A PPT BY ANANYA GUPTA

1. THE MAURYAN EMPIRE
Background, Wars, Origin, Sources, Chandragupta,
Bindusara, Art & Architecture

2. BACKGROUND:
> THE MAURYAN EMPIRE WAS A GEOGRAPHICALLY
EXTENSIVE, IRON AGE HISTORICAL POWER IN
INDIA, RULED BY THE MAURYA DYNASTY FROM 324
– 185 BCE.
> ITS CAPITAL WAS PATLIPUTRA (PATNA), NEAR THE
JUNCTION OF THE SON AND GANGES (GANGA)
> ORIGINATING FROM THE KINGDOM OF MAGADHA
IN THE INDO-GANGETIC PLAIN (MODERN DAY BIHAR,
EASTERN UTTAR PRADESH) IN THE EASTERN SIDE OF
THE SUBCONTINENT, THE EMPIRE HAD ITS CAPITAL AT
PATLIPUTRA (MODERN PATNA).
> THE EMPIRE WAS THE LARGEST TO HAVE EVER
EXISTED IN THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT.

3. MAP OF MAGADHA

4. > THE EMPIRE WAS ESTABLISHED IN 324 BCE BY CHANDRAGUPTA
MAURYA, WHO OVERTHREW THE NANDA DYNASTY AND RAPIDLY
EXPANDED HIS POWER WEST-WARD ACROSS CENTRAL AND
WESTERN INDIA IN ORDER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE
DISRUPTIONS OF LOCAL POWERS IN THE WAKE OF THE
WITHDRAWAL BY ALEXANDER’S ARMIES.
> ACCORDING TO A LEGEND, THE MENTOR AND COUNSELLOR
CHANAKYA CONVINCED HIS DISCIPLE, CHANDRAGUPTA, TO
CONQUER THE KINGDOM OF MAGADHA (THE NANDA EMPIRE)
WHEN HE WAS INSULTED BY HIS KING, DHANA NANDA.
> ACCORDING TO THE TEXT WRITTEN BY THE COURT HISTORIAN,
BHADRASHALA, CHANDRAGUPTA FOUGHT WITH DHANA NANDA.

5. NANDA
EMPIRE
The Nanda Dynasty after the
conquest of Chandragupta Maurya

6. BY 316 BCE, THE EMPIRE HAD FULLY OCCUPIED NORTH-
WESTERN INDIA, DEFEATING AND CONQUERING THE STRAPS
LEFT BY ALEXANDER. CHANDRAGUPTA THEN EXPANDED THE
MAURYAN EMPIRE TO THE NORTH AND WEST AS HE
CONQUERED THE MACEDONIAN SATRAPIES AND WON THE
SELEUCID- MAURYAN WAR.

7. THE SELEUCID-MAURYAN WAR
>>> IN 305 BCE, EMPEROR CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA LED
A SERIES OF CAMPAIGNS TO RETAKE THE SATRAPIES LEFT
BEHIND BY ALEXANDER THE GREAT, WHEN HE RETURNED
WESTWARD. SELEUCUS I FOUGHT TO DEFEND THESE
TERRITORIES, BUT BOTH SIDES MADE PEACE IN 303 BCE.
>>> SELEUCUS, ONE OF ALEXANDER’S GENERALS,
BABYLONIA AND, FROM THERE, EXPANDED HIS TERRITORIES
TO INCLUDE MUCH OF ALEXANDER’S NEAR EASTERN
DOMINIONS.
>>> SELEUCUS ESTABLISHED HIMSELF IN BABYLON IN 312
BCE, THE YEAR USED AS THE FOUNDATION DATE OF THE
SELEUCID EMPIRE. HE RULED NOT ONLY IN BABYLONIA, BUT
THE ENTIRE ENORMOUS EASTERN PART OF ALEXANDER’S
EMPIRE. THE SELEUCID EMPIRE WAS A MAJOR CENTRE OF
HELLENISTIC CULTURE.

