Ancient India

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Mauryan Empire

• The foundation of the Mauryan Empire opens a new era in the history of India

and for the first time, the political unity was achieved in India.

• The history writing has also become clear from this period due to accuracy in

chrono logy and sources. Beside

s plenty of indigenous and foreign literary

sources, a number of epigraphical records are also available to write the history

of this period.

Literary Sources

A. Kautilya’s Arthasastra

• Arthasastra in Sanskrit was written by Kautilya, a contemporary of

Chandragupta Maurya. Kautilya was also called ̳Indian Machiavelli‘.

• The manuscript of Arthasastra was first discovered by R. ShamaSastri in

1904.

–

The Arthasastra contains 15 books and

180 chapters but it can be divided into

three parts: the first deals w ith the king and his council and the departments of

government;

–

The second w ith civil and criminal law; and

–

The third w ith diplomacy and war. It is the most important literary sourc

e for

the history of the Mauryas.

B. Visakadatta’sMudrarakshasa

• The Mudrarakshasa written by Visakadatta is a drama in Sanskrit.

• Although written during the Gupta period, it describes how Chandragupta with

the assistance of Kautilya overthrew the Nanda

s.

• It also gives a picture of the socio

-

economic conditio n under the Mauryas.

C. Megasthenes’ Indica

• Megasthenes was the Greek ambassador in the court of Chandragupta

Maurya.

• Megasthenesbook Indica has survived only in fragments. Yet, Indica gives

de

tails about the Mauryan administration, particularly the administration of the

capital city of Pataliputra and also the military organization.

• His picture on contemporary social life is notable.

D. Other Literature

• Apart from these three important work

s, the Puranas and the Buddhist

literature such as Jatakas provide information on the Mauryas.

• The Ceylonese Chronicles Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa throw light on the role

Asoka in spreading Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

E. Archaeological Sources

• Among the archae

o logical sources of the Mauryan period, a considerable

amount of numismatic (the study of coins) evidence, some artifacts from

archaeological excavations and art objects are avilable.

• A large number of silver and copper coins which are punch

-

marked are a

lso

available. These appear to have been in circulation throughout the Mauryan

period. These co ins provide some knowledge of socio

-

economic life of the

Mauryan period. For example, Chandragupta was depicted standing with a

Greek queen in one of his co ins w

hich reveals friendly relatio ns between

Magadha and Greece.

• Remarkable inscriptions of Asoka engraved on rocks and pillars which

notwithstanding the ravages of time have supplied us w ith authoritative details

of inestimable value. Asokan edicts were foun

d not only in the Indian sub

-

continent but also in Kandhar in Afghanistan.

• These inscriptions are in the form of 44 royal orders and each royal order has

several copies. The inscriptions were composed in the 2 Prakritlanguage and

written in the Brahmi sc

ript (w ritten from left to right) throughout thereafter

part of the empire.

• In the northwestern part, they appear in the Kharoshti script written from

right to left and in Kandhar in the Greek and Aramaic script.

• These inscriptions were generally placed on highways.

• They throw light on the career of Asoka, his external and domestic policies

and the extent of his empire.

• Cunningham published Corpus . Inscriptions Indicarum in 1879, which is a

series of collect

io n of inscriptio ns bearing on the history of Maurya, post

-

Maurya

and Gupta times.

• Gimar inscription of Rudradaman (150 AD) also offers some useful inputs into

the provincial administratio n of Gujarat under the Mauryas.