The Mauryan Rulers – History Study Stuff & Notes
Mauryan rulers political history
Chandragupta Maurya (322 – 298 B.C.)
• Chandragupta Maurya was the first ruler who integrated the entire country into a political entity, called the Maurya Empire.
• He captured Pataliputra from Dhanananda, the last ruler of the Nanda dynasty.
• Chandragupta Maurya did not achieve this feat alone. he was accompanied by Kautilya, who assisted him, also known as Vishnugupta or Chanakya. Some scholars believe that Chanakya was the real architect of this empire.
• After establishing his rule in the Gangetic valley, Chandragupta Maurya departed towards the northwest and conquered the areas up to the Indus. To the north, they occupied the northern region of the Narmada River.
• In 305 BC , he defeated Seleucus Nicator, who was controlling the northwestern part of India which was under the control of greek.
• As a treaty, Seleucus nicator ceded the territories of Kabul, Kandahar, Herat, Balochistan to the Mauryan Empire. He married his daughter to the Mauryan prince.
• Megasthenes (Ambassador of Seleucus) came to the Mauryan court as the Greek ambassador.
• The Greeks gave Chandragupta Maurya the title of 'Sandrocottus'.
• He established a vast empire, which stretched from Afghanistan to Assam and Kashmir to Karnataka (except Kalinga).
• Chandragupta later embraced Jainism and placed his son Bindusara on the throne.
• He then went to Sarvana Belagola under the leadership of Jain monks in Karnataka, led by Bhadrabahu and killed himself.
Bindusara (298 – 273 B.C.)
• Some scholars believe that Bindusara conquered the Deccan region up to Mysore.
• The Tibetan monk of Taranath mentions that Bindusara conquered sixteen kingdoms, including the 'land between the two seas'.
• Bindusara maintained friendly relations with the Hellenic world and received Dionysius as the ambassador of Ptolemy Philadelphus of Egypt.
• Bindusara made his elder son Susima the governor of Taxila and Ashoka the governor of Ujjain.
• Bindusara supported the 'Ajivika sect'.
Asoka the Great (273 – 232 B.C.)
• Buddhist sources state that Ashoka's succession was a disputed one.
• He was the first ruler in Indian history to leave his record on engraved stones.
• His inscriptions are found at 47 locations in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal.
• His inscriptions are found at 47 locations in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal.
• His name has been found on only copies of the Minor Rock Edict at one place in MP and three places in Karnataka.
• In every other inscription found on ancient highways, he is referred to as 'Devanampiya' or 'piyadasi'.
• Various scripts have been used on his inscription. Greek and Aramaic in Afghanistan; Kharosthi script and Prakrit language in Pakistan; Brahmi script in Prakrit language at different places.
• The most important event of Ashoka's reign was the Battle of Kalinga in 261 BCE, which he mentions in Rock Edition XIII. It describes in detail the horrors of war, which greatly troubled him.
• After the Kalinga war, Ashoka embraced Buddhism under the influence of a Buddhist monk, Upagupta.
• The expansion of Ashoka's empire: Ashoka added Kalinga to his territory.
Ashoka’s Dhamma (moral law)
• Although Ashoka adopted Buddhism as his religion and took steps to spread Buddhism, he did not apply Buddhist ideals to his subjects.
• He respected all religious sects and beliefs, it is mentioned in Rock Edit VII. In Rock Edict XII he mentions his policy of equal respect for all religious beliefs and sects.
• After the Kalinga war, Ashoka promoted the Dhamma or moral law in his empire.
• Dhamma is a way of life, a set of principles and a code of conduct that should be adopted and practiced by the people at large.
• The principles of Dhamma are clearly mentioned in his Edicts. His main features:
1. Service and obedience to parents and teachers, good treatment to relatives.
2. Ban on animal sacrifice and festival celebrations
3. Excellent organization of administration for social welfare and maintaining continuous contact with people through the Dhammayatras system.
4. proper and humane treatment to the servants by the masters and to the prisoners by government officials.
5. Do not mistreat animals and take care of them. Etiquette to Brahmins, friends, acquaintances, ascetic, dependents.
6. Tolerance for all religions sects.
7. Victory of the people through Dhamma instead of war. Truthfulness and attachment to morality.
Ashoka's estimate
• It is said that Ashoka was the "greatest of kings" who ruled the world by defeating Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar and every other famous emperor.
• Ashoka was true to his ideals.
• He was not a dreamer, but a man of practical talent who explained the relationship between a king and his subjects in a very simple way.
• He is the only king in human history who apologized for his subjects for waging war against him, which caused suffering.
• His concept of Dhamma is so universal that it is still applicable to humanity today.
• His personal faith in Buddhism was never imposed on his subjects.
Later maurya
• After Ashoka's death in 232 BC, there were 7 kings within 50 years.
• After the death of Ashoka, the Maurya Empire was divided into two parts. These two parts were Eastern and Western.
• The western part was ruled by Kunala, Samprati and other and the eastern part was ruled by Dasaratha, Brihadratha and others.
• The Maurya king lost support from both the army and its people after the invasion by the Greeks. The last Mauryan king Brihadratha was assassinated by his commander Pushyamitra Sunga.
50 years after Ashoka's death, the Maurya Empire fell apart. This is attributed to his weak heirs who could not keep the vast empire intact. But the blame was put on Ashoka's pacifist policies which led to the decline in the military powers of the empire. Some scholars argue that Ashoka's welfare policies would have been very extraordinary, leading to a decline in the exchequer and thereby a weak economy.
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