. - 90
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CONTENT
MAURYAN DYNASTY
CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA
BINDUSARA MAURY
ASHOKA MAURYA
DECLINE
HISTORY OF MAURYA
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MAURYAN DYNASTY
The Mauryas: Indian dynasty in the fourth-third centuries BCE, which unified the subcontinent for the first time and contributed to the spread of Buddhism In the last weeks of 327 BCE, the Macedonian king Alexander the Great invaded the valley of the river Kabul, and in the next months, he conquered Taxila, defeated the Indian king Porus at the river Hydaspes, and reached the eastern border of the Punjab. He wanted to continue to the kingdom of Magadha in the Lower Ganges valley, but his soldiers refused to go any further, and Alexander was forced to go south. Many Indians now resisted the invaders. By the end of 325, the Macedonian king had left the area of what is now Karachi, and his admiral Nearchus was forced out of Patiala. Alexander's conquests had been spectacular, but he had not conquered India. On the contrary. Not even the Punjab and the Indus valley were safe possessions of his kingdom. Before Alexander had died in 323, he had redeployed nearly all his troops west of the Indus. For the first time, he had lost part of his empire. On the other hand, his invasion changed the course of Indian history. In Taxila, a young man named Chandragupta Maurya had seen the Macedonian army, and - believing that anything a European could do an Indian could do better - decided to train an army on a similar footing. In 321, he seized the throne of Magadha. The Mauryan Empire was born. CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA (c.321-c.297)
Chandragupta was a pupil of a famous Brahman teacher, Kautilya. Once Chandragupta had conquered the Nanda throne, he invaded the Punjab - and he was lucky. In 317, one of Alexander's successors, Peithon, the satrap of Media, tried to subdue the leaders of the eastern provinces, who united against him. This civil war offered Chandragupta the opportunity he needed and he was able to capture Taxila, the capital of the Punjab. When the situation in Alexander's former kingdom had stabilized, one of his successors, Seleucus, tried to reconquer the eastern territories, but the war was inconclusive, and the Macedonian offered a peace treaty to Chandragupta. The latter recognized the Seleucid Empire and gave his new friend 500 elephants; Seleucus recognized the Mauryan empire and gave up the eastern territories, including Gandara and Arachosia (i.e., the country northeast of modern Qandahar). Finally, there was epigamia, which can mean that either the two dynasties intermarried, or the unions of Macedonians/Greeks with Indians were recognized. Chandragupta had now united the Indus and Ganges valley - a formidable empire. There was a secret service, there were inspectors, there was a large army, and the capital at Patna became a beautiful city. His adviser Page 4 of 19
Kautilya wrote a guide to statecraft which is known as Arthasastra. A Greek visitor, Megasthenes, gives a very strange description of the caste system (accepting seven instead of the usual four classes of people), and it is likely that he describes an attempted reform. This is certainly not impossible, because Chandragupta turned out to be not deeply attached to orthodox Brahmanism. According to the ancient scriptures of the Jainists, the king abdicated at the end of his life (in 297?) in favor of Bindusara, and converted to the Jaina faith; he died as an ascetic, having fasted to death. BINDUSARA MAURYA (c.297-c.272)
Bindusara was the son of Chandragupta. His reign lasted a quarter of a century, until 272, but of the three great Mauryan emperors, he is the least known. For example, he is mentioned as the man who conquered "the country between the two seas" (i.e., the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea), which suggests that he conquered central India, but the same deeds are ascribed to his son Ashoka. We cannot choose between these two. Bindusara had some contacts with the far west, where Antiochus I Soter had succeeded his father Seleucus as king of the Seleucid empire. Bindusara approached him, asking for wine, figs, and a philosopher – the king sending him only the two first products, saying that philosophers were not fit for export. Whatever one thinks about this anecdote, it proves that there were diplomatic contacts. It comes as a surprise, therefore, that Bindusara is called Amitrochates in Greek sources, which simply cannot be a rendering of Bindusara's name. A possible explanation is that Bindusara had accepted a throne name Amitragatha, 'destroyer of enemies'. Possible. But why isn't this mentioned in Indian sources? This king remains a mystery. ASHOKA MAURYA (c.272-c.232)
