Ashoka Mauryan Empire without any propoganda. Neutrally written. https://en.bharatpedia.org/wiki/Mauryan_Empire

1. Bharatpedia
Mauryan Empire
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age
historical power on the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta
Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE.[30]
The Maurya Empire
was centralized by the conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and its capital city was located at
Pataliputra, modern Patna. Outside this imperial center, the empire's geographical extent
depended on the loyalty of military commanders who controlled the armed cities that
sprinkled it.[31][32][33]
During Ashoka's rule (c. 268 – c. 232 BCE) the empire briefly controlled
the major urban hubs and arteries of the Indian subcontinent except those in the deep
south.[30]
It declined for about 50 years after Ashoka's rule, and dissolved in 185 BCE with the
assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga and the foundation of the Shunga
Empire in Magadh.

2. Mauryan Empire
322 BCE – 184 BCE
Capital Pataliputra
(present-day Patna)
Common languages Sanskrit (literary and academic), Magadhi Prakrit
(vernacular)
Religion Hinduism[19][20][21]
Jainism[22][23][24]
Buddhism[20][25]
Ajivikism[20][25]
Greek polytheism
Zoroastrianism (northwest)[26]
Government Absolute monarchy, as described in Kautilya's
Arthashastra
and Rajamandala[27]
Emperor
• 322–298 BCE Chandragupta
• 298–272 BCE Bindusara
• 268–232 BCE Ashoka
Maximum extent of the Maurya Empire, as shown by the location of Ashoka's inscriptions, and
visualized by ASI (Archeological Survey Of India) based on ancient inscriptions, ancient Greecian ,
ancient Indian texts,[1]
modern archaeologist : Dougald J. W. O'Reilly,[2]
old archeologist Myra
Shackley:[3]
modern historian : Upinder Singh,[4]
Jackson J. Spielvogel[5][6]
Hugh Bowden;[7]
old
historians:John Haywood;[8]
Patrick Karl O'Brien,[9][10]
H. C. Raychaudhuri,[11]
John F. Cady,[12]
Gerald
Danzer,[13]
Vincent Arthur Smith;[14]
Robert Roswell Palmer,[15]
Geoffrey Parker,[16]
R. C. Majumdar;[17]
and historical geographer:Joseph E. Schwartzberg.[18]

3. Chandragupta Maurya raised an army, with the assistance of Chanakya, his teacher and the
author of Arthashastra,[34]
and overthrew the Nanda Empire in c. 322 BCE, laying the
foundation for the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta rapidly expanded his power west across
central and western India by defeating the satraps left by Alexander the Great, and by 317
BCE the empire had fully occupied northwestern India.[35]
The Mauryan Empire then defeated
Seleucus I Nicator, a diadochus and founder of the Seleucid Empire, during the Seleucid–
Mauryan war, thus acquiring territory west of the Indus River, Afghanistan and
Balochistan.[36][37]
• 232–224 BCE Dasharatha
• 224–215 BCE Samprati
• 215–202 BCE Shalishuka
• 202–195 BCE Devavarman
• 195–187 BCE Shatadhanvan
• 187–184 BCE Brihadratha
Historical era Iron Age
• Conquest of the Nanda Empire 322 BCE
• Assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra
Shunga
184 BCE
Area
261 BCE[28]
(low-end estimate of peak area)
3,400,000 km2
(1,300,000 sq mi)
250 BCE[29]
(high-end estimate of peak area)
5,000,000 km2
(1,900,000 sq mi)
Currency Panas
Preceded by Succeeded by
Mahajanapadas
Nanda Empire
Shunga Empire
Satavahana dynasty
Mahameghavahana dynasty
Indo-Scythians
Indo-Greek Kingdom
Vidarbha kingdom (Mauryan era)