8. Alexander’s
Empire

9. The Seleucid
Empire

10. >>> IN 305 BCE, SELEUCUS I TRIED TO RECONQUER THE
NORTH-WESTERN PARTS OF INDIA IN ORDER TO CLAIM THEM
GROWING THE SELEUCID EMPIRE. LITTLE IS KNOWN OF THE
CAMPAIGN IN WHICH CHANDRAGUPTA FOUGHT WITH
SELEUCUS OVER THE INDUS VALLEY AND THE REGION OF
GANDHARA.
>>> SELEUCUS LOST THE SELEUCID – MAURYAN WAR, AND THE
TWO RULERS RECONCILED WITH A PEACE TREATY.
>>> THE GREEKS OFFERED A MACEDONIAN PRINCESS FOR
MARRIAGE TO CHANDRAGUPTA (HENCE THE MARRIAGE
ALLIANCE), AND SEVERAL TERRITORIES, INCLUDING THE
SATRAPIES OF PAROPAMISADE (MODERN DAY KAMBOJA AND
GANDHARA), ARACHOSIA (PRESENT DAY QANDAHAR) AND
GEDROSIA (PRESENT DAY BALOCHISTAN).
>>> IN RETURN, CHANDRAGUPTA SENT 500 WAR ELEPHANTS,
A MILITARY ASSET WHICH WOULD PLAY A DECISIVE ROLE IN
SELEUCUS’S VICTORY AGAINST WESTERN HELLENISTIC KINGS AT
THE BATTLE OF IPSUS IN 301 BCE.

11. >>> IN ADDITION TO THIS TREATY, SELEUCUS
DISPATCHED TWO GREEK AMBASSADORS,
MEGASTHENES, AND LATER, DEIMAKOS, TO THE
MAURYAN COURT OF PATLIPUTRA. LATER, PTOLEMY II
PLIADELPHUS, THE RULER OF PTOLEMAIC EGYPT, SENT
AN AMBASSADOR NAMED DIONYSIUS TO THE
MAURYAN COURT. THUS, CONTINUING TIES BETWEEN
THE HELLENISTIC WORLD AND THE MAURYAN EMPIRE.

12. Alexander’s Satrapies in
Northern India

13. MAURYAN EMPIRE (C.324 BCE)
>>> ACCORDING TO SEVERAL LEGENDS, CHANAKYA
TRAVELLED TO MAGADHA, A KINGDOM THAT WAS LARGE
AND MILITARILY POWERFUL AND FEARED BY HIS
>>> THE MAURYAN EMPIRE WAS ESTABLISHED AROUND
BCE BY CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA. HE RULED FROM 321
TO 297 BCE.
>>> HIS MENTOR AND COUNSELLOR WAS CHANAKYA
HAD A GREAT INFLUENCE IN THE FOUNDATION OF THE
EMPIRE. TOGETHER, THEY BUILT ONE OF THE LARGEST
EMPIRES ON THE INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT.
>>> ACCORDING TO THE JAINA SOURCES, HE LATER
RENOUNCED THE THRONE AND BECAME A JAINA MONK.
>>> CHANDRAGUPTA’S LIFE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS ARE
MENTIONED IN ANCIENT GREEK, HINDU, BUDDHIST AND
JAINA TEXTS.
>>> IN GREEK AND LATIN TEXTS, HE IS REFERRED AS
SANDROCOTTUS.