Texts from southern India mention the Mauryan chariots invading the country "thundering across the land, with white pennants brilliant like sunshine". Indeed, Ashoka, who succeeded his father Bindusara in 272, was a great conqueror, and the first to unite the Indian subcontinent, except for the extreme south. However, the emperor came to hate war after he had seen the bloodshed of the conquest of Kalinga in eastern India, and he converted to Buddhism. He wanted to establish dhamma, 'the law of justice', everywhere in India and Arachosia. In the rock edicts he left behind on several places in his realm, the emperor says: The beloved of the gods [...] conquered Kalinga eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand people were deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died from other causes. After the Kalingas had been conquered, the beloved of the Page 5 of 19
gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the dhamma, a love for the dhamma and for instruction in dhamma. Now the beloved of the gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas. Indeed, the beloved of the gods is deeply pained by the killing, dying and deportation that take place when an unconquered country. is conquered. But the beloved of the gods is pained even more by this -that Brahmans, ascetics, and householders of different religions who live in those countries, and who are respectful to superiors, to mother and father, to elders, and who behave properly and have strong loyalty towards friends, acquaintances, companions, relatives, servants and employees- that they are injured, killed or separated from their loved ones. Even those who are not affected by all this suffer when they see friends, acquaintances, companions and relatives affected. These misfortunes befall all as a result of war, and this pains the beloved of the gods. 'Coin' of Chandragupta (©!!) It seems that Ashoka was sincere when he proclaimed his belief in ahimsa (non-violence) and cooperation between religions ("contact between religions is good"). He never conquered the south of India or Sri Lanka, which would have been logical, and instead sent out missionaries -as far away as Cyrenaica- to convert others to the same beliefs, and sent his brother to Sri Lanka. He erected several stupas, founded Buddhist monasteries, softened the harsh laws of Bindusara and Chandragupta, forbade the brutal slaughter of animals, and organized a large Buddhist council at Patna, which had to establish a new canon of sacred texts and repress heresies. DECLINE
After the death of Ashoka, the Mauryan empire declined. In c.240, the Bactrian leaders -who were of Greek descent- revolted from their Seleucid overlords, and although king Antiochus III the Great restored order in 206, the Bactrian leader Euthydemus declared himself independent within a decade. Not much later, the Graeco-Bactrian kingdom expanded into Drangiana and Gandara. The invasion of the Punjab, which took place in 184, revitalized the Greek culture in the region south of the Hindu Kush mountain range, where Euthydemus' son Demetrius created a new kingdom, consisting of Gandara, Arachosia, the Punjab and even a part of the Ganges valley. Demetrius died in c.170 and left his kingdom to his sons, who continued to fight against the Mauryan empire. However, they were divided. But when king Menander reunited the Indo Greek kingdom in c.125, the westerners were able to invade the heartland of the already contracted Mauryan empire, and even captured Patna. Never has a Greek army reached a more eastern point. Yet, the Indo-Greek kings had to accept the realities created by the Mauryan empire. Buddhism was to be the religion of the future. King Menander converted Page 6 of 19
and became something of a Buddhist saint. One of the holy texts of Buddhism is called Milindapañha, 'Questions of Menander'
RULERS OF MAURYAN DYNASTY
322-c. 180 BCE Reign
322-298 BCE 298-273 BCE 273/268-232 BCE 232-c. 224 BCE c. 224-215 BCE c. 215-202 BCE c. 202-195 BCE c. 195-187 BCE c. 187-180 BCE
Monarch
Chandragupta Bindusara Ashoka Dasharatha Samprati Shalishuka Devavarman Shatadhanvan Brihadratha
One of the largest and most influential dynasties in Indian history was the Mauryan Dynasty. It is speculated that in 321 BCE, a man named Chandragupta Maurya and his army defeated the Macedonian army to seize the throne of Magadha. The previous rulers of the throne, labeled the Nanda Dynasty, had belonged to the vaisya caste. Chandragupta on the other hand, is thought to have been raised by a clan of peacock-tamers in Magadha (Avari 106). In various texts Chandragupta is thought to have belonged to the Sudra caste as well as the kshatriya caste, so it is not entirely certain exactly where and how Chandragupta was raised. After Chandragupta defeated the Nanda Dynasty and came into power, he continued across the Indian subcontinent. The civil war in Punjab, caused by one of Alexander the Great’s successors, Peithon, allowed Chandragupta the opportunity to capture the capital, Taxila, and with it the Punjab territory. After discussions Page 7 of 19
