Study this in the app →

English · हिन्दी · తెలుగు · தமிழ் · മലയാളം · मराठी · ಕನ್ನಡ

Quick recap: The Mauryan empire on one page

मराठीत स्पष्टीकरण

The Mauryan empire · Quick recap · Fact-checked on · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

All three parts condensed for quick revision: the sources and the founding of the empire under Chandragupta and Bindusara; Ashoka, the Kalinga war, his dhamma and edicts; and Mauryan administration, economy, society, decline and legacy, with one table at a glance.

Each idea is explained first in Marathi (मराठी), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Marathi and revise it in English.

मौर्यांनी पाटलिपुत्रातून साधारण इ.स.पू. 321–185 पर्यंत राज्य केले. पुरावे विविध: अर्थशास्त्र (आदर्श राज्यकारभाराचा ग्रंथ), मेगॅस्थिनीजची इंडिका (इतरांच्या उद्धरणांतूनच), नंतरच्या कथा, शिलालेख. कौटिल्याच्या मदतीने चंद्रगुप्ताने नंदांना हटवले; सेल्युकसशी तहात 500 हत्तींच्या बदल्यात अफगाणिस्तान-बलुचिस्तानचे प्रदेश मिळाले — युद्धाऐवजी सौदा ठरल्यासारखे. नंतर बिंदुसार. (→ English: Arthashastra · Megasthenes · Seleucus Nicator · हिन्दी: अर्थशास्त्र · मेगस्थनीज़ · सेल्यूकस निकेटर)

In exam EnglishPart 1 showed how the Mauryas built the first empire over most of the subcontinent, ruling from Pataliputra from about 321 to about 185 BCE. The sources are of very different kinds: the Arthashastra, an ideal picture of statecraft whose manuscript R. Shamasastry found in 1905; the Indica of Megasthenes, known only through later Greek and Roman writers; much later plays and religious chronicles; and inscriptions and excavations. Guided by Kautilya, Chandragupta overthrew Dhana Nanda, and around 305 BCE his treaty with Seleucus Nicator brought him lands in Afghanistan and Baluchistan in return for 500 elephants, with Megasthenes sent to his court. Jain tradition takes him south with Bhadrabahu to Shravanabelagola. His son Bindusara, called Amitrochates by the Greeks, kept up the ties with the Seleucid kings.

अशोक लेखांत 'देवानंपिय पियदसि'. साधारण इ.स.पू. 261 मध्ये कलिंग युद्ध; तो रक्तपात पाहून पश्चात्ताप झाला आणि शस्त्राने नव्हे तर धम्माने जिंकावे असे तो म्हणू लागला. धम्म म्हणजे सर्वांसाठी नीतिनियम — वडीलधाऱ्यांचा आदर, नोकरांवर दया, अहिंसा, सर्व पंथांबद्दल सहिष्णुता; घरातला ज्येष्ठ सगळ्यांना सांगतो त्या चांगल्या गोष्टींसारखे. धम्म महामात्र आणि शिलालेखांनी त्याचा प्रसार केला; लेख बहुतेक ब्राह्मी लिपीत, प्रिन्सेपने 1837 मध्ये वाचले. (→ English: dhamma · dhamma mahamatta · Brahmi script · हिन्दी: धम्म · धम्म महामात्र · ब्राह्मी लिपि)

In exam EnglishPart 2 turned to Ashoka. Crowned some four years after Bindusara's death in about 273 BCE, he called himself Devanampiya Piyadasi, and his own name appears only in a few minor rock edicts such as Maski. About 261 BCE he conquered Kalinga; Major Rock Edict XIII counts the dead and captives and voices his remorse, and from then on he spoke of conquest by dhamma. He became a lay Buddhist, addressed the sangha in the Bhabru edict and sent missions abroad, but his dhamma was a moral code for everyone: respect for parents, elders and teachers, kindness to servants, non-violence and tolerance of all sects. He spread it through the dhamma mahamatta, officers' tours and public welfare works, and through rock and pillar inscriptions written mostly in Prakrit in the Brahmi script, which James Prinsep deciphered in 1837.