14. SOURCES
THE SOURCES FOR TRACING THE MAURYAN HISTORY ARE:
1. THE PURANAS
2. JAINA TEXTS SUCH AS HEMACHANDRA’S
PARISHISTAPARVAN (WHICH TALKS ABOUT
CONNECTION WITH JAINISM)
3. MUDRARAKSHASA (A PLAY IN SANSKRIT) WRITTEN BY
VISHAKHADUTTA. IT REVOLVES AROUND CHANAKYA AND
CLEVERLY TECHNIQUES.
4. THE MAHAVAMSA (A BUDDHIST TEXT)
5. EVEN MILINDAPANHA AND MAHABHASHYA CONTAINS
BRIEF INFORMATION ABOUT CHANDRAGUPTA.
6. IN BUDDHIST TEXTS, ASHOKA IS THE FOCUS OF
AND IS PRESENTED AS AN EXEMPLARY KING. TEXTS SUCH
DIPAVAMSA, MAHAVAMSA, ASHOKAVADANA, DIVYAVADANA
CONTAINS DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT THE MAURYAN
KING, ASHOKA.

15. MAJOR SOURCES:
1. ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND NUMISMATIC EVIDENCES
THE MATERIAL EVIDENCES OF THE MAURYAN PERIOD EXIST IN THE FORM
OF ASHOKA’S PILLARS. THERE ARE ALSO A NUMBER OF STONE
AND TERRACOTTA IMAGES. PUNCHED MARKED COINS, MOSTLY IN
WERE ISSUED AND USED IN THE MAURYAN PERIOD. CERTAIN SYMBOLS
SUCH AS CRESCENT-ON-ARCHES, TREE-IN-RAILING AND PEACOCK-ON-
ARCHES HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAURYAN KINGS. SOME
COINS EVEN HAD RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE. ACCORDING TO THE
ARTHASHASTRA, THERE WERE DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS OF SILVER
COINS CALLED PANAS AND COPPER COINS CALLED MASHAKAS.
2. ASHOKA’S INSCRIPTIONS
MOST OF THE INSCRIPTIONS ARE IN PRAKRIT AND BRAHMI SCRIPT. SOME
OF THEM ARE EVEN IN KHAROSHTHI SCRIPT. THERE ARE ALSO A FEW
INSCRIPTIONS IN GREEK AND ARAMAIC AS WELL. THE INSCRIPTIONS
REVEAL THE VOICE AND IDEALS OF THE KING.

16. 3. KAUTLIYA’S ARTHASHAHSTRA
THE ARTHASHASTRA WRITTEN BY KAUTILYA PROVIDES US WITH
A DETAILED INFORMATION ON STATECRAFT. THE
ARTHASHASTA STATES THAT ARTHA IS SUPERIOR TO DHARMA
AND KAMA AS THE LATTER DEPENDS ON IT. IT EXPLAINS ARTHA
AS A LIVELIHOOD FOR MEN. KAUTILYA’S WORK CONSISTS OF 15
BOOKS OF WHICH THE FIRST FIVE DEAL WITH INTERNAL
ADMINISTRATION, THE NEXT EIGHT ON INTER-STATE
RELATIONS AND THE LAST TWO WITH MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS.
IT ALSO PROVIDES US WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT
THE MAURYAN ADMINISTRATION, SOCIETY AND PEOPLE.

17. WITH THE WESTERN WORLD AND THE EXCHANGE OF
EMISSARIES AND HELLENISTIC KINGS. THE GRAECO-ROMAN
ACCOUNTS MENTION KING SANDROCOTTUS
(CHANDRAGUPTA) AND AMITROCHATES (AMITRAGUPTA I.E.
BINDUSARA), AND THEIR CAPITAL AS PALIMBOTHRA
(PATLIPUTRA). MEGASTHENES WAS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF
SELEUCUS NIKATOR AT THE COURT OF SIBYRTIOS, GOVERNOR
OF QANDAHAR IN AFGHANISTAN. AFTER A TREATY WAS
SIGNED BETWEEN CHANDRAGUPTA AND SELEUCUS, HE WAS
SENT AS THE LATTER’S AMBASSADOR TO THE MAURYAN
COURT. AS A ROYAL AMBASSADOR, MEGASTHENES’ EXPOSURE
TO THE INDIAN SOCIETY MUST HAVE BEEN SOCIALLY AND
GEOGRAPHICALLY RESTRICTED. MEGASTHENES WROTE A BOOK
CALLED INDICA, BASED ON HIS EXPERIENCES AND TRAVELS IN
INDIA. THE BOOK HAS NOT SURVIVED, BUT THE FRAGMENTS
ARE PRESERVED IN LATER GREEK AND LATIN WORKS, THE
EARLIEST AND MOST IMPORTANT OF ARE THAT OF DIODORUS,
STARBO AND PLINY.

