UPSC CORE · NCERT HISTORY · SHARMA CH 15-16: THE AGE OF THE MAURYAS + SIGNIFICANCE OF MAURYAN RULE
📚 NCERT TEXTBOOK ALIGNMENT
Class UPSC History — NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar) — Chapter: Sharma Ch 15-16: The Age of the Mauryas + Significance of Mauryan Rule.
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).
Primary sources for Mauryan history include:
Megasthenes' Indica (fragments), Kautilya's Arthashastra, Ashokan edicts, Vishakhadatta's Mudrarakshasa, Buddhist Jatakas, Jain texts, Puranic king-lists.
Megasthenes was the Greek ambassador of:
Seleucus I Nicator at the court of Chandragupta Maurya at Pataliputra (c. 302 BCE) — wrote 'Indica' (lost, surviving in fragments).
Major literary source for Mauryan history is?
Kautilya's Arthashastra
Megasthenes' account of Mauryas is called?
Indica (preserved in fragments through Diodorus, Strabo, Arrian)
Megasthenes was an envoy of which Greek ruler?
Seleucus Nicator (to Chandragupta's court)
Mauryan history sources include which Buddhist texts?
Mahavamsa, Dipavamsa (Sri Lankan chronicles)
Mauryan history sources include which Jain text?
Parishishtaparvan by Hemachandra
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.
This topic is part of the NCERT UPSC Core History syllabus, specifically the textbook NCERT Class 11/12 + standard reference works (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar), 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 (Bipan Chandra, R.S. Sharma, Romila Thapar, Satish Chandra for history; G.C. Leong, Savindra Singh for geography; the UPSC Civil Services prelims + mains syllabus).
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