अर्थशास्त्रानुसार राज्य सप्तांग — सात अवयवांचे शरीर. प्रत्येक खात्यावर अध्यक्ष; समाहर्ता वसुली, सन्निधाता खजिना — एक कमाई, एक कपाटाची किल्ली. दोन न्यायालये: दिवाणीसाठी धर्मस्थीय, गुन्ह्यांसाठी कंटकशोधन. प्रांतांत राजपुत्र, गावात ग्रामिक. मेगॅस्थिनीज शहरासाठी आणि सैन्यासाठी सहा-सहा मंडळे सांगतो. कर 'भाग' सहावा हिस्सा; व्यवहारासाठी चांदीची आहत नाणी. (→ English: Arthashastra · saptanga · samaharta · punch-marked coins · हिन्दी: अर्थशास्त्र · सप्तांग · समाहर्ता · आहत सिक्के)

In exam EnglishPart 3 opened up the machinery of the state. The Arthashastra pictures a saptanga state of seven limbs headed by a king who consults a council, with superintendents (adhyakshas) for every department, a samaharta to collect revenue and a sannidhata to keep the treasury, a network of spies, and two kinds of courts, dharmasthiya for civil disputes and kantakashodhana for crimes. Princes governed the provinces from Taxila, Ujjain, Tosali and Suvarnagiri; rajukas, pradeshikas and yuktas toured the districts, and the gramika ran the village. Megasthenes adds six boards of five for the capital and six for the army. Land paid the bhaga, normally one-sixth, along with bali; Ashoka cut Lumbini's share to one-eighth. Guilds, silver punch-marked coins and the northern and southern trade routes carried the economy, and Megasthenes sorted society into seven occupational classes.

अशोक साधारण इ.स.पू. 232 मध्ये वारल्यानंतर साम्राज्य लवकर कमजोर झाले: घराण्याच्या शाखांनी प्रदेश वाटून घेतले, वायव्येकडून बॅक्ट्रियन ग्रीक आले. साधारण इ.स.पू. 185 मध्ये सेनापती पुष्यमित्र शुंगाने शेवटचा राजा बृहद्रथ याला ठार केले. पतनाला एकच कारण पुरेसे नाही — आजाराला अनेक कारणे एकत्र येतात तसे. वारसा: सारनाथचे सिंहशीर्ष आपली राजमुद्रा, त्यातले चक्र ध्वजावर. (→ English: Pushyamitra Shunga · State Emblem · Sarnath lion capital · हिन्दी: पुष्यमित्र शुंग · राजचिह्न · सारनाथ सिंह-शीर्ष)

In exam EnglishThe empire weakened soon after Ashoka's death in about 232 BCE. Branches of the family divided the realm, Dasharatha and Samprati are remembered for their gifts to the Ajivikas and the Jains, and Bactrian Greeks pressed into the northwest. Around 185 BCE the commander Pushyamitra Shunga killed the last king, Brihadratha, and founded the Shunga dynasty. Historians explain the fall in several ways, from a Brahmanical reaction and Ashoka's pacifism to an over-centralised government and money trouble, and none is enough alone. The legacy lasted: the first government over most of the subcontinent, and Ashoka's Sarnath lion capital, which became the State Emblem of India on 26 January 1950, with its wheel at the centre of the national flag.
The chapter at a glance
Ruler or topicKey points to hold
Chandragupta (about 321-297 BCE)Ended the Nandas with Kautilya; treaty with Seleucus (about 305 BCE); Megasthenes; Jain tradition of Shravanabelagola
Bindusara (about 297-273 BCE)Amitrochates (Amitraghata); envoy Deimachus; Ajivika links
Ashoka (crowned about 4 years after 273 BCE; died about 232 BCE)Kalinga war about 261 BCE (Major Rock Edict XIII); dhamma; edicts in Prakrit, mostly Brahmi
AdministrationSaptanga; samaharta and sannidhata; dharmasthiya and kantakashodhana courts; provinces under princes
Economy and societyBhaga usually one-sixth, bali; guilds; punch-marked coins; Megasthenes' seven classes
End and legacyBrihadratha killed by Pushyamitra Shunga about 185 BCE; Sarnath lion capital as State Emblem

Exam traps

Recap

Practice questions

Q1. Consider the following statements about the treaty between Chandragupta Maurya and Seleucus Nicator:
1. Seleucus gave up territories in present-day Afghanistan and Baluchistan.
2. Chandragupta gave Seleucus 500 war elephants.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: C. Both 1 and 2

Answer (c). Both are correct: land went to Chandragupta and 500 elephants to Seleucus. Options (a) and (b) each drop a true statement, and (d) rejects both.

