Maurya Empire
Maurya Empire Māgadhe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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322 BCE – 184 BCE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Capital | Pataliputra (present-day Patna) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common languages | Sanskrit (literary and academic), Magadhi Prakrit (vernacular) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Religion | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Government | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Emperor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 322–298 BCE | Chandragupta | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 298–272 BCE | Bindusara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 268–232 BCE | Ashoka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 232–224 BCE | Dasharatha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 224–215 BCE | Samprati | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 215–202 BCE | Shalishuka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 202–195 BCE | Devavarman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 195–187 BCE | Shatadhanvan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
• 187–184 BCE | Brihadratha | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Historical era | Iron Age | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
322 BCE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
• Assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga | 184 BCE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
261 BCE[19] (low-end estimate of peak area) | 3,400,000 km2 (1,300,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
250 BCE[20] (high-end estimate of peak area) | 5,000,000 km2 (1,900,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Currency | Panas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Maurya Empire (322–180 BCE) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The Maurya Empire (Ashokan Prakrit: 𑀫𑀸𑀕𑀥𑁂, Māgadhe[21]) was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia based in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE.[22] The empire was centralized by the conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain; its capital city was located at Pataliputra (modern Patna). Outside this imperial centre, the empire's geographical extent was dependent on the loyalty of military commanders who controlled the armed cities scattered within it.[23][24][25] During Ashoka's rule (ca. 268–232 BCE), the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the Indian subcontinent excepting the deep south.[22] It declined for about 50 years after Ashoka's rule, and dissolved in 185 BCE with the assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga and foundation of the Shunga dynasty in Magadha.
Chandragupta Maurya raised an army, with the assistance of Chanakya, author of the Arthashastra,[26] and overthrew the Nanda Empire in c. 322 BCE. Chandragupta rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India by conquering the satraps left by Alexander the Great, and by 317 BCE the empire had fully occupied northwestern India.[27] The Mauryan Empire then defeated Seleucus I, a diadochus and founder of the Seleucid Empire, during the Seleucid–Mauryan war, thus acquiring territory west of the Indus River.[28][29]
Under the Mauryas, internal and external trade, agriculture, and economic activities thrived and expanded across South Asia due to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance, administration, and security. The Maurya dynasty built a precursor of the Grand Trunk Road from Patliputra to Taxila.[30] After the Kalinga War, the Empire experienced nearly half a century of centralized rule under Ashoka. Ashoka's embrace of Buddhism and sponsorship of Buddhist missionaries allowed for the expansion of that faith into Sri Lanka, northwest India, and Central Asia.[31]
The population of South Asia during the Mauryan period has been estimated to be between 15 and 30 million.[32]
The empire's period of dominion was marked by exceptional creativity in art, architecture, inscriptions and produced texts,
Etymology
The name "Maurya" does not occur in Ashoka's inscriptions, or the contemporary Greek accounts such as Megasthenes's Indica, but it is attested by the following sources:[35]
- The Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman (c. 150 CE) prefixes "Maurya" to the names Chandragupta and Ashoka.[35]
- The Puranas (c. 4th century CE or earlier) use Maurya as a dynastic appellation.[35]
- The Buddhist texts state that Chandragupta belonged to the "Gautama Buddha belonged.[35]
- The Jain texts state that Chandragupta was the son of a royal superintendent of peacocks (mayura-poshaka).[35]
- Tamil Sangam literature also designate them as 'moriyar' and mention them after the Nandas[36]
- Kuntala inscription (from the town of Bandanikke, North Mysore) of 12th century AD chronologically mention Mauryya as one of the dynasties which ruled the region.[37]
According to some scholars, Kharavela'
According to the Buddhist tradition, the ancestors of the Maurya kings had settled in a region where peacocks (mora in
The dynasty's connection to the peacocks, as mentioned in the Buddhist and Jain traditions, seems to be corroborated by archaeological evidence. For example, peacock figures are found on the Ashoka pillar at Nandangarh and several sculptures on the Great Stupa of Sanchi. Based on this evidence, modern scholars theorize that the peacock may have been the dynasty's emblem.[41]
Some later authors, such as
History
Founding
Prior to the Maurya Empire, the Nanda Empire ruled over a broad swathe of the Indian subcontinent. The Nanda Empire was a large, militaristic, and economically powerful empire due to conquering the Mahajanapadas. According to several legends, Chanakya travelled to Pataliputra, Magadha, the capital of the Nanda Empire where Chanakya worked for the Nandas as a minister. However, Chanakya was insulted by the Emperor Dhana Nanda when he informed them of Alexander's invasion. Chanakya swore revenge and vowed to destroy the Nanda Empire.[44] He had to flee in order to save his life and went to Taxila, a notable center of learning, to work as a teacher. On one of his travels, Chanakya witnessed some young men playing a rural game practicing a pitched battle. One of the boys was none other than Chandragupta. Chanakya was impressed by the young Chandragupta and saw royal qualities in him as someone fit to rule.
MIES
Meanwhile, Alexander the Great was leading his Indian campaigns and ventured into Punjab. His army mutinied at the Beas River and refused to advance farther eastward when confronted by another army. Alexander returned to Babylon and re-deployed most of his troops west of the Indus River. Soon after Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BCE, his empire fragmented into independent kingdoms led by his generals.[45]
The Maurya Empire was established in the Magadha region under the leadership of Chandragupta Maurya and his mentor Chanakya. Chandragupta was taken to Taxila by Chanakya and was tutored about statecraft and governing. Requiring an army Chandragupta recruited and annexed local
Chandragupta Maurya's ancestry is shrouded in mystery and controversy. On one hand, a number of ancient Indian accounts, such as the drama Mudrarakshasa (Signet ring of Rakshasa – Rakshasa was the prime minister of Magadha) by Vishakhadatta, describe his royal ancestry and even link him with the Nanda family. A kshatriya clan known as the Mauryas are referred to in the earliest Buddhist texts, Mahāparinibbāna Sutta. However, any conclusions are hard to make without further historical evidence. Chandragupta first emerges in Greek accounts as "Sandrokottos". As a young man he is said to have met Alexander.[48] Chanakya is said to have met the Nanda king, angered him, and made a narrow escape.[49][unreliable source?]
