UNIT 6 AGE OF MAURYANS

UNIT VI (10 MARKS) AGE OF MAURYANS
Administration of Chandragupta Maurya.  Ashoka & his Dharma.

Mauryan Empire (321?-185? BC), empire of the Maurya dynasty that extended over much of India—the first kingdom to bring virtually all of the subcontinent under one authority. After raising an army and defeating the Nanda dynasty, the warrior Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya dynasty in the kingdom of Magadha (now Bihar State). With the help of his minister Kautilya (chankya), Chandragupta extended his rule over most of northern and central India, as well as Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush. His success brought attacks from the Seleucids, the successors to Alexander the Great. After the Seleucids were decisively defeated in 305 BC, however, they concluded an alliance with Chandragupta. Their presence inspired a noticeably Greek influence in Maurya culture.
Chandragupta is believed to have abdicated the throne around 298 BC in favor of his son Bindusara, who extended the empire farther south. By the end of Bindusara’s reign, around 273 BC, virtually all of southern India was under the control of either the Maurya dynasty or Tamil leaders friendly to the Maurya. Bindusara was succeeded by his son Ashoka. Like his father and grandfather, Ashoka began his reign with military strikes. But after a bloody campaign against the eastern state of Kalinga in about 261 BC Ashoka became disillusioned with warfare. He eventually embraced Buddhism and nonviolence, improved public welfare, and promoted social cohesion. The empire of about 50 million subjects prospered under his rule, and he sent envoys and missionaries as far as Sri Lanka and Nepal in the east and Egypt and Macedonia in the west. After Ashoka’s death in 232 BC the empire gradually disintegrated, though the exact causes are not clear. A period of struggle for succession ensued between Ashoka’s heirs, southern princes seceded from the empire, and foreign powers invaded. The empire contracted to the Ganges valley in northern India. The last ruler of the Maurya dynasty, Brhadratha, died in a palace coup around 185 BC.

Administration of Chandragupta Maurya:
Under Chandragupta the empire developed a complex administrative structure. The king, an absolute monarch, ruled at the head of a developed bureaucracy of central and local government, with provinces controlled by governors or imperial princes and protected by a large army. The state levied taxes on land, produce, and trade. The government improved roads, made isolated areas accessible, and settled farmers into the new areas. Like modern India, Maurya society was divided into castes (social groups), with special administrative groups of councilors and magistrates.
Provincial Administration:
The kingdom was divided into several provinces governed by the members of the royal family. There were some smaller provinces as Saurashtra & Kambhoj etc. administrated by other officers called ‘Rashtriyas’. The provinces were divided into districts which were again sub-divided into villages. The chief administrator of the district was called the ‘Sthanik’ while the village headman was called ‘Gopa’.
Civic Administration: The administration of big cities as well as the capital city of Pataliputra was carried on very efficiently. Pataliputra was divided into four sectors. The officer incharge of each sector was called the ‘Sthanik’. He was assisted by junior officers called the ‘Gopas’ who looked after the welfare of 10-40 families. The whole city was in the charge of another officer called the ‘Nagrika’. There was a system of regular census.            
ASHOKA & HIS DHARMA:
Chandragupta's grandson was Ashokavardhan Maurya, better known as Ashoka the Great (ruled 273- 232 BC). As a young prince, Ashoka was a brilliant commander who crushed revolts in Ujjain and Taxila. As monarch he was ambitious and aggressive, re-asserting the Empire's superiority in southern and western India. But it was his conquest of Kalinga which proved to be the pivotal event of his life. Although Ashoka's army succeeded in overwhelming Kalinga forces of royal soldiers and civilian units, an estimated 100,000 soldiers and civilians were killed in the furious warfare, including over 10,000 of Ashoka's own men. Hundreds of thousands of people were adversely affected by the destruction and fallout of war. When he personally witnessed the devastation, Ashoka began feeling remorse, and he cried 'what have I done?'. Although the annexation of Kalinga was completed, Ashoka embraced the teachings of Gautama Buddha, and renounced war and violence. For a monarch in ancient times, this was an historic feat.

Ashoka's Dhamma was a way of life, a code of conduct, & a set of principles to be adopted & practiced by the people at large. It is a philosophical entity that emphasizes on the high ideals in order to lead a successful life. He wanted everyone to live peacefully and co-exist in a harmonious environment. Some of his ideals were to shun war and spread peace, stop animal sacrifices, respect elders, masters treating slaves like humans, promoting vegetarianism, etc. These ideals if followed correctly lead one to a higher level of living. Ashoka wanted to spread peace and prosperity in his kingdom.
The true essence of Ashoka's Dhamma is present in the form of the various rock edicts. While different major rock edicts talk about the various aspects of the Dhamma, the major Rock Edict XI contains an elaborate explanation of the Dhamma, apart from dealing with charity & kinship of humanity. The principles of Ashoka's Dhamma are inscribed on those rock edicts in Brahmi language. These edicts are a code for how to lead life in a way that you become an inspiration for others. Ashoka believed that a king should treat his subjects the same way a father treats his children.

An able king should be courageous, responsible for his subjects, take up initiative in tasks like constructing roads, hospitals, rest houses, etc. Ashoka appointed Dhamma Mahamattas who were basically officers looking after the spread of these principles across the empire of Ashoka. Ashoka propagated the principles of Dhamma not just in India but countries like Sri Lanka, Burma and other South East Asian countries as well.