18. MEGASTHENES’ INDICA DESCRIBED THE COUNTRY, ITS SIZE
AND SHAPE, RIVERS, SOIL, CLIMATE, FLORA AND FAUNA,
PRODUCE, ADMINISTRATION, SOCIETY AND LEGENDS.
ACCORDING TO HIM, THE FARMERS WERE NEVER INVOLVED IN
THE WARS, THERE WAS NO SLAVERY AND THAT THEFT WAS
RARE. THERE WAS A WELL-DEVELOPED CASTE SYSTEM AS PER
HIS ACCOUNT. HE WRITES THAT THERE WERE SIX CASTES VIZ.
PHILOSOPHERS (HE INDICATED BRAHMINS), FARMERS,
SOLDIERS, HERDSMEN, CRAFTSMEN, MAGISTRATES. THE CASTE
SYSTEM WAS BASED UPON THE OCCUPATION, RATHER THAN
BIRTH. THE MARRIAGE AND POLYGAMY BOTH WERE PRESENT.
POLYGAMY WAS CONFINED TO THE ROYAL CLASS. NORMAL
PEOPLE COULD MARRY TO ANOTHER WOMAN ONLY IF THERE
WAS NO SON. THE WOMEN HAD HELD PROPERTY IN THE FORM
OF STRIDHANA, WHICH INCLUDED BRIDAL GIFTS. WOMEN
ENJOYED HIGH STATUS. THE WOMEN WERE APPOINTED AS
ASSISTANCES AND BODYGUARDS OF KING.

19. HE ALSO REFERRED FOR SIX COMMITTEES OF WHICH FIVE WERE
UNDER PATLIPUTRA ADMINISTRATION. INDUSTRIES, FOREIGN
EXPORTS AND IMPORTS (TRADE), REGISTRATION OF BIRTH AND
DEATHS (CENSUS), MANUFACTURE AND SALES OF GOODS AND
REVENUE COLLECTION WERE UNDER THE CONTROL OF
ADMINISTRATION.
ACCORDING TO MEGASTHENES, THE EMPIRE EXERCISED A
MILITARY OF 600,000 INFANTRIES, 30,000 CAVALRY AND 4,000
WAR ELEPHANTS. FOR INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL SECURITY,
THERE WAS A VAST SYSTEM OF SPYING, TO KEEP A WATCH ON
THE OFFICIALS AND MESSENGERS WENT TO AND FRO.
OFFICIALS WERE APPOINTED TO COLLECT TAXES FROM
HERDERS, FARMERS, TRADERS AND CRAFTSMEN, ETC.

20. VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT AND ABDICATION, IN FAVOUR OF
SON, BINDUSARA IN 297 BCE. BINDUSARA (320 BCE – 272
WAS THE SON OF CHANDRAGUPTA AND HIS QUEEN,
DURDHARA. A COURT HISTORIAN TARANATHA’S ACCOUNT
STATES THAT DURING HIS REIGN, BINDUSARA EXPANDED THE
MAURYAN EMPIRE SOUTHWARD, WITH CHANAKYA AS HIS
ADVISOR. HE BROUGHT 16 STATES UNDER HIS EMPIRE AND
THUS CONQUERED ALMOST ALL OF THE INDIAN PENINSULA.
BINDUSARA IGNORED THE FRIENDLY DRAVIDIAN KINGDOMS
OF CHOLAS, THE CHERAS AND THE PANDYAS. APART FROM
THESE SOUTHERN STATES, KALINGA (MODERN DAY ORISSA)
WAS THE ONLY INDEPENDENT KINGDOM FROM BINDUSARA’S
EMPIRE. BUDDHIST SOURCES ARE SILENT ON BINDUSARA.
BINDUSARA’S DEATH IN 273 BCE WAS FOLLOWED BY A 4-
SUCCESSION CONFLICT. ACCORDING TO THE BUDDHIST TEXT,
DIVYAVADANA, BINDUSARA WANTED HIS SON SUSIMA TO
SUCCEED HIM, BUT ASHOKA WAS SUPPORTED BY HIS
MINISTERS.