Conquest of the Nanda Empire
Historically reliable details of Chandragupta's campaign against
The Buddhist Mahavamsa Tika and Jain Parishishtaparvan records Chandragupta's army unsuccessfully attacking the Nanda capital. [55] Chandragupta and Chanakya then began a campaign at the frontier of the Nanda empire, gradually conquering various territories on their way to the Nanda capital.[56] He then refined his strategy by establishing garrisons in the conquered territories, and finally besieged the Nanda capital Pataliputra. There Dhana Nanda accepted defeat.[57][58] The conquest was fictionalised in Mudrarakshasa play, it contains narratives not found in other versions of the Chanakya-Chandragupta legend. Because of this difference, Thomas Trautmann suggests that most of it is fictional or legendary, without any historical basis.[59] Radha Kumud Mukherjee similarly considers Mudrakshasa play without historical basis.[60]
These legends state that the Nanda king was defeated, deposed and exiled by some accounts, while Buddhist accounts claim he was killed.[61] With the defeat of Dhana Nanda, Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire.[62]
Chandragupta Maurya
After the
The two rulers concluded a peace treaty in 303 BCE, including a marital alliance. Under its terms, Chandragupta received the satrapies of
Megasthenes in particular was a notable Greek ambassador in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.[66] His book Indika is a major literary source for information about the Mauryan Empire. According to Arrian, ambassador Megasthenes (c. 350 – c. 290 BCE) lived in Arachosia and travelled to Pataliputra.[67] Megasthenes' description of Mauryan society as freedom-loving gave Seleucus a means to avoid invasion, however, underlying Seleucus' decision was the improbability of success. In later years, Seleucus' successors maintained diplomatic relations with the Empire based on similar accounts from returning travellers.[63]
Chandragupta established a strong centralised state with an administration at Pataliputra, which, according to Megasthenes, was "surrounded by a wooden wall pierced by 64 gates and 570 towers".
Chandragupta's son
Chandragupta renounced his throne and followed Jain teacher Bhadrabahu.[74][75][76] He is said to have lived as an ascetic at Shravanabelagola for several years before fasting to death, as per the Jain practice of sallekhana.[77]
Bindusara
Bindusara was born to Chandragupta, the founder of the Mauryan Empire. This is attested by several sources, including the various Puranas and the Mahāvaṃsa.[78][full citation needed] He is attested by the Buddhist texts such as Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa ("Bindusaro"); the Jain texts such as Parishishta-Parvan; as well as the Hindu texts such as Vishnu Purana ("Vindusara").[79][80] According to the 12th century Jain writer Hemachandra's Parishishta-Parvan, the name of Bindusara's mother was Durdhara.[81] Some Greek sources also mention him by the name "Amitrochates" or its variations.[82][83]
Historian
Bindusara's life has not been documented as well as that of his father Chandragupta or of his son Ashoka. Chanakya continued to serve as prime minister during his reign. According to the medieval Tibetan scholar Taranatha who visited India, Chanakya helped Bindusara "to destroy the nobles and kings of the sixteen kingdoms and thus to become absolute master of the territory between the eastern and western oceans".[87] During his rule, the citizens of Taxila revolted twice. The reason for the first revolt was the maladministration of Susima, his eldest son. The reason for the second revolt is unknown, but Bindusara could not suppress it in his lifetime. It was crushed by Ashoka after Bindusara's death.[88]
Bindusara maintained friendly diplomatic relations with the Hellenic world.
Unlike his father Chandragupta (who at a later stage converted to
Historical evidence suggests that Bindusara died in the 270s BCE. According to Upinder Singh, Bindusara died around 273 BCE.[70] Alain Daniélou believes that he died around 274 BCE.[87] Sailendra Nath Sen believes that he died around 273–272 BCE, and that his death was followed by a four-year struggle of succession, after which his son Ashoka became the emperor in 269–268 BCE.[89] According to the Mahāvaṃsa, Bindusara reigned for 28 years.[95] The Vayu Purana, which names Chandragupta's successor as "Bhadrasara", states that he ruled for 25 years.[96]
Ashoka
As a young prince, Ashoka (r. 272–232 BCE) 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
Ashoka implemented principles of ahimsa by banning hunting and violent sports activity and ending indentured and forced labor (many thousands of people in war-ravaged Kalinga had been forced into hard labour and servitude). While he maintained a large and powerful army, to keep the peace and maintain authority, Ashoka expanded friendly relations with states across Asia and Europe, and he sponsored Buddhist missions. He undertook a massive public works building campaign across the country. Over 40 years of peace, harmony and prosperity made Ashoka one of the most successful and famous monarchs in Indian history. He remains an idealized figure of inspiration in modern India.[citation needed]
The
Decline
Ashoka was followed for 50 years by a succession of weaker kings. He was succeeded by Dasharatha Maurya, who was Ashoka's grandson. None of Ashoka's sons could ascend to the throne after him. Mahinda, his firstborn, became a Buddhist monk. Kunala Maurya was blind and hence couldn't ascend to the throne; and Tivala, son of Kaurwaki, died even earlier than Ashoka. Little is known about another son, Jalauka.