with another of Alexander’s successors, Seleucus, Chandragupta was able to unite the Indus and Ganges Valley establishing a powerful empire. The capital of the Mauryan Dynasty was located at Pataliputra and was known as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Chandragupta, Bindusara, and Asoka are the most renowned emperors, with Asoka being the most known. Hinduism had a very strong influence throughout the Mauryan Dynasty (Habib and Jha 138). However, during the course of the Mauryan Dynasty, Vedic sacrifice began to decline in popularity (Habib and Jha 138). Although sacrificial rituals were on the decline, the worshipping of various deities was still widespread. Many of the gods and goddesses worshiped during this period are still popular amongst Hindus today; examples being Indra, Agni, and Vishnu (Singh 350). During the reign of the Mauryan Dynasty, Hindu sects involved with worshipping a major deity also existed (Singh 359). These sects are seen as reform movements within Hinduism. Examples of these sects include Vaisnavism and Saivism. Both of these sects focused their devotion on one of the two most popular deities in Hinduism: Vaisnavism on Vishnu and Saivism on Siva. The Arthasastra was written during Candragupta’s reign of the Mauryan Dynasty by Kautilya and outlined the duties and responsibilities of a king (Sharma 182). It encouraged a king to consider anything that pleases himself as dangerous, but whatever pleases his people should be considered good (Sharma 182). Kautilya was Candragupta’s Prime Minister during his reign and has also been referred to as Visnugupta and Chanakya in various texts across different religions. The Arthasastra helped enforce Hinduism as the prevalent religion during the time. An example of how it did this was by asking, ―that the king have as his most important minister a purohita, or Brahmin priest‖ (Singh 138). Hinduism has remained the prevalent religion in India for many thousands of years; however, during the Mauryan Dynasty a few other religions were patronized. These religions are seen as heterodox religions as they do not follow the Hindu system. The founder of the dynasty, Chandragupta, was thought to have favored Jainism. In his late and final years Chandragupta performed the ritual of santhara in the city of Karnataka (Avari 107). This ―fasting death‖ is common among people who follow the Jain tradition and ―is the first significant indication of the influence that the heterodox religions were to have on the future rulers of India‖ (Avari 107). There is little known about the second major emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty, Bindusara, but it is thought that he favored Hinduism. The third major emperor, Asoka, is the most recognized of the three and is credited with helping spread Buddhism. It is usually thought that Asoka favored Buddhism over Hinduism; however, and had done so through several wars. His second, labeled the Kalinga war, left a very deep impression on Asoka. This eventually led Asoka to Buddhism, which he promoted ahimsa (non violence) and Dharma for the rest of his reign. A quote by Asoka shows his Page 8 of 19
peaceful ways, ―There will be no beating of wardrum but the drum of Dharma will be beaten‖ (Sharma 185). Dharma has different meanings in the different religions. Examples of this are Buddhism and Hinduism. The Dharma that Asoka preached is not seen as a clear definition, but is seen as a ―moral law independent of any caste or creed‖ (Sharma 222). This is due to the another. Before Asoka converted to Buddhism, he had been practicing the traditional religion of his ancestors (Sharma 216). During his first thirteen years of rule, he worshipped various gods and goddesses, his favorite being Siva. After his conversion to Buddhism, Asoka began to promote the Buddhist tradition. He did so in various ways, examples being the pillars he erected throughout his empire and the holding of the Third Buddhist Council. The chairman of the Council was Moggaliputta Tissa. The Council was held to resolve the disputes among the various monastic sects across the dynasty. The sects had different views on issues such as monastic discipline. The pillars had inscriptions on them outlining various Buddhist ideals, such as the practice of ahimsa. To this day many of the pillars still stand and scholars have been able to decipher and study the pillars to understand more about the Mauryan Empire under Asoka’s rule. During the rule of Chandragupta, a Greek ambassador by the name of Megasthenes helped introduce the knowledge of India to the western world. Megasthenes was raised in Ionia (modern day Turkey) and when he travelled to India, represented the interests of Seleukos (Avari 108). Although much of Megasthenes’ information collected and written in his diary, the Indica (which is now lost), was incorrect, he still was able to provide a good idea of Indian society during Chandragupta’s rule. In his diary, he mentions the presence of seven ―estates‖. Although this formulation is incorrect, his description of the castes provides us with a good understanding of society during that time. At the top of his list were what he called philosophers, who can be seen as Brahmins and renounces who ―performed public sacrifices‖ as well as roaming about naked (Avari 109). The second estate consisted of those Megasthenes called cultivators, which were the majority of the Indian people. The third estate consisted of herdsmen and hunters and the fourth of traders and artisans. The fifth estate consisted of soldiers, who did