21. Maps showing the steady conquests of the Mauryan
Empire under different rulers.

22. MAURYAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE
THE MAURYAN EMPIRE ART AND
THE PROGRESS OF INDIAN ART AND PLAYS IMPORTANT ROLE
IN CULTURAL HISTORY.
>>> THE PERIOD WAS MARKED BY THE USE OF STONE AND
VARIOUS MASTERPIECES.
>>> ASHOKA EMBRACED BUDDHISM AND THE IMMENSE
BUDDHIST MISSIONARY ACTIVITIES THAT FOLLOWED,
ENCOURAGED THE DEVELOPMENT OF DISTINCT SCULPTURAL
AND ARCHITECTURAL STYLES.

23. BETWEEN THE PERIOD OF THE HARAPPANS AND THE MAURYAS
BECAUSE IN THIS PERIOD BUILDINGS ARE NOT MADE UP OF
STONE.
>>> AFTER THE DECLINE OF HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION, LONG
GAP WAS GENERATED AND IN THE MAURYAN PERIOD ONLY
MONUMENTAL STONE SCULPTURE, PRODUCTION OF
MASTERPIECES AND ARCHITECTURE APPEARED. THEREFORE,
MAURYAN RULE MARKS AN IMPORTANT PHASE IN OUR
CULTURAL HISTORY.

24. MAURYAN ARCHITECTURE CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS:
A) COURT ART B) POPULAR ART

25. MAURYAN COURT ART : IMPLIES ARCHITECTURAL WORKS (IN THE FORM OF PILLARS,
STUPAS AND PALACES) COMMISSIONED BY MAURYAN RULERS FOR POLITICAL AS
AS RELIGIOUS REASONS.
>>> PALACES : GREEK HISTORIAN, MEGASTHENES, DESCRIBED THE PALACES OF THE
MAURYAN EMPIRE AS ONE OF THE GREATEST CREATIONS OF MANKIND AND
TRAVELLER FA - HIEN CALLED MAURYAN PALACES AS GOD GIFTED MONUMENTS.
PERSIAN INFLUENCE : THE PALACE OF CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA WAS INSPIRED BY
THE ACHAEMENID PALACES AT PERSEPOLIS IN IRAN.
MATERIAL USED : WOOD WAS THE PRINCIPAL BUILDING MATERIAL USED DURING
THE MAURYAN EMPIRE.
EXAMPLES : THE MAURYAN CAPITAL AT PATALIPUTRA, ASHOKA’S PALACE
AT KUMRAHAR, CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA’S PALACE.
>>> THE PALACE OF MAURYAN PERIOD HAD GILDED PILLARS WITH GOLDEN VINES
AND SILVER BIRDS. ALL THE TOWNS WERE SURROUNDED BY THE HIGH WALLS WITH
BATTLEMENTS, WATER DITCHES, BEARING LOTUSES AND PLANTS