4. Under the Mauryas, internal and external trade, agriculture, and economic activities thrived
and expanded across India due to the creation of a single and efficient system of finance,
administration, and security. The Maurya dynasty built a precursor of the Grand Trunk Road
from Pataliputra to Taxila.[38]
After the Kalinga War, the Empire experienced nearly half a
century of centralized rule under Ashoka the Great. Ashoka's embrace of Buddhism and
sponsorship of Buddhist missionaries allowed for the expansion of that faith into Sri Lanka,
northwest India, and Central Asia.[39]
The population of South Asia during the Mauryan period has been estimated to be between
15 and 30 million.[40]
The Maurya period was marked by exceptional creativity in art,
architecture, inscriptions and texts,[31]
but also by the consolidation of caste in the Gangetic
plain, and the declining rights of women in mainstream Indo-Aryan speaking regions of
India.[41]
Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of
Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). The Arthashastra[42]
and the Edicts of Ashoka are the
primary sources of written records of Mauryan times. The Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath
is the national emblem of the Republic of India.
The name "Maurya" does not occur in Ashoka's inscriptions, or the contemporary Greek
accounts such as Megasthenes's Indica, but it is attested by the following sources:[43]
The Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman (c. 150 CE) prefixes "Maurya" to the names
Chandragupta and Ashoka.[43]
The Puranas (c. 4th century CE or earlier) use Maurya as a dynastic appellation.[43]
The Buddhist texts state that Chandragupta belonged to the "Moriya" clan of the Shakyas,
the tribe to which Gautama Buddha belonged.[43]
The Jain texts state that Chandragupta was the son of a royal superintendent of peacocks
(mayura-poshaka).[43]
Tamil Sangam literature also designate them as 'moriyar' and mention them after the
Nandas[44]
Kuntala inscription (from the town of Bandanikke, North Mysore) of 12th century AD
chronologically mention Mauryya as one of the dynasties which ruled the region.[45]
The Kalpasutra of the Jains mentions a Mauryaputra of the Kasyapa gotra, which shows
that the Mauryas were regarded as high class folk who was the disciple of Mahavira.[46]
According to Kharavela' Hathigumpha inscription (2nd-1st century BC) mentions era of
Maurya Empire as Muriya Kala (Mauryan era),[47]
but this reading is disputed: other scholars—
Etymology

5. such as epigraphist D. C. Sircar—read the phrase as mukhiya-kala ("the principal art").[48]
According to the Buddhist tradition, the ancestors of the Maurya kings had settled in a region
where peacocks (mora in Pali) were abundant. Therefore, they came to be known as
"Moriyas", literally meaning, "belonging to the place of peacocks". According to another
Buddhist account, these ancestors built a city called Moriya-nagara ("Moriya-city"), which was
so called, because it was built with the "bricks coloured like peacocks' necks".[49]
The dynasty's connection to the peacocks, as mentioned in the Buddhist and Jain traditions,
seems to be corroborated by archaeological evidence. For example, peacock figures are
found on the Ashoka pillar at Nandangarh and several sculptures on the Great Stupa of
Sanchi. Based on this evidence, modern scholars theorize that the peacock may have been
the dynasty's emblem.[50]
Some later authors, such as Dhundhi-raja (an 18th-century commentator on the
Mudrarakshasa and an annotator of the Vishnu Purana), state that the word "Maurya" is
derived from Mura and the mother of the first Maurya king. However, the Puranas themselves
make no mention of Mura and do not talk of any relation between the Nanda and the Maurya
dynasties.[51]
Dhundiraja's derivation of the word seems to be his own invention: according to
the Sanskrit rules, the derivative of the feminine name Mura (IAST: Murā) would be "Maureya";
the term "Maurya" can only be derived from the masculine "Mura".[52]
Founding
Prior to the Maurya Empire, the Nanda Empire ruled over a broad swathe of the Indian
subcontinent. The Nanda Empire was a large, militaristic, and economically powerful empire
due to conquering the Mahajanapadas. According to several legends, Chanakya travelled to
Pataliputra, Magadha, the capital of the Nanda Empire where Chanakya worked for the
Nandas as a minister. However, Chanakya was insulted by the Emperor Dhana Nanda when
he informed them of Alexander's invasion. Chanakya swore revenge and vowed to destroy
the Nanda Empire.[53]
He had to flee in order to save his life and went to Taxila, a notable
center of learning, to work as a teacher. On one of his travels, Chanakya witnessed some
young men playing a rural game practicing a pitched battle. One of the boys was none other
than Chandragupta. Chanakya was impressed by the young Chandragupta and saw royal
qualities in him as someone fit to rule.
Meanwhile, Alexander the Great was leading his Indian campaigns and ventured into Punjab.
His army mutinied at the Beas River and refused to advance farther eastward when
History

