1.04INTRODUCTION
The kingdom Magadha formed one of the sixteen mahajanpadas (Countries) and was the
oldest kingdom of ancient India located on the Indo Gangetic plains of eastern India. It was
spread over what we know as Bihar today. At the peak time of its power (Maurya Period), it
asserted sovereignty over the entire eastern part of the country and extended its power to
Central Asia too. Magadha is frequently mentioned in Buddhist text and reference of
Magadha people comes in Atharva-Veda as well. The Maurya dynasty under Ashoka spread
Buddhism across the whole of East-Asia and South-East Asia.
MAHAJANPADAS
Smaller tridal footholds (Janas) came together to form a group of Janas known as
Maghajanpada
In around 600 BC there were sixteen mahajanpadas
Buddhist literature „Angutar Nikaya gives a list of 16 mahajanpadas the begening of
6th century. Also, Bhagwati Sutra (Jain text)
Major reason for the formation of mahajanapadas was the increasing use of Iron tolls
for agriculture and military purposes
This resulted in surplus produce, stronger army and territorial wars
Small and weak kingdoms surrendered to the larger kingdoms or got eliminated.
Mahajanpadas
Capital
Matsya
Viratnagar
Jaipur
Chedi
Sothivati/Banda
Bundelkhand
Avanti
Ujjain/Mahismati
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MAGADHA
Magadha defeated all 15 Mahajanpadas and merged them into one most powerful
Kingdom
Modern day Magadha- Bihar
It was consistently the most powerful Mahajanpada for 400 years (6th-2nd century)
The Magadha kings extended its power through matrimonial alliances with smaller
kingdoms and enemy kingdoms
Main Dynasties
1. Haryanka
2. Shishunag
3. Nanda
4. Maurya
5. Sunga
6. Kanva
HRYANKA DYNASTY
During the rule of Haryanka dynasty Magadha was not very powerful. It was among
small Mahajanpadas until Bimbisara (546-494 BC) became the king of this dynasty.
The dynasty bloomed during the contemporary of Buddha- Later Bimbisara adopted
buddism
Capital was Rajgir
Bimbisara augmented his power by marrying the princesses of Kosala, Lichhavi
(Vaishali) & Madra Clan (Punjab)
Acquired Anga under the viceroyalty of Ajatshatru (Born of Lichchavi Princess)
Ajatashatru
Kill his own father Bimbisara for the throne
Was a great warrior- fought with Kosala, Vaishali and Lichchavis (Destroyed it in 16
years) and won all three wars
Later embraced Buddhism and organised 1st Buddhist council at Rajgriha
Udayin
of Haryanka dynasty
the throne of Magadha
Avanti
Temporarily
Kalasoka
Final transfer of capital to patliputra
NANDA
Mahapadma Nanda the founder of Nanda Dynasty
Served as senior minister to Sisunag dynsty – killed ten sons of kalasoka who ruled
over Magadha jointly
Defeated Panchal, Kasi, Haihayas, Kalingas, Asmakas, Kurus, Maithilas amd
Surasenas
Hathigumpha inscription of king Kharvela (Kalinga) refers to conquest of kalinga by
Nandas
rule
Advantageous geographical position & rich Iron ores of Rajgir
Capitals were protected by the natural landscape:
o Rajgir- Impenetrable- Surrounded by 5 hills
o Ptliputra- a water fortress- surrounded by Ganga, Gandak, Sone and Ghagra rivers
Rulers of Magadha were first to use elephants in the war against enemies
INVASION OF PERSIA
When Magadha was striving to build its empire in India, Persia was ruled by a
powerful dynasty called Achaemenid under king Cyrus
Persia attacked North- West part of India
in around 550 BC – contemporary to reign
of Bimbisara
Mahajanpadas like kamboja and Gandhara
paved the way for the invasion of Persia
over these regions
river- all Indian tribes of river were
submitted to him including Gandhar.