26. PILLARS : ASHOKA PILLARS, (USUALLY MADE OF CHUNAR SANDSTONE), AS A
SYMBOL OF THE STATE, ASSUMED A GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IN THE ENTIRE
EMPIRE.
OBJECTIVE : THE MAIN OBJECTIVE WAS TO DISSEMINATE THE BUDDHIST
IDEOLOGY AND COURT ORDERS IN THE ENTIRE MAURYAN EMPIRE.
LANGUAGE : WHILE MOST ASHOKA PILLAR EDICTS WERE
IN PALI AND PRAKRIT LANGUAGE, FEW WERE WRITTEN IN GREEK OR
ARAMAIC LANGUAGE ALSO.
ARCHITECTURE : MAURYAN PILLARS MAINLY COMPRISE OF FOUR PARTS :
SHAFT : A LONG SHAFT FORMED THE BASE AND WAS MADE UP OF A SINGLE
PIECE OF STONE OR MONOLITH.
CAPITAL : ON TOP OF SHAFT LAY THE CAPITAL, WHICH WAS EITHER LOTUS-
SHAPED OR BELL-SHAPED.
ABACUS : ABOVE THE CAPITAL, THERE WAS A CIRCULAR OR RECTANGULAR BASE
KNOWN AS THE ABACUS.
CAPITAL FIGURE : ALL THE CAPITAL FIGURES (USUALLY ANIMALS LIKE A BULL,
LION, ELEPHANT, ETC) ARE VIGOROUS AND CARVED STANDING ON A SQUARE
CIRCULAR ABACUS.

27. <<< PARTS OF A
MAURYAN PILLAR

28. <<< Pillar ruins from
the Mauryan Period
Famous Mauryan >>>
pillar at Vaishali,
Bihar

29. SIMILARITIES WITH PERSIAN (ACHAMENIAN) PILLARS
POLISHED STONES AND MOTIFS : BOTH MAURYA AND PERSIAN
PILLARS, USED POLISHED STONES AND HAVE CERTAIN COMMON
SCULPTURE MOTIFS SUCH AS THE LOTUS.
PROCLAMATIONS : MAURYA’S IDEA OF INSCRIBING PROCLAMATIONS
(RELATED TO BUDDHIST TEACHINGS AND COURT ORDERS) ON PILLARS
HAS ITS ORIGIN IN PERSIAN PILLARS.
DIFFERENCES WITH PERSIAN (ACHAMENIAN) PILLARS
THE CAPITAL FIGURE : IT WAS ABSENT IN MAURYAN PILLARS OF THE
KUMHRAR HALL WHEREAS PILLARS AT PERSEPOLIS HAVE THE
CAPITAL FIGURES.
THE SHAPE AND ORNAMENTATION : THE SHAPE OF MAURYAN LOTUS
IS DIFFERENT FROM THE PERSIAN PILLAR.
SHAFT : UNLIKE MAURYAN SHAFTS WHICH ARE BUILT OF MONOLITH
(SINGLE PIECE OF STONE), PERSIAN/ACHAEMENIAN SHAFTS WERE
OF SEPARATE SEGMENTS OF STONES (AGGREGATED ONE ABOVE THE
OTHER).

30. << ASHOKAN
PILLAR
PERSIAN (Achamenian)
PILLAR >>>

31. STUPAS OF MAURYAN PERIOD
STUPAS WERE BURIAL MOUNDS PREVALENT IN INDIA FROM THE VEDIC PERIOD.
ARCHITECTURE : STUPAS CONSIST OF A CYLINDRICAL DRUM WITH A
CIRCULAR ANDA AND A HARMIKA AND A CHHATRA ON THE TOP.
ANDA : HEMISPHERICAL MOUND SYMBOLIC OF THE MOUND OF DIRT USED TO
COVER BUDDHA’S REMAINS (IN MANY STUPAS ACTUAL RELICS WERE USED).
HARMIKA : SQUARE RAILING ON TOP OF THE MOUND.
CHHATRA : CENTRAL PILLAR SUPPORTING A TRIPLE UMBRELLA FORM.
MATERIAL USED : THE CORE OF THE STUPA WAS MADE OF UNBURNT
BRICK WHILE THE OUTER SURFACE WAS MADE BY USING BURNT BRICKS, WHICH
WERE THEN COVERED WITH A THICK LAYER OF PLASTER AND MEDHI AND THE
TORAN WERE DECORATED WITH WOODEN SCULPTURES.