nothing but fight, and the sixth consisted of spies and intelligence officers. The seventh and final estate contained ―those who constituted the political and imperial establishment‖ (Avari 109). Another piece of valuable information that was attained from Megasthenes Indica was his description of the capital city, Pataliputra (Avari 110). His description ranges from describing the business of the streets, to the peace and tranquility in the city’s royal par k. Megasthenes’ description of the city coupled with the Arthasastra, makes rule under Chandragupta seem as ―a highly ordered and well-regulated world‖ (Avari 110). Megasthenes also describes the way the municipal government was set up during the Mauryan rule. He mentions that the municipal government consisted of six Page 9 of 19
bodies. The first were involved with anything relating to the industrial arts (Habib and Jha 42). The second was involved with entertaining strangers; examples of this are assigning housing as well as taking care of them when sick. The third group was involved with ―what time and in what manner births and deaths occur‖ (Habib and Jha 42). This was done not only for tax purposes, but also to try and help prevent deaths. The fourth group was involved with retail and barter by having charge of the different units of measurements for different products on the market. The fifth and final group was involved with selling articles by public notice. The markets were set up in which new items were sold apart from old ones; in which someone was charged a fine if they sold them together. In Kautilya’s Arthasastra, he outlines the details concerning the Royal Council. The Royal Council was not founded during the Mauryan Dynasty, but was important in shaping the rule of the Mauryan Dynasty. The meetings took place in a Council Chamber, which was held at a location that was said to not be easily accessible (Sharma 196). Members selected to be on the council were to meet several criteria in order to be eligible, which are outlined in the Arthasastra. Some of these qualities include; being a native of the empire, coming from a noble family, and honesty (Sharma 197). The council’s role was to provide advice to the king. This advice did not need to be taken by the King, but he generally did use it. Some of the other roles the Council provided for the Dynasty were the control of military expeditions, as well as religious and military functions (Sharma 197). This council was a major influence within the Mauryan Dynasty. After the death of Asoka, the Mauryan Dynasty began a slow decline. The first successor that took the throne was Kunala, one of Asoka’s three sons. Although Kunala was blind, he ruled for eight years. He was not seen as the true ruler of the dynasty, but instead as a head of state (Sharma 250). After his reign was over, his son, Samprati replaced him on the throne. Samprati was a known follower of the Jain tradition and is thought to have built many Jain temples throughout his reign. At the time of his appointment to the throne, Asoka’s vast empire had been divided into two parts. Samprati Controlled the eastern portion while his brother, Dashratha, controlled the western portion (Sharma 250). The last emperor of the dynasty, Brihadratha, was eventually killed by Pushyamitra Sunga, who then established a new dynasty labeled the Sunga Dynasty. There are many causes leading to the downfall of the Mauryan Dynasty. One of the biggest causes was the weakness of the emperors that followed Asoka. Since the territory acquired by the first three rulers of the dynasty had become so vast, its successors needed to be strong rulers like Chandragupta and Asoka were. Page 10 of 19
Unfortunately, the successors were not, which is said to have helped in the decline of the dynasty. Another cause of the downfall was the policy of ahimsa proposed by Asoka. Asoka’s successors continued his policy of ahimsa, thus leading to the decline of military strength. With a weak military, the dynasty was very vulnerable to incoming empires, which ultimately led to the takeover by Pushyamitra The Mauryan Empire In thinking about the Mauryan Empire and, later the Gupta Empire we need to consider what kinds of states they were, avoiding imposing political notions from modern, Western experience on material from the past. A comprehensive definition of an empire which covers all cases is not possible. Then it comes to the Mauryan Empire we are fortunate that Romila Thapar, has devoted much attention to thinking about the structure of that state When we consider the history of empires in ancient South Asia, it is useful to keep in mind that they were relatively short in time, compared to the Han Empire in China or the Achaemenid Empire in Iran. This means, among other things, that they did not have a strong restructuring effect on local institutions. The social structure of the Gangetic valley, the Varna and, especially, the caste model for social organization, spread throughout South Asia. Administrative procedures for penetrating local societies and bending local po1itical and social structures to the will of the state did not spread. Curiously,the Mauryan