The empire lost many territories under Dasharatha, which were later reconquered by Samprati, Kunala's son. Post Samprati, the Mauryas slowly lost many territories. In 180 BCE, Brihadratha Maurya, was killed by his general Pushyamitra Shunga in a military parade without any heir. Hence, the great Maurya empire finally ended, giving rise to the Shunga Empire.
Reasons advanced for the decline include the succession of weak kings after Aśoka Maurya, the partition of the empire into two, the growing independence of some areas within the empire, such as that ruled by
Some historians, such as Hem Chandra Raychaudhuri, have argued that Ashoka's pacifism undermined the "military backbone" of the Maurya empire. Others, such as Romila Thapar, have suggested that the extent and impact of his pacifism have been "grossly exaggerated".[100]
Shunga coup (185 BCE)
Buddhist records such as the
among others, have argued that archaeological evidence in favour of the allegations of persecution of Buddhists are lacking, and that the extent and magnitude of the atrocities have been exaggerated.Establishment of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BCE)
The fall of the Mauryas left the
Military
Megasthenes mentions military command consisting of six boards of five members each, (i)
Administration
The Empire was divided into four provinces, with the imperial capital at
Historians theorise that the organisation of the Empire was in line with the extensive bureaucracy described by Chanakya in the Arthashastra: a sophisticated civil service governed everything from municipal hygiene to international trade. The expansion and defense of the empire was made possible by what appears to have been one of the largest armies in the world during the Iron Age.[107] According to Megasthenes, the empire wielded a military of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots and 9,000 war elephants besides followers and attendants.[108] A vast espionage system collected intelligence for both internal and external security purposes. Having renounced offensive warfare and expansionism, Ashoka nevertheless continued to maintain this large army, to protect the Empire and instil stability and peace across West and South Asia.[citation needed].Even though large parts were under the control of Mauryan empire the spread of information and imperial message was limited since many parts were inaccessible and were situated far away from capital of empire.[109]
The economy of the empire has been described as, "a socialized monarchy", "a sort of state socialism", and the world's first welfare state.[110] Under the Mauryan system there was no private ownership of land as all land was owned by the king to whom tribute was paid by the laboring class. In return the emperor supplied the laborers with agricultural products, animals, seeds, tools, public infrastructure, and stored food in reserve for times of crisis.[110]
Local government
Economy
For the first time in South Asia, political unity and military security allowed for a common economic system and enhanced trade and commerce, with increased agricultural productivity. The previous situation involving hundreds of kingdoms, many small armies, powerful regional chieftains, and internecine warfare, gave way to a disciplined central authority. Farmers were freed of tax and crop collection burdens from regional kings, paying instead to a nationally administered and strict-but-fair system of taxation as advised by the principles in the Arthashastra. Chandragupta Maurya established a single currency across India, and a network of regional governors and administrators and a civil service provided justice and security for merchants, farmers and traders. The Mauryan army wiped out many gangs of bandits, regional private armies, and powerful chieftains who sought to impose their own supremacy in small areas. Although regimental in revenue collection, Maurya also sponsored many public works and waterways to enhance productivity, while internal trade in India expanded greatly due to new-found political unity and internal peace.[citation needed]
Under the Indo-Greek friendship treaty, and during Ashoka's reign, an international network of trade expanded. The Khyber Pass, on the modern boundary of Pakistan and Afghanistan, became a strategically important port of trade and intercourse with the outside world. Greek states and Hellenic kingdoms in West Asia became important trade partners of India. Trade also extended through the Malay Peninsula into Southeast Asia. India's exports included silk goods and textiles, spices and exotic foods. The external world came across new scientific knowledge and technology with expanding trade with the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka also sponsored the construction of thousands of roads, waterways, canals, hospitals, rest-houses and other public works. The easing of many over-rigorous administrative practices, including those regarding taxation and crop collection, helped increase productivity and economic activity across the Empire.[citation needed]
In many ways, the economic situation in the Mauryan Empire is analogous to the Roman Empire of several centuries later. Both had extensive trade connections and both had organizations similar to corporations. While Rome had organizational entities which were largely used for public state-driven projects, Mauryan India had numerous private commercial entities. These existed purely for private commerce and developed before the Mauryan Empire itself.[114]
Maurya Empire coinage |
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Religion
Throughout the period of empire,
Chandragupta maurya was a follower of
The Buddhist texts Samantapasadika and Mahāvaṃsa suggest that Bindusara followed Hindu Brahmanism, calling him a "Brahmana bhatto" ("monk of the Brahmanas").[126][127]
Society
The population of South Asia during the Mauryan period has been estimated to be between 15 and 30 million.[129] According to Tim Dyson, the period of the Mauryan Empire saw the consolidation of caste among the Indo-Aryan people who had settled in the Gangetic plain, increasingly meeting tribal people who were incorporated into their evolving caste-system, and the declining rights of women in the Indo-Aryan speaking regions of India, though "these developments did not affect people living in large parts of the subcontinent."[130]
Architectural remains
The greatest monument of this period, executed in the reign of
During the Ashokan period, stonework was of a highly diversified order and comprised lofty free-standing pillars, railings of
The peacock was a dynastic symbol of Mauryans, as depicted by Ashoka's pillars at Nandangarh and Sanchi Stupa.[41]
Maurya structures and decorations at Sanchi (3rd century BCE) | |
Mauryas .
