Mauryan Empire

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Maurya Empire Summary

Mauryan Empire

(322–184 BCE). The age of the Mauryas heralded a new chapter in the history of the Indian subcontinent; the people witnessed for the first time a unified empire covering most of present-day India and Pakistan. The founder of the dynasty, Chandragupta Maurya (reigned 322–298 BCE), deposed the unpopular ruler, Dhana Nanda (reigned 334–322 BCE) of Pataliputra (now Patna), with the help of Chanakya (fourth century BCE). In 305 BCE Chandragupta Maurya defeated the Greek General Seleucus Nikator (358?–281 BCE) and became master of the trans-Indus region. Bindusara (reigned 298–273 BCE) inherited from him not only a vast empire covering the Indo-Gangetic plains of the Ganga and Indus rivers, as well as the Deccan, but also a well-organized administrative system.

The Buddhist tradition speaks about Bindusar's successor Asoka's (reigned 273–236 BCE) cruel nature in the early part of his life and holds that this cruel nature changed under the influence of Buddhism, but most scholars regard this as mere fiction. The actual coronation of Asoka took place in the year 269 BCE, and he turned his attention toward the prosperous province of Kalinga in the eastern part of India. Asoka attacked Kalinga in 261 BCE, which resulted in the large-scale killing of about one hundred thousand people including both sides. Although Kalinga became a part of the Mauryan Empire, Asoka had a change of heart and relinquished war in favor of victory by dhamma (righteous path/piety). Converted to Buddhism, he convened the Third Buddhist Council in 251 BCE; sent missionaries to far-off places such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, central Asia, and so on; granted large endowments; built monasteries; and erected commemorative pillars and eighty-four thousand stupas. Under Asoka's patronage, Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia and the Far East.

In tune with the policy of dhamma, Asoka insisted on high ethical standards for his subjects and set a high ideal for himself. Asokan edicts engraved on rocks and pillars throughout his empire are living testimony to the greatness of the emperor. Here was a king who was concerned for the material and moral welfare of his subjects and said, "All men are my children." Spending substantial amounts from the royal treasury, Asoka left no stone unturned for the welfare of his subjects by his benevolent measures. As a testimony to his rule, the Indian government on 26 January 1950 adopted the four-lion capital of the Asokan pillar as its national emblem, and the wheel of dhamma is embedded in the center of Indian national flag.

The successors of the emperor were not worthy of Asoka and the Mauryan Empire began to disintegrate. The empire officially ended in 184 BCE, after Pushyamitra Sunga (reigned 187–151 BCE) assassinated the last Mauryan ruler, Brihadratha (d. 187 BCE).