Empire was probably administratively more centralized than those that followed. Still, as we shall see, the arm of the state did not reach deeply. To the extent that it was centralized, the Mauryans could succeed because state formation in general in India had been so slow. The Mauryan hinterland was not studded with aggressive chiefs and princes looking for a fight from an imperial challenger. This situation would characterize the medieval period. Ironically, in trying to make contact and to establish some control over the frontier regions, the Mauryans initiated state formation in those areas. This we see when the empire disintegrates. First, however, we shall consider the emergence of Magadha as an empire. There has been much speculation about this emergence, which from one point of view seems to have sprung into existence at the periphery of the Gangetic civilization after just two generations of leaders. One theory was that imperial state administration had diffused from Western Asia. An Achaemenid emperor established a province on the banks of the Indus in the 6th century BC and many have considered that the Mauryans took their cue here. Evidence for this point of view comes from the most famous symbol of the Mauryans —— the stone pillars of Ashoka. Page 11 of 19
From the point of view of art historians, there is evidence for strong influence in Mauryan statecraft from Iran. A second theory about the emergence of the Mauryans comes from Indian Marxists who emphasize materialist causes as the motive force in historical change. These historians have speculated that iron made a major impact in agriculture in the Ganges Valley from about 750 b.c., leading to a greater agricultural surplus which could support more complex state formations, the mahajanapadas which emerged. The historian Kulke points out that there is little evidence for widespread use of iron in agriculture. Rather than look for a single cause, we do well to consider to entire long process of political change which was basically internal to Indian society. The process of change accelerated markedly around the 7th century with the Aryans’ shift to the ecological zone of the middle Gangetic plain. The Iranian province of the 6th century and the invasion of Alexander the Great in the 4th century could not have made a noteworthy impact on political development in north India if there had not already been the long — tern political and economic changes which we noted for the late Vedic age. When we examine the ideological changes of this period and examine their long-term impact we will see that Iranian influence on Indian statecraft was quite superficial. The Mauryan Empire consisted of a great variety of political formations and ecological zones: it contained forest peoples and nomads, chieftaincies and oligarchies like the gana — sangha confederacies of chiefs. It contained smaller kingdoms with a range of administrative structures not necessarily similar to that in Magadha. Thapar argues that the Mauryan Empire was made up of a metropolitan state, core areas, and peripheral areas. The metropolitan state, Magadha was the state that initiated conquest and control over other entities. It was the administrative center of the empire. The core areas included existing states like Gandhara, whose capital was Taxila. It also included regions of incipient state formation like Kalinga and Saurastra. Included existing centers of exchange-- connecting points of active trade--like Ujjain and Amaravati. One can think of core areas as sub-metropolitan areas which could develop into metropolitan areas themselves when the empire disintegrates. The peripheral areas included a variety of social forms, ranging from hunters and gathers to agriculturally settled communities. They had in common that they had not yet developed into state systems. The peripheral areas were often borders between rich agricultural belts. Magadha’s initial expansions may have been justified as a defense of the Ganges Valley against the successors of Alexander the Great. The northwest areas were desirable, in any case, because it gave access to trade routes through the Hellenistic kingdoms and on to markets of the eastern Mediterranean. In trying to decide the motivation for further expansion on the part of the leadership of Magadha,Thapar takes her cue from the ancient treatise on politics, Page 12 of 19
the Arthasastra (which translates loosely as knowledge of wealth). This appears to describe the political processes which led up to the establishment of the Mauryan Empire. Here the writer or writers of the text advises the king to look first to the collection and revenue and the protection of revenue-generating activities. The Dutch Sanskrit’s Heckerman suggests, however, that the Arthasastra was written (by Brahmins) as a theoretical guide for kings, not a manual for practice. Looking at the expansion of Magadha from the point of the desire for wealth, we can note that the lower Indus Valley had fine horses which could have acted as a stimulous to attempted political control. It appears, as well, that the Mauryans wanted to control the daksinapatha, the way south. In the