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Natural history
The protection of animals in India was advocated by the time of the Maurya dynasty; being the first empire to provide a unified political entity in India, the attitude of the Mauryas towards forests, their denizens, and fauna in general is of interest.[135]
The Mauryas firstly looked at forests as resources. For them, the most important forest product was the elephant. Military might in those times depended not only upon horses and men but also
On the border of the forest, he should establish a forest for elephants guarded by foresters. The Office of the Chief Elephant Forester should with the help of guards protect the elephants in any terrain. The slaying of an elephant is punishable by death.
—Kautilya, Arthashastra
The Mauryas also designated separate forests to protect supplies of timber, as well as lions and tigers for skins. Elsewhere the Protector of Animals also worked to eliminate thieves, tigers and other predators to render the woods safe for grazing cattle.[citation needed]
The Mauryas valued certain forest tracts in strategic or economic terms and instituted curbs and control measures over them. They regarded all forest tribes with distrust and controlled them with bribery and political subjugation. They employed some of them, the food-gatherers or aranyaca to guard borders and trap animals. The sometimes tense and conflict-ridden relationship nevertheless enabled the Mauryas to guard their vast empire.[137]
When
Our king killed very few animals.
However, the edicts of Ashoka reflect more the desire of rulers than actual events; the mention of a 100 'panas' (coins) fine for poaching deer in royal hunting preserves shows that rule-breakers did exist. The legal restrictions conflicted with the practices freely exercised by the common people in hunting, felling, fishing and setting fires in forests.[137]
Contacts with the Hellenistic world
Foundation of the Empire
Relations with the Hellenistic world may have started from the very beginning of the Maurya Empire. Plutarch reports that Chandragupta Maurya met with Alexander the Great, probably around Taxila in the northwest:[138]
Sandrocottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth.
Reconquest of the Northwest (c. 317–316 BCE)
Chandragupta ultimately occupied Northwestern India, in the territories formerly ruled by the Greeks, where he fought the satraps (described as "Prefects" in Western sources) left in place after Alexander (Justin), among whom may have been
India, after the death of Alexander, had assassinated his prefects, as if shaking the burden of servitude. The author of this liberation was Sandracottos, but he had transformed liberation in servitude after victory, since, after taking the throne, he himself oppressed the very people he has liberated from foreign domination.
— Justin XV.4.12–13[140]
Later, as he was preparing war against the prefects of Alexander, a huge wild elephant went to him and took him on his back as if tame, and he became a remarkable fighter and war leader. Having thus acquired royal power, Sandracottos possessed India at the time Seleucos was preparing future glory.
— Justin XV.4.19[141]
Conflict and alliance with Seleucus (305 BCE)
Seleucus I Nicator, the Macedonian satrap of the Asian portion of Alexander's former empire, conquered and put under his own authority eastern territories as far as Bactria and the Indus (Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55), until in 305 BCE he entered into a confrontation with Emperor Chandragupta:
Always lying in wait for the neighbouring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he [Seleucus] acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus.
Though no accounts of the conflict remain, it is clear that Seleucus fared poorly against the Indian Emperor as he failed to conquer any territory, and in fact was forced to surrender much that was already his. Regardless, Seleucus and Chandragupta ultimately reached a settlement and through a treaty sealed in 305 BCE, Seleucus, according to Strabo, ceded a number of territories to Chandragupta, including eastern Afghanistan and Balochistan.[citation needed]
Marriage alliance
Chandragupta and
Mainstream scholarship asserts that Chandragupta received vast territory west of the Indus, including the Hindu Kush, modern-day Afghanistan, and the Balochistan province of Pakistan.[154][155] Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka, are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
He (Seleucus) crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship.
After having made a treaty with him (Sandrakotos) and put in order the Orient situation, Seleucos went to war against
Junianus Justinus, Historiarum Philippicarum, libri XLIV, XV.4.15
The treaty on "Epigamia" implies lawful marriage between Greeks and Indians was recognized at the State level, although it is unclear whether it occurred among dynastic rulers or common people, or both.[citation needed]
Exchange of presents
Classical sources have also recorded that following their treaty, Chandragupta and Seleucus exchanged presents, such as when Chandragupta sent various aphrodisiacs to Seleucus:[82]
And Theophrastus says that some contrivances are of wondrous efficacy in such matters [as to make people more amorous]. And Phylarchus confirms him, by reference to some of the presents which Sandrakottus, the king of the Indians, sent to Seleucus; which were to act like charms in producing a wonderful degree of affection, while some, on the contrary, were to banish love.
—The deipnosophists, Book I, chapter 32[156]
His son
But dried figs were so very much sought after by all men (for really, as Aristophanes says, "There's really nothing nicer than dried figs"), that even Amitrochates, the king of the Indians, wrote to Antiochus, entreating him (it is Hegesander who tells this story) to buy and send him some sweet wine, and some dried figs, and a sophist; and that Antiochus wrote to him in answer, "The dry figs and the sweet wine we will send you; but it is not lawful for a sophist to be sold in Greece.
Greek population in India
An influential and large Greek population was present in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent under Ashoka's rule, possibly remnants of Alexander's conquests in the Indus Valley region. In the Rock Edicts of Ashoka, some of them inscribed in Greek, Ashoka states that the Greeks within his dominion were converted to Buddhism:
Here in the king's dominion among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma.
Now, in times past (officers) called
Gandharas, and whatever other western borderers (of mine there are).)
Fragments of Edict 13 have been found in Greek, and a full Edict, written in both Greek and Aramaic, has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka uses the word Eusebeia ("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in Prakrit:[non-primary source needed]
Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King Piodasses (Ashoka) made known (the doctrine of) Piety (εὐσέβεια, Eusebeia) to men; and from this moment he has made men more pious, and everything thrives throughout the whole world. And the king abstains from (killing) living beings, and other men and those who (are) huntsmen and fishermen of the king have desisted from hunting. And if some (were) intemperate, they have ceased from their intemperance as was in their power; and obedient to their father and mother and to the elders, in opposition to the past also in the future, by so acting on every occasion, they will live better and more happily.
