UPSC CORE GEOGRAPHY · NCERT · SHARMA CH 15-16: THE AGE OF THE MAURYAS + SIGNIFICANCE OF MAURYAN RULE
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Three main sources for Mauryan history?
(i) ARTHASHASTRA — Sanskrit treatise on statecraft by KAUTILYA (Chandragupta's minister); 15 books; rediscovered 1905 by R. Shamasastry. (ii) INDICA by MEGASTHENES (Greek envoy); now lost but extensively quoted by Strabo, Arrian, Diodorus, Pliny. (iii) ASHOKA'S EDICTS — 33 inscriptions on rocks + pillars (3rd c. BCE) in PRAKRIT/Brahmi.
Megasthenes' Indica — what did it describe?
Megasthenes (Greek ambassador from Seleucus to Chandragupta's court ~302-298 BCE) described: (i) PATALIPUTRA — wooden palisaded walls 9.5 miles, 64 gates, 570 towers; (ii) MAURYAN ARMY — 600,000 infantry + 30,000 cavalry + 9,000 elephants + 8,000 chariots; (iii) ADMINISTRATION — boards of 5 for war + civil; (iv) SOCIETY — 7 castes (philosophers, peasants, herdsmen, artisans, soldiers, overseers, councillors — slightly different from varna).
Ashokan edicts — types?
FOUR types: (i) MAJOR ROCK EDICTS (14, on rocks, in 8 places — Girnar, Dhauli, Jaugada, Kalsi, Mansehra, Shahbazgarhi, Yerragudi, Sopara). (ii) MINOR ROCK EDICTS (~15 places — esp. Maski, Brahmagiri, Gavimath, Palkigundu — early). (iii) PILLAR EDICTS (7, on stone pillars — Topra/Delhi, Meerut/Delhi, Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya-Nandangarh, Rampurva, Allahabad-Kosam, Sarnath). (iv) CAVE EDICTS (3, BARABAR HILLS — Jain Ajivika dedications).
Other sources?
PURANAS (Vishnu, Vayu, Bhagavata) — list Mauryan kings + reigns. JAIN tradition (Hemachandra's Parishishtaparvan) — Chandragupta + Bhadrabahu + Shravanabelagola. BUDDHIST tradition (Mahavamsa, Dipavamsa of Sri Lanka; Divyavadana, Ashokavadana) — Ashoka's religious activity. COIN finds. Mauryan-era ruins (Kumrahar palace pillared hall at Patna).
How did Chandragupta + Chanakya plan the Nanda overthrow?
CHANAKYA (Vishnugupta / Kautilya) — Brahmin scholar at Takshashila; insulted by Dhanananda; vowed revenge. Recognised the YOUNG CHANDRAGUPTA (low-born, possibly a Moriya/Maurya tribal) as a leader. Chandragupta first tried + failed (attacking from the centre); then per Buddhist tradition learned strategy from a mother feeding her child (eat from the edge first, not the centre); attacked PERIPHERAL Nanda territories first; finally besieged + captured PATALIPUTRA ~321 BCE.
Chandragupta vs Seleucus (305 BCE)?
SELEUCUS NIKATOR — one of Alexander's top generals; inherited the eastern Persian empire after Alexander's death; tried to reconquer NW India ~305 BCE. Chandragupta defeated him; Seleucus ceded the four satrapies of ARACHOSIA (Kandahar) + GEDROSIA (Balochistan) + PAROPAMISADAE (Kabul) + ARIA (Herat) to Chandragupta + gave his daughter HELENA in marriage. In return Chandragupta gave 500 WAR ELEPHANTS (which Seleucus used to win the Battle of Ipsus 301 BCE!).
Megasthenes at Chandragupta's court?
After the treaty, Seleucus sent MEGASTHENES as his ambassador to Pataliputra (~302-298 BCE); stayed several years; observed Mauryan administration + society + city-life; wrote INDICA (now lost, only fragments preserved in Strabo, Arrian, Diodorus, Pliny). Source for the famous accounts of Pataliputra's wooden walls + Mauryan army strength.
How did Chandragupta die?
Per JAIN tradition (Hemachandra's Parishishtaparvan, ~12 c. CE) — Chandragupta abdicated for his son BINDUSARA in old age (~297 BCE); travelled south with his Jain teacher BHADRABAHU during the 12-year drought; took monastic vows + died of SALLEKHANA (ritual fasting to death) at SHRAVANABELAGOLA (Karnataka) — the hill where the Bahubali colossus stands.
Who was Bindusara?
CHANDRAGUPTA'S son (r. 297-273 BCE); known to Greeks as "AMITROCHATES" (Sanskrit AMITRAGHATA = "slayer of foes" — title earned for southern conquests). Extended the empire SOUTH to MYSORE region; Mauryan empire reached its peak under him + his son Ashoka.
Did Bindusara have Greek envoys?
YES — Greek records mention DEIMACHOS (envoy of Antiochus I of Syria) + DIONYSIUS (envoy of Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt) + a DEMETRIUS — all visited Bindusara's court at Pataliputra. Greek influence at Mauryan court continued beyond Chandragupta.
Did Bindusara have Ajivika sympathies?
Per Buddhist tradition (Divyavadana), Bindusara was an AJIVIKA in religion + had a court Ajivika ascetic JANASANA / PINGALAVATSA who predicted that Bindusara's son ASHOKA would be a great king. (Bindusara's preferred son was Susima — but Ashoka, son of a lesser queen, succeeded.)
Taxila revolt under Ashoka as viceroy?
Bindusara appointed his son SUSIMA as viceroy of TAXILA. The people revolted against the misgovernance of Susima's ministers. Bindusara then sent ASHOKA (still a younger son) as governor — Ashoka pacified the city without bloodshed (per legend, the local nobles welcomed him). This was Ashoka's administrative training ground.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, drawn from the chapter Sharma Ch 15-16: The Age of the Mauryas + Significance of Mauryan Rule. Content is cross-referenced against the latest NCERT textbook editions + standard reference works.
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