south were the gold reserves of Karnataka. This southern area could also be approached from the west coast or along the Krishna valley to the east. So these routes were marked out for protection. Kalinga may have been desirable partly because it was territory which Magadha had controlled earlier and then lost--so the desire to uphold dynastic honor may have made this area a priority but also the area was rich in agriculture, trade and elephants. Holding Kalinga would secure the defense of Magadha from the southeast and would protect the coastal route down the east coast. The policy toward the peripheral areas was slightly different. Rather than try to collect revenues from these areas, the Mauryans were interested in containing tribal groups on its borders, using them as buffer zones which could separate we1ldeveloped areas from each other. The policy of segration would help to keep the core areas under control without excessive use of the imperial army and imperial administration. When we consider the core and peripheral areas outlined above, it is clear that they were highly varied politically, socially and economically. Some of the core areas were still tribal republics--gana-sanghas, for example. The Middle Gangetic Valley shared the cultural synthesis which developed out of the meeting of Aryan elites with the native populations, but there were still wide cultural differences between the northwest and the east. Even in the core areas, as well, there was, thus, a wide variety of land tenures and systems of taxation and tribute. Economically the areas ranged from barter to more complex commercial transactions involving markets, guilds (serene) and major traders (setthis) . However, even though the Arthasastra shows an interest in the state recovering revenue from all kinds of activities, Magadha itself did not attempt to enter deeply into local polities and economies with the aim of maximizing revenue by active attempts at restructuring. One of the indications of a policy of relative noninterference is the lack of major irrigation works which can be said to have been sponsored by the state. There is only one single large scale irrigation work attributed to Mauryan enterprise. The Mauryan Empire, like other states in Indian history, did not control irrigation works. Irrigation was considerably decentralized, frequently in small-scale systems Page 13 of 19
drawing water from rivers, pools, wells, springs and artificial ponds called tanks. More elaborate reservoirs and embankments were built with local resources, though the empire assisted irrigation works in newly settled lands. Evidence suggests that irrigation works were locally controlled. The Mauryans appear to have had interest in gaining revenue from trade. They did not, here, either, however, take an active role in the regulation of trade. This is indicated by the fact that they appear not to have issued metallic money of a distinctive kind. The modest punch marked coins which have been found may very well have been issued by guilds or other local bodies. It is curious, however, that when the great emperor Ashoka set up pillars or had his edicts sculpted into rocks, he had these placed in centers associated with trade and along the extended trade network radiating from the metropolitan kingdom. Ashoka erected numerous edicts along nodal points on important trade routes and areas of raw materials. The nodal points beyond the Ganges valley were Kandahar, Taxila, Ujjain, the northern Konkon, Raichur and Bellary districts, and Kalinga, all of which have provided evidence of inscriptions. Ashoka had roads built both to serve the needs of imperial administration and to facilitate trade. Imperial control of trade routes and major trading centers glove revenue without necessitating control of upland areas. The state attempted to maintain control over individual traders and guilds, inspecting their identity, their merchandise and their profits. The sale of goods at the place of production was not permitted, presumably because sale in markets was more accessible to revenue collectors. The state collected a series of taxes at various points in the production of goods from raw materials to commodities. Special officers were appointed to ensure standards and prevent fraud as well as to intercept trade in those items which the state had a monopoly such as, weapons, armor, metals, and gems. Commodity production was therefore an independent enterprise geared to a market and trade was a major revenue resource for the state. During the rule of Ashoka the Mauryan Empire was organized formally into five parts. Magadha and some adjacent mahajanapadas were under direct administration. There is evidence from the reports of Megathenes, a Greek ambassador, and from the Arthasastra, of relatively centralized administration in the center part. There were four provinces governed by princes. There was one in the northwest, with Taxila as its capital, one in the east--Kalinga, one in the west--with the city of Ujjain, and one in the south with a capital near Kurnool in present day Andhra. These provinces were divided into extensive districts headed by mahamatras who were assisted by scribes and revenue collectors.The administrative network consisted of an upper bureaucracy recruited from the upper castes and receiving handsome salaries. There was no central method of recruitment and local persons appear to have been appointed in areas distant from the metropolitan state. The Page 14 of 19