Buddhist missions to the West (c. 250 BCE)
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The distribution of the Edicts of Ashoka.[158]
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Map of the Buddhist missions during the reign of Ashoka.
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Territories "conquered by the Dharma" according to Major Rock Edict No. 13 of Ashoka (260–218 BCE).[159][160]
Also, in the Edicts of Ashoka, Ashoka mentions the Hellenistic kings of the period as recipients of his Buddhist proselytism, although no Western historical record of this event remains:
The conquest by
Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni (Sri Lanka).— Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika.[non-primary source needed]
Ashoka also encouraged the development of herbal medicine, for men and animals, in their territories:
Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's [Ashoka's] domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the
Pandyas, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni and where the Greek king Antiochos rules, and among the kings who are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and grown. Along roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the benefit of humans and animals. ]
The Greeks in India even seem to have played an active role in the spread of Buddhism, as some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as
Subhagasena and Antiochos III (206 BCE)
History of India |
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Timeline |
He (Antiochus) crossed the Caucasus and descended into India; renewed his friendship with Sophagasenus the king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty altogether; and having once more provisioned his troops, set out again personally with his army: leaving Androsthenes of Cyzicus the duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand over to him.
Timeline
- 322 BCE: Chandragupta Maurya conquers the Nanda Empire, founding Maurya dynasty.[163]
- 317–316 BCE: Chandragupta Maurya conquers the Northwest of the Indian subcontinent.
- 305–303 BCE: Chandragupta Maurya gains territory by defeating the Seleucid Empire.
- 298–269 BCE: Reign of Bindusara, Chandragupta's son. He conquers parts of Deccan, southern India.
- 269–232 BCE: The Mauryan Empire reaches its height under Ashoka, Chandragupta's grandson.
- 261 BCE: Ashoka conquers the kingdom of Kalinga.
- 250 BCE: Ashoka builds Buddhist stupas and erects pillars bearing inscriptions.
- 184 BCE: The empire collapses when Brihadratha, the last emperor, is killed by Pushyamitra Shunga, a Mauryan general and the founder of the Shunga Empire.
In literature
According to Vicarasreni of Merutunga, Mauryans rose to power in 312 BC.[164]
Family tree and List of rulers
See also
- Moriya Republic
- Magadha
- Pradyota dynasty
- Gupta Empire
- History of India
- List of Hindu empires and dynasties
Notes
- ^ Hermann Kulke 2004, p. 69-70.
- ISBN 978-1-4443-2351-1,
In the past it was not uncommon for historians to conflate the vast space thus outlined with the oppressive realm described in the Arthashastra and to posit one of the earliest and certainly one of the largest totalitarian regimes in all of history. Such a picture is no longer considered believable; at present what is taken to be the realm of Ashoka is a discontinuous set of several core regions separated by very large areas occupied by relatively autonomous peoples.
- ^ a b
Ludden, David (2013), India and South Asia: A Short History, Oneworld Publications, pp. 28–29, ISBN 978-1-78074-108-6Quote: "A creative explosion in all the arts was a most remarkable feature of this ancient transformation, a permanent cultural legacy. Mauryan territory was created in its day by awesome armies and dreadful war, but future generations would cherish its beautiful pillars, inscriptions, coins, sculptures, buildings, ceremonies, and texts, particularly later Buddhist writers."
- ^ ISBN 978-1-316-41898-7
- ISBN 978-1-316-41898-7
- ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8,
Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south.
- ^ Smith, Vincent Arthur (1920), The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911, Clarendon Press, pp. 104–106
- ^ Majumdar, R. C.; Raychaudhuri, H. C.; Datta, Kalikinkar (1950), An Advanced History of India (Second ed.), Macmillan & Company, p. 104
- ^ a b Schwartzberg, Joseph E. A Historical Atlas of South Asia , 2nd ed. (University of Minnesota, 1992), Plate III.B.4b (p.18) and Plate XIV.1a-c (p.145) |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/ |date=26 January 2021
- ISBN 9788122411980.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-873350-8.
- ISBN 978-0-7619-9664-4.
- ^ Smith, vincent A. (1981). The Oxford History Of India Part. 1-3, Ed. 4th. Oxford University Press. p. 99.
the only direct evidence throwing light ....is that of Jain tradition. ...it may be that he embraced Jainism towards the end of his reign. ...after much consideration I am inclined to accept the main facts as affirmed by tradition .... no alternative account exists.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-0341-7.
It was here, in the third century BC, that the first Emperor of India, Chandragupta Maurya, embraced the Jain religion and died through a self-imposed fast to the death,......
- ISBN 978-0-8021-9550-0.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-5381-2294-5.
- ISBN 978-90-04-29391-5.
- ISBN 0415356156. pp. 188-189.
- JSTOR 1170959.
- ISSN 1076-156X. Archived from the originalon 20 May 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- ISBN 9788120804661.
- ^ a b
Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, pp. 16–17, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8Quote: "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south."
