Mauryan Society and Economy and Megasthenes' Indica (in Hindi)

Lesson 12 of 16 • 41 upvotes • 14:19mins

Abhyudaya Kelkar

Similarly as Arthashastra is helpful in reconstructing the Mauryan Polity, Megasthenes’ ‘Indica’ is helpful in reconstructing the social structure of India during the Mauryan period. Megasthenes was the ambassador of Seleucus Nicator, a Hellenistic emperor, appointed to the court of Chandragupta Maurya after Seleucus’ defeat at the hands of Chandragupta c.305 BC. Megasthenes wrote ‘Indica’, which is mostly lost and available in fragments and in the form of derivative works of later Roman historians. Nevertheless, many details can be extracted out of it, particularly about the caste structure, economy and general philosophy of people and the state. Although many later historians did not rely on it, rather discredited it, it is still helpful in understanding the life of a common man during the Mauryan period. So, most of this lesson will be based on Indica and some remaining portions of Arthashastra that could not be covered in the previous lesson. With this lesson, we will conclude this part, Part-IV – The Mauryan Period.