lower bureaucracy was most likely also recruited from the locality. The upper bureaucracy had a largely managerial function. The bureaucracy was not required to restructure conquered areas to conform to a uniform pattern but to ensure the flow of revenue. At the peak period of the empire mention is made of a group of officers, basically concerned with revenue administration, who appear to have been centrally appointed and who were required to tour the areas under their jurisdiction and enquire into the well-being of the subjects. That the culture of the metropolitan state extended to a certain degree out into the peripheral states is seen in that Prakrit (a derivative of Sanskrit) was used in the royal inscriptions, though in areas with a strong linguistic dentity regional languages were used, for example, in the northwest. However, there was no uniform legal code. Instead, the Varna model spread to periphery areas as a way to integrate new groups into an expanding subcontinental society. How did the Mauryans attempt to integrate this complex, spread-out imperial structure, To answer this question we return to the story of the Buddha again.The centries preceding the establishment of the Mauryan Empire-the period which was the development of the Kosala and Magadha kingdoms-were a period of relatively rapid social and economic change. We have discussed the disintegration of tribal polities, the development of the varna model and the move to the rice lands of the Eastern Gangetic Valley. In times of the disintegration of old social ties, during the establishment of new ways of being in social and political relationships, we find ideological upheaval. The emergence of Buddhism and Jainism was a manifestation of this upheaval. Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha (―Enlightened’ or.‖Awakened‖), came from a chiefly family of the Sakyas tribe who lived in the Himalayan foothills north of Magadha. He was born in about 563 B.C. and led a sheltered and pampered existence for the first 29 years of his life. When he became aware for the first time of the suffering caused by sickness, old age, and death, he left his wife and infant son and set out to find a solution to this suffering.Teachers and proposed solutions of every sort abounded in North India at that time. Siddhartha tried two different systems o philosophy and meditation, and then spent several years as an ascetic punishing his body with fasting, trances, retention of breath and exposure to the elements. None of these solutions was adequate, since none led to his goals of ―absence of passion, cessation, tranquility, higher knowledge and nirvana” (loss of a sense of the self in enlightenment). Siddhartha decided finally to try a system of his own that emphasized control of mental states instead of bodily punishment. He began to meditate under a tree that tradition calls the ―Bodhi tree‖, the ―tree of Enlightenment.‖ Controlling his senses ―without sensual desires, without evil ideas,‖ he passed through progressively deeper stages of concentration. Siddhartha reached a state of concentration in which his mind was completely undisturbed and he was able to remember details of his own past lives and see the effects of actions Page 15 of 19
on the passing away and rebirth of beings. Finally, directing his mind to the central problem of ransmigration, he discovered the basic causes of bondage: sensual desire, desire for existence, and ignorance. These, he realized, can be understood in their true nature find eliminated; with their elimination comes cessation of the suffering, sorrow, and transiency that characterize the world.-The insight gained through meditation removed the causes of his continuing rebirth. Knowledge and light replaced ignorance and darkness and Gautama Siddhartha became the Buddha. The Buddha’s experience set him against both the Vedic tradit and the radical asceticism practices by Jams and Ajivakas. His was Middle Way of discipline, meditation and knowledge, leading to an awareness of the transience of all existence, including the existence of the so-called ―self‖ of man. The Buddha argued that there was no self, no atman, and that the person consisted of the five factors of grasping: matter, sensations or feelings, perceptions, mental formations and volitions and consciousness. A person was a particular bundle of factors, the result of ignorance and desire: ignorance of the impermanence of all existence, and desire for attachment and continuing individual existence. Metaphysical speculation would not solve the problem of individual rebirth. The Buddhist solution was by contrast personal and pragmatic. Salvation was an individual problem, a person started where he was and worked toward enlightenment by his own efforts. Now what does the integration of the Mauryan Empire have to do with the