- ^
Ludden, David (2013), India and South Asia: A Short History, Oneworld Publications, pp. 29–30, ISBN 978-1-78074-108-6|quote=The geography of the Mauryan Empire resembled a spider with a small dense body and long spindly legs. The highest echelons of imperial society lived in the inner circle composed of the ruler, his immediate family, other relatives, and close allies, who formed a dynastic core. Outside the core, empire travelled stringy routes dotted with armed cities. Outside the palace, in the capital cities, the highest ranks in the imperial elite were held by military commanders whose active loyalty and success in war determined imperial fortunes. Wherever these men failed or rebelled, dynastic power crumbled. ... Imperial society flourished where elites mingled; they were its backbone, its strength was theirs. Kautilya's Arthasastra indicates that imperial power was concentrated in its original heartland, in old Magadha, where key institutions seem to have survived for about seven hundred years, down to the age of the Guptas. Here, Mauryan officials ruled local society, but not elsewhere. In provincial towns and cities, officials formed a top layer of royalty; under them, old conquered royal families were not removed, but rather subordinated. In most janapadas, the Mauryan Empire consisted of strategic urban sites connected loosely to vast hinterlands through lineages and local elites who were there when the Mauryas arrived and were still in control when they left.
- ^ Hermann Kulke 2004, pp. xii, 448.
- ISBN 0-14-013835-8.
- ISBN 978-0-8021-3797-5.
- ^ a b R. K. Mookerji 1966, p. 31.
- Aria (modern Herat) "has been wrongly included in the list of ceded satrapies by some scholars ... on the basis of wrong assessments of the passage of Strabo ... and a statement by Pliny" (Raychaudhuri & Mukherjee 1996, p. 594).
- ^ John D Grainger 2014, p. 109: Seleucus "must ... have held Aria", and furthermore, his "son Antiochos was active there fifteen years later".
- ^ Bhandari, Shirin (5 January 2016). "Dinner on the Grand Trunk Road". Roads & Kingdoms. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- ^ Hermann Kulke 2004, p. 67.
- ^
Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, p. 24, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8Quote: "Yet Sumit Guha considers that 20 million is an upper limit. This is because the demographic growth experienced in core areas is likely to have been less than that experienced in areas that were more lightly settled in the early historic period. The position taken here is that the population in Mauryan times (320–220 BCE) was between 15 and 30 million—although it may have been a little more, or it may have been a little less."
- ^
Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day, Oxford University Press, p. 19, ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8Quote: "Accordingly, as tribal societies were encountered by the expanding Indo-Aryan societies, so the evolving caste system provided a framework within which—invariably at a low level—tribal people could be placed. For example, by the time of the Mauryan Empire (c.320–230 bce) the caste system was quite well established and the Aranyachará (i.e. forest people) were grouped with the most despised castes. ... The evolution of Indo-Aryan society in the centuries before c.200 bce not only saw increased segregation with respect to caste, it also seems to have seen increased differentiation with respect to gender. ... Therefore, by the time of the Mauryan Empire the position of women in mainstream Indo-Aryan society seems to have deteriorated. Customs such as child marriage and dowry were becoming entrenched; and a young women's purpose in life was to provide sons for the male lineage into which she married. To quote the Arthashāstra: 'wives are there for having sons'. Practices such as female infanticide and the neglect of young girls were possibly also developing at this time, especially among higher caste people. Further, due to the increasingly hierarchical nature of the society, marriage was possibly becoming an even more crucial institution for childbearing and the formalization of relationships between groups. In turn, this may have contributed to the growth of increasingly instrumental attitudes towards women and girls (who moved home at marriage). It is important to note that, in all likelihood, these developments did not affect people living in large parts of the subcontinent—such as those in the south, and tribal communities inhabiting the forested hill and plateau areas of central and eastern India. That said, these deleterious features have continued to blight Indo-Aryan speaking areas of the subcontinent until the present day."
- ^ "It is doubtful if, in its present shape, [the Arthashastra] is as old as the time of the first Maurya", as it probably contains layers of text ranging from Maurya times till as late as the 2nd century CE. Nonetheless, "though a comparatively late work, it may be used ... to confirm and supplement the information gleaned from earlier sources". (Raychaudhuri & Mukherjee 1996, pp. 246–247)
- ^ a b c d e Irfan Habib & Vivekanand Jha 2004, p. 14.
- ^ ISBN 9788131716779.
- ^ "Annual Report Of Mysore 1886 To 1903" – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Epigraphia Indica Vol.20. Archaeological Survey of India. 1920. p. 80.
- D. C. Sircar (1968). "The Satavahanas and the Chedis". In R. C. Majumdar (ed.). The Age of Imperial Unity. Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan. p. 215.
- ^ R. K. Mookerji 1966, p. 14.
- ^ a b R. K. Mookerji 1966, p. 15.
- ^ H. C. Raychaudhuri 1988, p. 140.
- ^ R. K. Mookerji 1966, p. 8.
- ]
- ^ Kosmin 2014, p. 31.
- ISBN 9788122411980.
- ISBN 9788122411980.
- ^ :"Androcottus, when he was a stripling, saw Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the country, since its king was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth." Plutarch 62-3 Plutarch 62-3 Archived 28 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ :"He was of humble Indian to a change of rule." Justin XV.4.15 "Fuit hic humili quidem genere natus, sed ad regni potestatem maiestate numinis inpulsus. Quippe cum procacitate sua Nandrum regem offendisset, interfici a rege iussus salutem pedum ceieritate quaesierat. (Ex qua fatigatione cum somno captus iaceret, leo ingentis formae ad dormientem accessit sudoremque profluentem lingua ei detersit expergefactumque blande reliquit. Hoc prodigio primum ad spem regni inpulsus) contractis latronibus Indos ad nouitatem regni sollicitauit." Justin XV.4.15 Archived 1 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Hermann Kulke 2004, p. 69–70.
- ^ Thapar 2013, pp. 362–364.
- ^ a b Sen 1895, pp. 26–32.
- ^ Upinder Singh 2008, p. 272.
- ^ Mookerji 1988, pp. 28–33.
- ^ Hemacandra 1998, pp. 175–188.
