MAURYAS
CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA:
- Founder of the Maurya dynasty and the Greeks called him sandrakottes.
- In 305 B.C he defeated Seleucus Nikator(representative of Alexander) and made an agreement with him which was the 1st treaty between native king and foreign ruler.
- First king to envisage the ideas of welfare state and paternal kingship.
- Chandragupta adopted Jainsim and went to Chandragiri hill, Sravanbelgola with badhrababu where he died in slow starvation.
- Under his rule, the whole North India was united for the first time.
- He conquered Saurashtra. Pushyagupta(Governor of Saurashtra) constructed the famous Sudharshana lake.
- Mauryans were the first to end the monopoly of Brahmanas.
- They were also critical of divine kingship.
- Chandragupta abdicated the throne for his son, Bindusara.
NOTE: Sravanbelgola-Famous for Gomateshwar statue, son of Rishabnath in Kayotsurg Mudra.
Paternal kingship-treating his subjects as children.
BINDUSARA:
- Bindusara was called Amitragatha(slayer of enemies).
- Megasthenes was replaced by Diamachus as the Greek ambassador to Bindusara’s court.
- He sent a delegation to the king of Syria, Atiochus I. Susima was the Governor of Taxila.
- Susima failed to suppress the revolt of guilds in his region which was then suppressed by Ashoka, Governor of Ujjain.
- Bindusara was the follower of the sect called Ajivikas.
ASHOKA:
- Son of Bindusara and Sudharma. Killed his brothers except Tisya and came to power with the help of minister Radha Gupta.
- In 261 BC he fought the Kalinga war with Dimouasi and Meghavahana (Kalinga kings) in the 9th year of his coronation.
- Looting of Mauryan ships by Naga Tribes of Kalinga was the cause of Kalinga war.
- Ashoka converted to Buddhism by Upagupta.
- He introduced a social philosophy called Dhamma (Dharma) with principles like Satya, Samyama, Sankshema and Ahimsa.
CENTRAL AND PROVINCIAL ADMINISTRATION:
- King was assisted by a council of ministers called Mantri Parishad. There were 27 departments and 26 Adhyakshyas.
- Empire was divided into 4 provinces- south,east,west and central.
- Ujjain was the capital of Central province.
- Taxila was the capital of Western province.
- Suvarnagiri was the capital of the southern province.
- Tosali was the capital of Eastern province.
- According to Kautilya/Chanakya there are 7 elements of states(saptanga theory)-Raja (king), Mitra (friend), Durg (fort), Amirtya (the secretaries), Janapada (territory), Kosha (treasure), Sena (army).
- Governors were called Kumara-Amatyas. They were assisted by:
Rajuka- Revenue Settlement officer
Yukta- Tax collector
- Tamralipti was the most important eastern coast port.
- Brihadratha the last Mauryan ruler was assassinated by his commander-in-chief in 150 BC Pushyamithra sunga who established his own sunga dynasty.
ECONOMY:
- State took active participation in the economy.
- Shudras were involved in agriculture for the first time.
- There were provisions for irrigation by the state. Weight and measures were regulated by the state.
- The normal taxation was one-sixth of the production.
- The state enjoyed monopoly in mining, forest, salt, sale of liquor, etc.
ASHOKAN DHAMMA(DHARMA):
- Ashoka’s Dhamma was different from Buddhism.
- Dhamma propagated the tenets of tolerance as well as moral and ethical conduct.
- Its broad objective was to preserve the social order as with the expansion of the Mauryan empire.
- The population had become heterogeneous, diverse and multi-racial.
- It ordained that people should obey their parents, pay respect to Brahmanas and Buddhist monks and show mercy to slaves and servants.
- He held that, if people behave well, they would attain heaven.
ASHOKAN INSCRIPTION:
- First written recorded evidence in Indian history and deciphered by James Princep in 1837 for 1st time.
- They were written in Pali language except Kandahar inscriptions which are bilingual(Greek and Armenian languages).
- In the Maski and Girjara inscriptions, Ashoka reveals his actual name.
- In the Babru edict Ashoka revealed his faith in Buddhism.
- In the Sarnath pillar, Ashoka called himself Dharma-Asoka.
- In the Barabar cave inscriptions,Ashoka declared his secular policy
- In the Rumandei pillar inscription, Ashoka talks about land grants made to the monasteries and tax concessions given to them
- In the second and eleventh separate Rock Edicts, Ashoka elaborates on his Dharma