Darius I, Grandson of Cyrus, conquered
Indus valley as a whole and annexed
Punjab and Sindh
Indian infantry and cavalry in war against
Greece but got defeated. Hence, could not
move forward in India.
the time Alexander invaded India
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Accelerated Indo Iranian Trade & Commerce
Use of Kharoshti script brought by Iranians gained popularity in North- West India
and some inscriptions of Ashoka is written in this language (derived from Aramaic
script, written from right to left)
Persian art like monolithic pillars and sculptures on them along with inscriptions
found fame in India.
INVASION OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Alexander of Macedonia defeated Darius III in the battle of Gaugamela in 330 BC
and conquered the whole of Persia.
Herodotus, father of history, wrote that „fabulous wealth of India attracted Alexander
and moreover his interest in geographical enquiry and love of natural history urged
him to invade India.
Alexander believed that, on the eastern side of India lay continuation of the sea and
hence by conquering India, Alexander eastern boundary of the world.
After invading Iran, he marched into India through Khyber Pass in 327 BC and
crossed Indus in 326 BC.
Ambhi who was the king of Taxila readily surrendered to Alexander but Porus whose
kingdom lay between Jhelum and Chenab refused to submit to Alexander.
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Porus fought with bravery but lot the battle
Alexander impressed by his bravery, reinstated him to his throne and made him his
ally.
Alexander advances as far as river Beas- wanted to move further but his soldiers
refused
o Ten years of continuous war and fighting drained all their enthusiasm and made
them homesick
o They were not use to Indias hot and humid weather thus, fell ill
o Feared of enormous Nanda army
Impact of Alexander’s invasion
1st contact between Europe and India- increased trade and commerce
Cultural effect- long lasting influence of Greek art on India
Encouraged political unification of India under Mauryas
Expansion of Mauryan empire under Chandragupta Maurya emerged as an end of
alexanders authority in Indus valley
MAURYAN EMPIRE (321-184 BC)
Chandragupta Maurya 321-298 BC
Founder of Maurya Empire
Defeated Nandas (It took 4 years for Chandragupta to defeat Nandas) with the help of
Kautilya (Chanakya)
Announced war against Seleucus Nicator (Alexanders governor in North-West India)
and defeated him.
Seleucus gave Chandragupta eastern Afghanistan, Baluchistan and area west of Indus
and married his daughter to the Maurya King and returned to Bactria
In return, Chandragupta gifted him 500 elephants.
Magasthenes was sent to Mauryan court as a Greek ambassador
Chandragupta called as “Sandrocottus” by Greek writer Justin
Chandragupta embraced Jainism towards the end of his life and stepped down from
the throne for his son Bindusara
He went to Mysore with Jain monks led by Bhadrabahu and starved himself to death.
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Bindusara
Nicators successor Antiochus
at Mauryan Court
Ashoka as the governor of Ujjaini
Bindusara was followed Ajivaka
Ashoka (272-231 BC/3rd Century BC)
Ashoka attacked Kalinga 8 years
Victorious war with Kalinga was the important event of Ashokas reign and most its
effect on Ashoks has been described himself in the Rock Edict 13.
The bloodthirsty war of Kalinga resulted death of 1 Lakh soldiers. This incident
informed Ashoks outlooks towards life and people.
Ashoka embraced Buddhism under the influence of Buddhist monk “Upagupta/
Mogliputra Tissa”
He abandoned policy of physical conquest in favour of policy of cultural conquest
(Bherigosha (Conqure with war) was replaced by Dhammagosa (Conqured by Virtue)
as mentioned on rock pillar 13
Appointed a class of admin administrative officers known as “Rajukas” with the
power of rewarding and punishing, whenever necessary
Declared himself as Paternal king (Father of all)
ASHOKA AND BUDDHISM
Ashokas conversion to Buddhism was gradual. He first became sakya upasaka (Lay
disciple)
After 2 and a half years he left everything and became bikshu (Monk)
Went to dhamma yatras to Sarnath, Bodh Gaya etc.