6. confronted by another army. Alexander returned to Babylon and re-deployed most of his
troops west of the Indus River. Soon after Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BCE, his empire
fragmented into independent kingdoms led by his generals.[54]
The Maurya Empire was established in the Magadha region under the leadership of
Chandragupta Maurya and his mentor Chanakya. Chandragupta was taken to Taxila by
Chanakya and was tutored about statecraft and governing. Requiring an army Chandragupta
recruited and annexed local military republics such as the Yaudheyas that had resisted
Alexander's Empire. The Mauryan army quickly rose to become the prominent regional power
in the North West of the Indian subcontinent. The Mauryan army then conquered the satraps
established by the Macedonia ns.[55]
Ancient Greek historians Nearchus, Onesictrius, and
Aristobolus have provided lot of information about the Mauryan empire.[56]
The Greek
generals Eudemus and Peithon ruled in the Indus Valley until around 317 BCE, when
Chandragupta Maurya (with the help of Chanakya, who was now his advisor) fought and
drove out the Greek governors, and subsequently brought the Indus Valley under the control
of his new seat of power in Magadha.[35]
Chandragupta Maurya's ancestry is shrouded in mystery and controversy. On one hand, a
number of ancient Indian accounts, such as the drama Mudrarakshasa (Signet ring of
Rakshasa – Rakshasa was the prime minister of Magadha) by Vishakhadatta, describe his
royal ancestry and even link him with the Nanda family. A kshatriya clan known as the
Mauryas are referred to in the earliest Buddhist texts, Mahaparinibbana Sutta. However, any
conclusions are hard to make without further historical evidence. Chandragupta first
emerges in Greek accounts as "Sandrokottos". As a young man he is said to have met
Alexander.[57]
Chanakya is said to have met the Nanda king, angered him, and made a narrow
escape.[58]
Conquest of the Nanda Empire
Historically reliable inscription details of Chandragupta's campaign against Nanda Empire are
unavailable and but later written Buddhist, Jain, and Hindu texts which claim Magadha was
ruled by the Nanda dynasty, which, with Chanakya's counsel, Chandragupta conquered Nanda
Empire.[59][60][61]
The army of Chandragupta and Chanakya first conquered the Nanda outer
territories, and finally besieged the Nanda capital Pataliputra. In contrast to the easy victory
in Buddhist sources, the Hindu and Jain texts state that the campaign was bitterly fought
because the Nanda dynasty had a powerful and well-trained army.[62][60]
Empire Expansion

7. The Buddhist Mahavamsa Tika and Jain Parishishtaparvan records Chandragupta's army
unsuccessfully attacking the Nanda capital. [63]
Chandragupta and Chanakya then began a
campaign at the frontier of the Nanda empire, gradually conquering various territories on
their way to the Nanda capital.[64]
He then refined his strategy by establishing garrisons in the
conquered territories, and finally besieged the Nanda capital Pataliputra. There Dhana Nanda
accepted defeat.[65][66]
The conquest was fictionalised in Mudrarakshasa play, it contains
narratives not found in other versions of the Chanakya-Chandragupta legend.Radha Kumud
Mukherjee similarly considers Mudrakshasa play without historical basis.[67]
These legends state that the Nanda king was defeated, deposed and exiled by some
accounts, while Buddhist accounts claim he was killed.[68]
With the defeat of Dhana Nanda,
Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Empire.[69]
Conquest of the Eastern Seleucid Empire
Nanda_Empire 323 BCE