- ^ Mookerji 1988, p. 33.
- ^ Malalasekera 2002, p. 383.
- ^ Mookerji 1988, pp. 33–34.
- ^ Trautmann 1971, p. 43.
- ISBN 9788120804050. Archivedfrom the original on 27 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
- ^ Mookerji 1988, p. 34.
- ^ Roy 2012, p. 62.
- ^ ISBN 0313309426. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ISBN 978-0803260047. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- ^ s, deepak (25 October 2016). Indian civilization. deepak shinde.
- ^ Kosmin 2014, p. 38.
- Sandracottus, the king of the Indians.
- Ectabana is to be compared with them. ... In the parks, tame peacocks and pheasants are kept." Aelian, Characteristics of animals book XIII, Chapter 18, also quoted in The Cambridge History of India, Volume 1, p411
- ^ Romila Thapar (1961), Aśoka and the decline of the Mauryas, Volume 5, p.129, Oxford University Press. "The architectural closeness of certain buildings in Achaemenid Iran and Mauryan India have raised much comment. The royal palace at Pataliputra is the most striking example and has been compared with the palaces at Susa, Ecbatana, and Persepolis."
- ^ a b c Upinder Singh 2008, p. 331.
- ^ Kosmin 2014, p. 32.
- ISBN 9788175330832.
- ISBN 9788120810235.
- ^ R. K. Mookerji 1966, pp. 39–40.
- ^ a b Geoffrey Samuel 2010, pp. 60.
- ^ a b Romila Thapar 2004, p. 178.
- ^ a b R. K. Mookerji 1966, pp. 39–41.
- ^ Srinivasachariar 1974, p. lxxxvii.
- ISBN 9788120613034.
- ^ Rajendralal Mitra (1878). "On the Early Life of Asoka". Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Asiatic Society of Bengal: 10.
- ISBN 9788120811508.
- ^ a b c Kosmin 2014, p. 35.
- ^ Alain Daniélou 2003, p. 108.
- ^ Dineschandra Sircar 1971, p. 167.
- ISBN 9781108009416.
- ISBN 978-81-208-0582-8. Archivedfrom the original on 10 May 2018.
- ^ a b Alain Daniélou 2003, p. 109.
- ^ Eugène Burnouf (1911). Legends of Indian Buddhism. New York: E. P. Dutton. p. 59.
- ^ a b c d S. N. Sen 1999, p. 142.
- ^ "Three Greek ambassadors are known by name: Megasthenes, ambassador to Chandragupta; Deimachus, ambassador to Chandragupta's son Bindusara; and Dyonisius, whom Ptolemy Philadelphus sent to the court of Ashoka, Bindusara's son", McEvilley, p.367
- ^ India, the Ancient Past, Burjor Avari, pp. 108–109
- ^ Arthur Llewellyn Basham, History and doctrines of the Ājīvikas: a vanished Indian religion, pp. 138, 146
- ^ Anukul Chandra Banerjee, Buddhism in comparative light, p. 24
- ^ Beni Madhab Barua, Ishwar Nath Topa, Ashoka and his inscriptions, Volume 1, p. 171
- ISBN 9788120808805.
- H. H. Wilson. Trübner & Co. p. 188.
- ^ Allchin, F. R.; Erdosy, George (1995). The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 306.
- ^ Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, translation S. Dhammika.
- ISBN 9780198077244.
- ^ Singh 2012, p. 131, 143.
- ^ According to the Ashokavadana
- ISBN 81-85204-32-2, p. 38
- ^ E. Lamotte, History of Indian Buddhism, Institut Orientaliste, Louvain-la-Neuve 1988 (1958)
- ^ Romila Thapar (1960), Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Oxford University Press, p. 200
- ISBN 978-81-208-0041-0.
- ISBN 9788122411980.
- ISBN 9780313333484.
- ^ R. C. Majumdar 2003, p. 107.
- ISBN 9780415329200.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7391-0607-5.
- ISBN 9788184245684.
- ^ Narain Singh Kalota (1978). India As Described By Megasthenes.
- ^ "Explained: History and politics of caste census in Bihar | India News - Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ The Economic History of the Corporate Form in Ancient India. Archived 4 February 2016 at the Wayback Machine University of Michigan.
- ^ CNG Coins Archived 27 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ISBN 9788122411980.
- ISBN 978-1-351-99731-7.
- ISBN 9788124600566.
- Raychauduhuri, H. C.; Datta, Kalikinkar (1960), An Advanced History of India, London: Macmillan & Company Ltd; New York: St Martin's Press,
If the Jaina tradition is to be believed, Chandragupta was converted to the religion of Mahavira. He is said to have abdicated his throne and passed his last days at Sravana Belgola in Mysore. Greek evidence, however, suggests that the first Maurya did not give up the performance of Brahmanical sacrificial rites and was far from following the Jaina creed of Ahimsa or non-injury to animals. He took delight in hunting, a practice that was continued by his son and alluded to by his grandson in his eighth Rock Edict. It is, however, possible that in his last days he showed some predilection for Jainism ...
- ISBN 9788186782576.
- ^ Hermann Kulke 2004, pp. 64–65.
- ^ Mookerji, Radhakumud (1966). Chandragupta Maurya and his times. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 40–50.
There is also no evidence to prove the fact taken for granted without the need of any argument or demonstration by all Jain writers that Chandragupta ever became a convert to their religion after abdication. It's possible they are talking about his great grandson.
- ^ John Cort 2010, p. 142.
- ^ John Cort 2010, p. 199.
- ^ Tukol, T. K. Jainism in South India. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
- ISBN 9788186867532.