32. <<< DIFFERENT PARTS OF
STUPA
Sanchi Stupa at Madhya Pradesh >>>

33. EXAMPLES:
SANCHI STUPA IN MADHYA PRADESH IS THE MOST FAMOUS
OF THE ASHOKAN STUPAS.
PIPRAHWA STUPA IN UTTAR PRADESH IS THE OLDEST ONE.
STUPAS BUILT AFTER THE DEATH OF BUDDHA: RAJAGRIHA,
VAISHALI, KAPILAVASTU, ALLAKAPPA, RAMAGRAMA,
VETHAPIDA, PAVA, KUSHINAGAR AND PIPPALIVANA.
STUPA AT BAIRAT, RAJASTHAN: GRAND STUPA WITH A
CIRCULAR MOUND AND A CIRCUMAMBULATORY PATH.

34. THE LION CAPITAL
CAPITAL OF MAURYAN PERIOD FOUND AT SARNATH NEAR
VARANASI, KNOWN AS THE LION CAPITAL. BEING ONE OF THE
FINEST EXAMPLES OF MAURYAN SCULPTURE AND BUILT BY
ASHOKA IN COMMEMORATION OF
DHAMMACHAKRAPRAVARTANA OR FIRST SERMON OF
BUDDHA. THE CAPITAL HAS FOUR ASIATIC LIONS SEATED BACK
TO BACK, WHICH SYMBOLIZE POWER, COURAGE, PRIDE AND
CONFIDENCE.
THE SCULPTURE SURFACE WAS POLISHED AND THE DRUM WAS
THERE ON THE BELL BASE, I.E. ABACUS HAS THE DEPICTION OF
CHAKRA OR WHEEL ON ALL FOUR DIRECTIONS AND A BULL,
HORSE, AN ELEPHANT AND A LION BETWEEN EVERY CHAKRA.

35. IT HAS 24 SPOKES AND THESE 24 SPOKE CHAKRA IS ADOPTED TO THE
NATIONAL FLAG OF INDIA. THE CIRCULAR ABACUS IS SUPPORTED BY
AN INVERTED LOTUS CAPITAL.
THIS HAS BEEN ADOPTED AS THE NATIONAL EMBLEM OF
INDEPENDENT INDIA, BUT IT DOES NOT HAVE A SHAFT, THE LOTUS
AND CROWNING WHEEL.
The Lion Capital at Sarnath, Varanasi

36. CAVES OF MAURYAN PERIOD
NOT ONLY PILLARS, ROCK CUT CAVES ARE ALSO AN ARTISTIC
OF ASHOKA’S REIGN. THE CAVES AT BARBARA HILLS IN THE NORTH OF
AND THE NAGARJUNI HILL CAVES, THE SUDAMA CAVES, ETC. ARE THE
SEVERAL EXAMPLES OF CAVE ARCHITECTURE. THE HILLS OF BARBARA
WERE DONATED BY ASHOKA TO AJIVIKA MONKS AND THREE SEPARATE
CAVES AT NAGARJUNI HILLS WERE BY DASHARATHA TO THEM. THE CAVE
GOPIKA WAS EXCAVATED IN THE REIGN OF DASRATHA IN A TUNNEL LIKE
FASHION. THE INTERIOR PART OF THE CAVE IS POLISHED LIKE A MIRROR.
Barbara Hill Cave of Bihar

37. POTTERY OF MAURYAN PERIOD
BLACK POLISHED TYPE POTTERY FOUND IN NORTH
INDIA IS AN EXAMPLE OF THIS PERIOD. IT HAS A
BURNISHED AND GLAZED SURFACE. KOSAMBI AND
PATLIPUTRA ARE THE CENTRES OF THIS POTTERY.
Black Polished type
pottery

38. THANK YOU!THANK YOU!