8. Greek historians mentioned the result of Seleucid–Mauryan war where Seleucid Empire's
eastern satrapies( Gedrosia,Arachosia, Aria, and Paropamisadae) ceded to Mauryan Empire :
" Seleucus crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus
[Maurya], king of he Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream,
until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted
a marriage relationship. Some of these exploits were performed
before the death of Antigonus and some afterward."
— Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55 (https://www.livi
us.org/sources/content/appian/appian-the-syrian-wars/appian-the
-syrian-wars-11/)
" The geographical position of the tribes is as follows: along the Indus
are the Paropamisadae, above whom lies the Paropamisus mountain:
then, towards the south, the Arachoti: then next, towards the south, the
Gedroseni, with the other tribes that occupy the seaboard; and the
Indus lies, latitudinally, alongside all these places; and of these places,
in part, some that lie along the Indus are held by Indians, although they
formerly belonged to the Persians. Alexander [III 'the Great' of
Macedon] took these away from the Arians and established settlements
of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus
[Chandragupta], upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in
exchange five hundred elephants. " — Strabo 15.2.9 [1] (https://penelop
e.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/15B*.html#2.9)
Greecian historian Pliny also quoted a passage from Megasthanes work about Chandragupta
Empire boundaries:
Most geographers, in fact, do not look upon India as bounded by the
river Indus, but add to it the four satrapies of the Gedrose, the
Arachotë, the Aria, and the Paropamisadë, the River Cophes thus
forming the extreme boundary of India. According to other writers,
Seleucid Empire 281 BCE

9. however, all these territories, are reckoned as belonging to the country
of the Aria.
— Pliny, Natural History VI, 23 [2] (https://archive.today/2012121007073
8/http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+
6.23) [3] (https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryof21855plin/page/50/
mode/1up)
The conquest of the south by Chandragupta Maurya may also perhaps be inferred from the
following statement of Plutarch. "The throne" in the context is the Magadhan throne, the
occupation of which by Chandragupta is thus followed by two other events, viz., the defeat of
Selucus, and the conquest of the remaining part of India not included in the Magadhan
empire of the Nandas:
"Not long afterwards Androkottos, who had by that time mounted the
throne, presented Selukos with 500 elephants, and overran and
subdued the whole of India with an army of 600,000."
-Chapter LXII ,Life of Alexander, Plutarch [4] (https://books.google.co.in/
books?id=TXtEAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summ
ary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false)
Megasthenes defined the region that Chandragupta won from Seleucus as likely western side
Gedrosia which shares boundaries with the Euphrates River, and eastern side Arachosia
shares boundaries with the Indus. The northern frontier boundary formed by Hindukush
mountain range:
India, which is in shape quadrilateral, has its eastern as well as its
'western side bounded by the great sea, but on the northern side it is
divided by Mount Hemôdos from that part of Skythia which is
inhabited by those Skythians who are called the Sakai, while the fourth
or western side is bounded by the river called the Indus.
- Book I Fragment I , Indica, Megasthanes [5] (https://archive.org/details/
AncientIndiaAsDescribedByMegasthenesAndArrianByMccrindleJ.W/pa
ge/n39/mode/1up)

10. Sandrokottos the king of the Indians, India forms the largest of the four
parts into which Southorn Asia is divided, while the smallest part is
that region which is included between the Euphrates and our own sea.
The two remaining parts, which are separated from the others by the
Euphrates and the Indus, and lie between these rivers... India is
bounded on its eastern side, right onwards to the south, by the great
ocean; that its northern frontier is formed by the Kaukasos
range(Hindukush Range) as far as the junction of that range with
Tauros; and that the boundary.
- Book I Fragment II , Indica, Megasthanes [6] (https://archive.org/detail
s/AncientIndiaAsDescribedByMegasthenesAndArrianByMccrindleJ.W/p
age/n54/mode/1up)
Treaty of the Indus
The ancient historians Justin, Appian, and Strabo preserve the three main terms of the Treaty
of the Indus:[70]
(i) Seleucus transferred to Chandragupta's kingdom the easternmost satrapies of his empire,
certainly Gandhara, Parapamisadae, and the eastern parts of Gedrosia, Arachosia and Aria as
far as Herat.
(ii) Chandragupta gave Seleucus 500 Indian war elephants.
Satrapian provinces in northwestern India which ceaded to Chandragupta by Selucus due to Treaty of Indus.