story of Gautama Siddhartha? Ajivaka, Jain and Buddhist activity from the 6th to the 4th centuries B.C. was confined largely to the Ganges Valley, which by the 4th century was dominated by Magadha. The Mauryans who seized the throne of Magadha may not have had strong ties with the Vedic tradition. The Mauryans patronized all of the major religious groups, donating caves to Ajivaka ascetics, for example. Jam tradition has it that Chandragupta Maurya (322298) became a Jain monk the end of his reign and went to live in South India. Buddhists benefited most from Mauryan rule, especially during the reign of Chandragupta’s grandson, Asoka (269-232). In his ninth year as emperor, he conquered the territory of Kalinga in eastern India at a terrible cost in human lives and destruction. Afterwards Ashoka began to set forth a new policy in edicts engraved on rocks and pillars throughout the empire. Addressing his people in unique confessionals, he expressed his distress at the misery caused by his warfare and dedicated himself thereafter to a ―rule of righteousness (dhamma)‖. He renounced further wars of conquest and substituted conquest by righteousness, widely defined. Asoka’s edicts indicate little knowledge or concern for the fine points of Buddhist doctrine. His overriding interest was instead those Buddhist teachings that could be adopted and put in practice by all his subjects. He stressed the values of compassion, generosity, truth, and ahimsa, no injury to living beings. His general concern for righteousness was indicated by his donations to Ajivakas, Page 16 of 19
who were bitter rivals of the Buddhists, and his praise of worthy Brahmins as well as Buddhist monks. He encouraged his subjects to pay attention to all teachers of righteousness no matter what their label You can see from these edicts (which I have shown here) that Asoka had more than just the salvation of his subjects on his mind. He was attempting a form of ideological unification of his Empire.Ashoka did not have the military or administrative capacity to extend the reach of the metropolitan state deeply into the distant core areas or peripheral zones. That he had unifying visions which departed from previous north Indian traditions is seen in his need to barrow imperial symbolism from the Achaernenids. Ashoka attempted to seek legitimating in a relatively simple message of right conduct which could appeal to all communities. In focusing on dharma, he was appealing both to agrarian Hindus and trading Buddhists, even though they might conceive of dhamma/dharma in slightly different ways. In the western part of his empire the message of dhamma, for example, was expressed in a Greek version a religious idiom from which Greeks could recognize from their traditions. In the Aramaic version, the message is harmonized with Zoroastrian beliefs. In communicating to subjects in a society not yet completely absorbed in Varna categories, Ashoka did well to emphasis universal moral qualities and not particular sects and groups. Asoka’s ideas came from debates current at the time on dharma, but he set his notions within an imperial framework. The universalistic ethic of Jainism and Buddhism as opposed to the caste-based ethic of brabmanical teaching suited the needs of empire since it could forge new ties cross clans, tribes and castes. Even though Ashoka did not associate his message of dharma distinctly with Buddhism in his edicts, he had close ties with the Buddhist sangha, the communities of the committed, the monks. The sangha prospered on royal patronage and it provided networks of loyalty which could be supportive of political needs. The orders of monks and nuns cut across both caste and clan ties and weakened existing identities--allowing for the forging of new attachments to an expanded and new concept of the state. The newly emerging leadership in the peripheral areas fop these renunciatory and universal faiths useful for legitimation.This is seen in their continuing patronage to Buddhism and Jainism for a period after the decline of the Mauryas.The teachings of Buddhism and Jainism were preserved and transmitted through orders of monks recruited from many social groups (including Brahmins). Buddhist and Jam monasteries broadened participation in high religion such that participation shifted in communities from only a handful of sacrifical priests and rich clients who paid for elaborate sacrifices and supplied materials, including cattle and other valuable animals. Buddhism was appropriate for the Mauryans, considering their dependency on trade because of the appeal of that faith and Jainism to the wealthy Page 17 of 19
who wanted to protect their wealth from arbitrary appropriation and unproductive destruction in sacrifice.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDIAN HISTORY,S.R MYNENI, ALLAHABAD LAW AGENCY
AN ADVANCED HISTORY OF INDIA, R.C MAJUMDAR
CHANAKYA NEETI, B.K CHATURVEDI
CORPORATE MAURYA,RADHAKRISHNAN PILLAI Page 18 of 19
MAURYAN PERIOD, L. N. RANGARAJAN
REFERENCE
FREE E-BOOKS.SUYASH E.BLOG
AMERICAN BUDDHA .COM
INDIAYOGI.COM
ANCIENTINDIANNET.COM
VEDAMBOOKS.COM
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