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Literary sources such as Kautilya’s Arthashastra, Megasthenes’ Indica, and Ashoka’s edicts shed more insight into this period’s history. Several additional literary texts illustrate the Mauryan king’s various features. They are as follows:
- The Kadambari of Banabhatta
- The Mahavamsa, Milindapanho, and Mahabhashya are three Buddhist writings that give us an account of Chandragupta’s life
- Ashoka is mentioned in the Buddhist texts Dipavamsa, Ashokavadana, Divyavadana, and Mahavamsa
- Chandragupta’s relationship with Jainism is established in Hema Chandra’s Parishishta Parvan
- Mudrarakshasa by Vishakhadatta (about 5th century CE) is a historical drama about Chanakya’s devious schemes against Chandragupta’s adversaries.
Chandragupta Maurya – The Founder of the Mauryan Empire
The origins of Chandragupta remain unknown. He is mentioned as being of non-warrior lineage in the Greek texts (which are the oldest). According to Hindu scriptures, he was a poor student of Kautilya (probably born to a Shudra woman). He was a Kshatriya, according to most Buddhist scriptures.
It is often assumed that he was an orphaned youngster who was raised by Kautilya in a modest home. Sandrokottos is the name given to him in Greek records. In 324 BC, Alexander abandoned his conquest of India, and Chandragupta destroyed the Greek-ruled cities in the country’s northwestern region within a year.
Kautilya devised the plan, which Chandragupta carried out. They had formed their mercenary army. They then made their way eastward towards Magadha. In around 321 BC, he conquered Dhana Nanda in a series of conflicts and set the foundations for the Mauryan king.
In 305 BC, Chandragupta signed a pact with Seleucus Nicator, acquiring Baluchistan, eastern Afghanistan, and the territory west of the Indus. He also married the daughter of Seleucus Nicator. Seleucus Nicator received 500 elephants in exchange. Seleucus Nicator avoided a full-scale conflict with the great Chandragupta in exchange for war assets that would help him defeat his opponents in the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC.
Megasthenes served as the Greek ambassador in Chandragupta’s court. Except for a few locations like Kalinga and the far south, Chandragupta spearheaded an expansionist programme that brought practically all of modern-day India under his rule.
He was king from 321 BC to 297 BC. He abdicated the crown in favour of his son, Bindusara, and accompanied Jain monk Bhadrabahu to Karnataka. According to Jain legend, he had converted to Jainism and is claimed to have starved himself to death at Shravanabelagola.
Bindusara (297–273 BCE)
Greek scholars regard him as Amitrochates (destroyer of foes), while the Mahabhasya calls him Amitraghata (killer of enemies). Bindusara’s son Ashoka’s future greatness was foreseen by a fortune-teller, according to the Ajivika sect.
Bindusara conquered the region between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. According to Taranatha, a Tibetan monk who compiled a 17th-century Buddhist history, Chanakya, one of Binduasara’s lords, annihilated the nobles and kings of 16 towns and made him master of all the area between the eastern and western seas.
He had diplomatic contacts with western kingdoms, according to the Greek source. According to Strabo, Antiochus (the Syrian king) dispatched Deimachus to Bindusara’s court as an emissary.
Ashoka (268–232 BCE)
After Bindusara died in 273 BCE, there was a four-year succession dispute. Susima, Bindusara’s son, was to be his successor. Ashoka (son of Bindusara) ascended to the throne with the help of a minister named Radhagupta after slaughtering 99 brothers. During Bindusara’s reign, Ashoka served as Viceroy of Taxila and Ujjain (both of which were primary trade centres).
Except for a small portion in the far south, which was occupied by Cholas and Pandyas according to rock edict 13 and by Kerala Sutras and Satyaputras according to rock edict 2, the Mauryan empire covered the entire territory from Hindukush to Bengal and extended over Afghanistan, Balochistan, and the entire of India, including Kashmir and the valleys of Nepal, during Ashoka’s reign.
Brihadratha
After Ashoka’s tenure, the Maurya dynasty crumbled, and successive monarchs ruled for only a few years. When the final Mauryan king, Brihadratha, was slain by his military commander, Pushyamitra Sunga, the empire faltered and fell apart (in 187 BCE).
Maurya Architecture and Sculpture
The Mauryans made a significant contribution to art and architecture, and they pioneered large-scale stone masonry. Two styles of art and architecture arose throughout the Mauryan empire: Court art and Popular art. Mauryan court art refers to architectural works commissioned by Mauryan monarchs for political and religious purposes (in the shape of pillars, stupas, and palaces). Sculpture, cave art, ceramics, and other forms of popular art were created by ordinary people. Megasthenes called the Mauryan empire’s palaces “one of mankind’s greatest works,” while Chinese traveller Fa Hien referred to them as “god-gifted monuments.”
Ashokan pillars (typically composed of Chunar sandstone) were extremely important throughout the Mauryan empire. The primary goal of these pillars was to spread Buddhist thought and judicial orders throughout the Mauryan empire. The pillars are all monolithic and round. The four-lion capital of the Ashokan pillar in Sarnath, Benaras, has been accepted as our national emblem. Because Ashoka’s pillar inscriptions are comparable in shape and style to the Persian king Darius’ inscriptions, Mauryan art is thought to have been influenced by Persian (Achaemenian) art.
Conclusion
After the death of Ashoka about 232 BCE, the Mauryan empire began to fall. The succession of weak kings was one of the reasons for its collapse. Brihadratha, the last Mauryan ruler, was slain by his Brahmin general Pushyamitra Shunga.
