THE MAURYAN EMPIRE
* The founder of the Mauryan Empire was Chandragupta Maurya in 321 BC
* The Mauryans (324-187) were successful in building an Empire that covered almost the entire subcontinent.
* They are the first historical dynasty in the history of India.
* Arthasatra was a book by Kautilya, the guide and mentor of Chandragupta Maurya.
* It is the first India text to define a state.
* Ashoka was the Mauryan king who was known for his adoption of dhamma.
* Dhamma is the Prakrit equivalent of the Sanskrit word dharma.
* The Mauryan Empire was built on the foundation laid by the Nandes.
* After Alexander left India, there was a power vacuum in north-west India.
* The Mauryan rulers had a good relationship with other rulers.
* Apart from Greek, the Mauryans also had a good connection with modern Nepal.
* Under Mauryan Empire economy was predominantly agrarian and land revenue became a source of income.
Reason for the emergence of the Mauryan empire
1. Kautilya's strategy: Earlier, Chandragupta Maurya and his supporter were inferior to the Nandes in armed forces. Therefore, he used Kautilya's strategy and began his task by harassing the outlying areas of Nandes kingdom and gradually moved towards the centre and gain controlled over the Ganges valley.
2. Alexander's Departure: As mentioned earlier, as soon as Alexander had left India, there was a political vacuum in the north-west India and these factors created a chance for the Mauryan to seized the Indus region.
3. The Efficiency of the Mauryan rulers: The Mauryan rulers such as Chandragupta, Bindusara and Ashoka were able rulers and the empire was taking its shape under them.
4. Relationship with other rulers: The Mauryans maintained friendly relationship with other rulers by means of Marriage alliance and regular exchange of envoys between them.
5. Economic factor: The economy of the Mauryan empire was agrarian. The administrative system was largely concerned with the efficient collection of taxes and it became one reason for its emergence as an empire.
Nature and Structure of the Mauryan empire
The nature and structure of the Mauryan empire can be known from the three sources: Arthasastra by Kautilya, Indica by Megasthenes and Ashoka's inscription.
The Monarch: The Mauryan state was a monarchical state. The king was the central focus in the empire.
Bureaucracy: There were a number of high officers in charge of important portfolios in the Mauryan State. The Arthasastra mentions the Samahartri (chief collector of revenue), Samnidhatri (treasurer), Dauvarika (chief of the palace attendants), Antaravamshika (chief of palace guard), Adhyakshas (departmental heads).
The mahamatas including the anta-mahamatas (incharge of frontier areas), itthijhakka-mahamatas (incharge of women's welfare) and the dharma-mahamattas (incharge of spreading dharma) are mentioned in the Ashoka's inscriptions.
Pradeshika, rajuka and yukta were important officers at the district level, and pativedakas and pulisani who acted as a spies or reporters. The Parishad was a small body to direct the officers known as yutkas to discharge certain duties.
The inscriptions suggest that the Mauryan empire was divided into provinces under governors. Royal princes were appointed to these places as governors (kumara).
Treasury: Kosha (treasury) was given importance by the Arthasastra. Kshetra (land) is listed among items of property. Taxes like bhaga, kara, bali and udaka-bhaga were levied from the people.
Army: The political unification of nearly the whole of India under the Mauryas was achieved with the help of huge army. Kautilya mentioned a standing army while Megasthenes mentioned about navy but the inscription is silent about it.
Decline of the Mauryan Empire
The reasons for the decline of the Mauryan empire can be discussed as follows:-
1. Brahmanical reaction: Ashoka's pro-Buddhist policy and his disregard to ritualism, sacrifices and Dharma-mahamatras resulted in a strong Brahmanical reaction. Due to anti-sacrifice attitude of Ashoka, this adversely affected the incomes of Mauryan empire. Ashoka also denounced varna discrimination.
2. Ashoka's responsibility: Ashoka was blamed for bringing disintegration within the empire. It is said that his extreme emphasis on non-violence or ahimsa weakened the Mauryan army. They were incapable to face Greek invaders and also not able to suppress the revolt of provincial governors. However, these factor cannot be accepted for the primary reason to the downfall of the empire.
3. System of administration and weak successors: The success of the Mauryan empire depended heavily on the efficiency and loyalty of the vast bureaucracy. Therefore, it required strong and efficient rulers like Ashoka to run administration effectively. After the death of Ashoka, his successors were not able to hold the empire together. Thus, within half a century, the Mauryan empire disintegrated.
4. Financial Crisis: According to D.D. Kosambi the primary cause of the downfall of the Mauryan empire was its financial crisis. The enormous expenditure on the army and payment to the bureaucracy could not be sufficiently met by heavy taxes and this created financial crisis.
5. Oppressive rule: The provincial governors misruled the provinces and there were complaints about their oppressive rules. The Kalinga edicts shows that Ashoka was much concerned about oppression in the provinces and therefor, asked mahamatras not to tyrannize the townsmen without due cause. He himself even toured the empire. However, after his retirement all of these measures failed, Taxila took the earliest opportunity to throw off the imperial yoke.
Therefore, soon after the death of Ashoka, the Mauryan empire disintegrated.
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