Appointed dhamma mahamantras to propagate dhamma among all social classes
Sent his son Mahendran d daughter Sangamitra to Srolanka who planted branches of
original Bodhi tree there (Most important pilgrimage site of Srilanka till present)
Sent Buddhist embassies to Greek rulers in Asia
Convened 3rd Buddhist council at Patliputra to strengthen sangha
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Ashoks dhamma was not meant for renunciation but to preserve the social order and
held that good behaviour of people will develop tolerance among different class of the
society empowering stability and peace in nation- Does not seems to have preached
any sectarian path
Ashoka’s Dhamma can be summoned as follows:
Practice of ahimsa love and truth, service to father and mother, reverence to teachers
Prohibition of animal killing and slaughter, Prohibition of festive gathering of
meaningless rituals
Considerate treatment of servants by masters and prisoners by the government
officials
Courtesy to relations and liberty to brahmins with tolerance towards all religious sects
Conquest through Dhamma instead of war
The kandhar inscription speaks of success of Ashokas policies- hunters and fishermen gave
up hunting and started practicing agriculture.
FEATURES OF MAURYAN ADMINISTRATION
Sources: Arthashashtra- By Chanakya
A well-developed central government
Kautaliya supported monarchy however he did no stand for absolute monarchy-
advocated king to take advice of his ministry (Mantriparishad) for running the
administration
The council of ministers consisted of Purohits, Senapati, and yuvraj
“Amatyas” - Civil servants who were appointed to look after routine administration-
all civil servants have to go through a strict selection process designed by Kautilya
Revenue Department
“Samharta”- Chief of revenue department was the incharge of collection of all
revenues
Commerce and Industry
measure etc.)
“Dharmadhikari” – Judicial chief justice of Supreme Court in Mauryan times
Subordinate courts were under Amatyas and jails under appointed officials
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Taxila
Ujjain
Suvarnagri
Kalinga
“Rajukas” – District administrator
“Gramini”- Village level administrative officer (a level upper than Gopas)
“Gopa”- Supervisors under Gramini (head of 10-15 villages)
MAURYAN ARCHITECTURE
time- Often known as 2nd urbanization
Highly polished, monolithic and slightly tapered
rock pillars- Probably for stability
Sarnath Pillar: 4 lions standing back to back with
small lion elephant, bull & horse circle, pillar
imprinted with Maurayamn Edicts- this pillar was
built in Sarnath in the memory of the first sermon
of Buddhism.
Gaya presented to Ajivaka sect
Remains of Pillared palaces at Kumrahar near
Patna
Rock inscription- Girnar Rock, Ashokas dhamma encrypted in Brahmi lipi
Sanchi and many stupas
Ashoka built many chaitya (Pillar Halls) and viharas (Dormitory) - highly polished
caves for monks
Use of burned bricks to make structures and ring wells
Large number of punched marked coins found
Terracotta artefacts
cave walls
influence of Persia in this region
Maski Karnatka- Amongst minor edicts in
which the Name Ashoka occurred. In most
places the edicts mention him as
“Devanampiyadasi”- Dear to Gods
inscriptions for the first time in 1837
Ashokan edits speaks about policies of Ashoka
which include right way of living
The vast distribution of these edicts indicates the
immensity of this empire and unification of
India during Ashokas time period
SOURCES OF MAURYAN EMPIRE
o Divided into 3 major section
o King & his council and departments of government
o Civil & criminal law
o Diplomacy of war
Vishakadattas Mudrarakshasa
o Sanskrit drama based on Chandragupta Mauryas victory over Nandas with the
help of Kautilya written during later Gupta period
o Gives socio – economic picture of condition under Mauryas
Megasthenes Indica
o Indica survived in fragments & provides detail about Mauryan administration &
military organization, particularly of capital city (Patliputra)
DECLINE OF MAURYAN EMPIRE- 185 BC
Pro Buddhist policies of Ashoka
Weak Successors
Prohibition of sacrifices and rituals irritated Brahmans. This soon changed into
revolution led by Pushyamitra Sunga
Administrative abuses by amatyas- people had to pay heavy taxes after Ashokas
reign
12
Division of Mauryan empire into 2 parts eastern and western after Ashokas death
Western Ashoka empire conquered by Bactrians
Widespread availability of iron made other kingdoms powerful
N-W frontiers were neglected
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