- ^ Beni Madhab Barua (1968). Asoka and His Inscriptions. Vol. 1. p. 171.
- ^ Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press), 46
- ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8Quote: "Yet Sumit Guha considers that 20 million is an upper limit. This is because the demographic growth experienced in core areas is likely to have been less than that experienced in areas that were more lightly settled in the early historic period. The position taken here is that the population in Mauryan times (320–220 bce) was between 15 and 30 million—although it may have been a little more, or it may have been a little less."
- ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8
- ^ "L'age d'or de l'Inde Classique", p23
- ^ "L'age d'or de l'Inde Classique", p22
- ^ Described in Marshall p.25-28 Ashoka pillar.
- ^ Ramaprasad, Chanda (1919). Indian Antiquary A Journal Of Oriental Research Vol.48. pp. 25-28.
- ISBN 978-1-408-70388-5.
- ^ Rangarajan, M. (2001) India's Wildlife History, pp 7.
- ^ a b c Rangarajan, M. (2001) India's Wildlife History, pp 8.
- ^ ISBN 9788120804050.
- ^ "Plutarch, Alexander, chapter 1, section 1". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
- ^ "(Transitum deinde in Indiam fecit), quae post mortem Alexandri, ueluti ceruicibus iugo seruitutis excusso, praefectos eius occiderat. Auctor libertatis Sandrocottus fuerat, sed titulum libertatis post uictoriam in seruitutem uerterat; 14 siquidem occupato regno populum quem ab externa dominatione uindicauerat ipse seruitio premebat." Justin XV.4.12–13 Archived 20 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Molienti deinde bellum aduersus praefectos Alexandri elephantus ferus infinitae magnitudinis ultro se obtulit et ueluti domita mansuetudine eum tergo excepit duxque belli et proeliator insignis fuit. Sic adquisito regno Sandrocottus ea tempestate, qua Seleucus futurae magnitudinis fundamenta iaciebat, Indiam possidebat." Justin XV.4.19 Archived 20 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Appian, The Syrian Wars 11". Archived from the original on 3 November 2007.
- ^ Bachhofer, Ludwig (1929). Early Indian Sculpture Vol. I. Paris: The Pegasus Press. pp. 239–240.
- ISBN 978-0-391-02172-3..
- ISBN 978-0-391-02172-3.
- ^ Annual Report 1907-08. 1911. p. 55.
- ^ R. C. Majumdar 2003, p. 105.
- ^ Ancient India, (Kachroo, p.196)
- ^ The Imperial Gazetteer of India (Hunter, p.167)
- ^ The evolution of man and society (Darlington, p.223)
- ^ W. W. Tarn (1940). "Two Notes on Seleucid History: 1. Seleucus' 500 Elephants, 2. Tarmita", The Journal of Hellenic Studies 60, p. 84–94.
- ^ Kosmin 2014, p. 37.
- ^ "Pliny the Elder, The Natural History (eds. John Bostock, H. T. Riley)". Archived from the original on 28 July 2013.
- ISBN 81-206-1303-1.
- ^ Walter Eugene Clark (1919). "The Importance of Hellenism from the Point of View of Indic-Philology", Classical Philology 14 (4), pp. 297–313.
- ^ "Problem while searching in The Literature Collection". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007.
- ^ "The Literature Collection: The deipnosophists, or, Banquet of the learned of Athenæus (volume III): Book XIV". Archived from the original on 11 October 2007.
- ISBN 0-415-35615-6
- ^ Kosmin 2014, p. 57.
- ^ Thomas Mc Evilly "The shape of ancient thought", Allworth Press, New York, 2002, p.368
- ^ Mahavamsa chapter XII Archived 5 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No document found". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008.
- ^ D. C. Ahir (1998). Buddhism in North India and Pakistan. p. 121.
- ^ Kailash Chand Jain 1991, p. 85.
Sources
- Alain Daniélou (2003). A Brief History of India. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-59477-794-3.
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- Burton Stein (1998). A History of India (1st ed.), Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
- Geoffrey Samuel (2010). The Origins of Yoga and Tantra. Indic Religions to the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge University Press.
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- Hermann Kulke; Dietmar Rothermund (2004). A History of India (4th ed.). ISBN 0-415-15481-2.
- Irfan Habib; Vivekanand Jha (2004). Mauryan India. A People's History of India. Aligarh Historians Society / ISBN 978-81-85229-92-8.
- J. E. Schwartzberg (1992). A Historical Atlas of South Asia. University of Oxford Press.
- John Keay (2000). India, a History. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
- ISBN 978-0-19-538502-1.
- John D Grainger (2014). Seleukos Nikator (Routledge Revivals): Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-317-80098-9.
- Hemacandra (1998), The Lives of the Jain Elders, translated by R.C.C. Fynes, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-283227-6
- Kailash Chand Jain (1991). Lord Mahāvīra and His Times. ISBN 978-81-208-0805-8.
- ISBN 978-0-674-72882-0.
- Malalasekera, Gunapala Piyasena (2002), Encyclopaedia of Buddhism: Acala, Government of Ceylon
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- ISBN 81-208-0433-3
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- Roy, Kaushik (2012), Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1-107-01736-8
- Sen, R.K. (1895), "Origin of the Maurya of Magadha and of Chanakya", Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India, The Society
- S. N. Sen (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
- Upinder Singh (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson. ISBN 978-81-317-1677-9.
- Romila Thapar (2004) [first published by Penguin in 2002]. Early India: From the Origins to A.D. 1300. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-24225-8.
- ISBN 978-0-674-72651-2
External links
- Livius.org: Maurya dynasty. Archived 26 February 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
- Extent of the Empire
- Ashoka's Edicts (archived 28 March 2014)