11. (iii) The two kings were joined by some kind of marriage alliance (ἐπιγαμία οι κῆδος); most
likely Chandragupta wed a female relative of Seleucus.
Other account
Tibbetan Lama Taranatha (1575–1634)
Ashoka brought under his rule without bloodshed all the countries
including those to the south of the Vindhya. And he conquered the
northern Himalayas, the snowy ranges beyond Li-yul (Khotan)," the
entire land of Jambudvipa bounded by seas on east, south and west,
and also fifty small islands.
-History Of Buddhism In India ,Taranatha[71]
Mahabodhivamsa, (pg.98)
Ashoka served as a viceroy during the rule of his father Bindusara. According to established
constitutional usage, Asoka as Prince served as viceroy in one of the remoter provinces of
the Empire. This was the province of Western India called Avantirattham or province of Avanti
with headquarter at Ujjain.[72]
Conquest of the Saurashtra
Chandragupta conquered Southern-Western part of India. Especially his conquest over
Saurashtra and Sudarshana lake construction is preseved in later Satrapian king Rudradaman
inscription:
(L.8) Transliteration: mauryasya rājyaḥ candra-guptasya rāṣṭriyena
vaiśyena puṣpa-guptena kāritam śokasya mauryasya kṛte yavana-raj
tuṣāra-saphenādhāyā
(L.8) for the sake of ordered to be made by the Vaishya Pushyagupta,
the provincial governor of the Maurya king Chandragupta; adorned
with conduits for Ashoka the Maurya by the Yavana king Tushaspha
while governing; and by the conduit ordered to be made by him,
constructed in a manner worthy of a king (and) seen in that breach.
—Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman[73]

12. Conquest of the Kalinga
Kalinga War plays a very important role in Mauryan history which changes a cruel Emperor
Chanda-Ashoka to Priyadarshi Ashoka.
"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Priyadarsi(Ashoka)conquered the Kalingas
eight years after his coronation. One hundred and fifty thousand were
deported, one hundred thousand were killed and many more died
(from other causes). After the Kalingas had been conquered, Beloved-
of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dharma, a
love for the Dharma and for instruction in Dharma. Now Beloved-of-
the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered the Kalingas. "
—Ashoka, Major Rock Edict No. 13 [7] (https://books.google.co.in/books?id=K4vHjbUtf_4C&p
g=PT82&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false)
Conquest of the Kuntala
Shikarpur Taluq, inscription 225 . Mentioned about Mauryan ruling in the region of Kuntala
.The Kuntala country is an ancient Indian political region included the western Deccan and
some parts of central,south Karnataka and north Mysore.
South India , Kuntala present in Western coastal region

13. Kuntala-kshôpiyam pesarvett â-nava-Nanda-Gupta-kula-Mauryya-
kshmâpar aldar llasaj-jasad [8] (https://archive.org/details/epigraphia_c
arnatica_vol7_myso/page/n327/mode/1up)
Translation : The Kuntala country, which is like curls (kuntaja) to the
lady Earth, was-ruled by the renowned nine Nandas, the Gupta and
Mauryan kings. [9] (https://archive.org/details/epigraphia_carnatica_vol
7_myso/page/n587/mode/1up)
Boundaries sharing territories
Even though Ashoka defined the boundaries of his empire four times in various inscriptions
(with same lines) but he never mentioned any inner hole or unconquered region inside his
empire.This suggests that Ashoka's empire was likely contiguous, with no significant
unconquered regions within its borders :
Sav[r]atravijite [De]va[nam]priyasaPriyadrashisa y[e] cha [a]mtayatha
[Choda] PamdiyaSatiyaputro KeradaputroTambapamni…,
-Second Rock-Edict: Shahbazgarhi [10] (https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.25989/page/5
1/mode/1up)
Sav[a]ta vijitsi Devanampiyas[a] Piyadasis[a] lajine ye cha amta [a]tha
Choda Pam[di]yaSatiyaputo Ke[lala]putoTamba[pa]mni..
-Second Rock Edict: Kalsi [11] (https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.25989/page/28/mode/
1up)
sa[vatra vi]jitasi Devanapriyasa Priyadrashisarajine ye cha ataatha
[Choda] Pa[mdiya] Sa[ti]ya[p]u[tra] Keralaputra [Tam]bapani..
-Second Rock Edict: Mansehra [12] (https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.25989/page/71/m
ode/1up)
Sav[r]atravijite [De]va[nam]priyasaPriyadrashisa Ye Ca anta ataChoda,
Pandiya, Satiyaputo, Ketalaputo, Tam bapanni, Antiyogonaama,
Yonalaja....