Q2. The Greek name Amitrochates refers to

  1. Bindusara
  2. Chandragupta Maurya
  3. Ashoka
  4. Dhana Nanda
Show answer

Answer: A. Bindusara

Answer (a). Amitrochates stands for Bindusara's title Amitraghata. Chandragupta (b) is Sandrokottos in Greek writings; Ashoka (c) calls himself Devanampiya Piyadasi; Dhana Nanda (d) was the last Nanda king, not a Mauryan.

Q3. Which of Ashoka's inscriptions describes the losses of the Kalinga war and his remorse?

  1. Major Rock Edict XIII
  2. Major Rock Edict XII
  3. The Bhabru edict
  4. The Rummindei pillar
Show answer

Answer: A. Major Rock Edict XIII

Answer (a). Major Rock Edict XIII records the dead and captives of Kalinga. Edict XII (b) is about tolerance among sects; the Bhabru edict (c) addresses the Buddhist sangha; the Rummindei pillar (d) records tax relief at Lumbini.

Q4. Consider the following statements:
1. Ashoka's dhamma was identical with the teachings of Buddhism.
2. Most of Ashoka's inscriptions are written in Prakrit.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Answer (b). Statement 2 is correct. Statement 1 is wrong: dhamma was a moral code for all subjects, not Buddhism itself. So (a) and (c) fail by accepting statement 1, and (d) rejects the true statement 2.

Q5. Match the following terms of Mauryan administration with their meaning:
A. Samaharta 1. Treasurer and keeper of stores
B. Sannidhata 2. Chief collector of revenue
C. Kantakashodhana 3. Courts for civil disputes
D. Dharmasthiya 4. Courts for crimes
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

  1. A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3
  2. A-1, B-2, C-4, D-3
  3. A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
  4. A-1, B-2, C-3, D-4
Show answer

Answer: A. A-2, B-1, C-4, D-3

Answer (a). The samaharta collected revenue, the sannidhata kept the treasury, kantakashodhana courts tried crimes and dharmasthiya courts civil disputes. Option (b) swaps the two officers, (c) swaps the two courts, and (d) swaps both.

Q6. According to Megasthenes, the city of Pataliputra was administered by

  1. six boards of five members each
  2. five boards of six members each
  3. a single superintendent called the nagaraka
  4. an elected assembly of citizens
Show answer

Answer: A. six boards of five members each

Answer (a). Megasthenes speaks of thirty officers in six boards of five. Option (b) reverses the numbers; the single nagaraka (c) is the Arthashastra's picture, not Megasthenes'; and no elected assembly (d) is described.

Q7. The last Mauryan king, Brihadratha, was killed by

  1. his commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Shunga
  2. the Bactrian Greek king Demetrius
  3. the Kalinga king Kharavela
  4. his grandson Samprati
Show answer

Answer: A. his commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Shunga

Answer (a). Pushyamitra Shunga, his own commander, killed him about 185 BCE. The Bactrian Greeks (b) pressed into the northwest but did not end the dynasty; Kharavela (c) ruled Kalinga later and was not involved; Samprati (d) was a grandson of Ashoka, not of Brihadratha.

Q8. Consider the following statements:
1. The State Emblem of India was adopted on 26 January 1950.
2. The State Emblem is adapted from the lion capital at Sanchi.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. 1 only
  2. 2 only
  3. Both 1 and 2
  4. Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Answer (a). Statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is wrong: the emblem comes from Ashoka's lion capital at Sarnath. So (b) and (c) fail by accepting statement 2, and (d) rejects the true statement 1.

← Part 3All parts

Study this in the Upscore app to keep notes, save it for revision, track your practice scores and follow a plan to the exam date. It's free.

Study this in the app →

Sources