14. -Second Rock Edict :Girnar [13] (https://archive.org/details/dli.ministry.25520/page/117/mod
e/1up)
—Translation: Everywhere in the conquered dominions of king Priyadarsin, the beloved-of the
gods, and the dominions on the boarders as those of the Choda (the Colas), Pandiya (the
Pandyas). Satiyaputo (The Satiyaputras) and the Ketalaputo (the Keralaputras), as far as
Tamraparni, the Yavana king named Antiyogonaama (Antiyoka) and the other neighbouring
kings of this king Antiyoka.
Empire reconstruction from fragments
According to the account of Fa Hein who was the first Chinese pilgrim to visit India during
399 and 414 CE. His work "The travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D.)"mentioned that Ashoka
constructed 84,000 Buddhist stupas and pillars after destroying seven stupas that initially
housed Buddha relics. Ashoka divided the relics from these seven stupas into 84,000 parts :
" King Asoka having destroyed seven (of the original) pagodas,
constructed 84,000 others. The very first which he built is the great
tower which stands about three li to the south of this. city. In front of
this pagoda is an impression of Buddha’s foot, (over which) they have
raised a chapel, the gate of which faces the north. To the south of the
tower is a stone pillar, about a chang and a half in girth (18 feet), and
Possible Mauryan Empire size according to details given in Ashoka Second Rock Edict of Shahbazgarhi , Kalsi
,Mansera and Girnar.

15. three cluing or so in height (35 feet). On the surface of this pillar is an
inscription to the following effect: “King Asoka presented the whole of
Jambudvipa to the priests of the four quarters, and redeemed it again
with money, and tins he did three times.” Three or four hundred paces
to the north of the pagoda is the spot where Asoka was horn (or
resided). On this spot he raised the city of Ni-li, and in the midst of it
erected a stone pillar, also about 35 feet in height, on the top of which
he placed the figure of a lion, and also engraved an historical record on
the pillar giving an account of the successive events connected with Ni-
li, with the corresponding year, day, and month." ~Chapter XXVII , The
travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D)[14] (https://www.wisdomlib.org/south-asia/
book/the-travels-of-fa-hian/d/doc220127.html)
" When King Asoka was living he wished to destroy the eight towers
and to build eighty-four thousand others. Having destroyed seven, he
next proceeded to treat this one in the same way."
~Chapter XXIII ,The travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D)[15] (https://www.wisdo
mlib.org/south-asia/book/the-travels-of-fa-hian/d/doc220123.html)
Ashoka built one pillar beside every stupa :
" In after times Asoka, wishing to discover the utmost depths to which
these ladders went, employed men to dig down and examine into it.
They went on digging till they came to the yellow spring (the earth's
foundation), but yet had not come to the bottom. The king, deriving
from this an increase of faith and reverence, forthwith built over the
ladders a and facing the middle flight he placed a standing figure (of
Buddha) sixteen feet high. Behind the vihara, he erected a stone pillar
thirty cubits high, and on the top placed the figure of a lion. Within the
pillar on the four sides are figures of Buddha; both within and without
it is shining and bright as glass. It happened once that some heretical
doctors had a contention with the Sramanas respecting this as a place
of residence. Then the argument of the Sramanas failing, they all
agreed to the following compact: "If this place properly belongs to the
Sramanas, then there will he some supernatural proof given of it."

16. Immediately on this the lion on the top of the pillar uttered a loud
roar." ~Chapter XVII, The travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D)[16] (https://www.
wisdomlib.org/south-asia/book/the-travels-of-fa-hian/d/doc220117.htm
l)
Ashoka commissioned the construction of 84,000 stupas for the preservation of Buddha's
relics. However, over time, many of the Ashoka pillars , inscriptions and stupas have been
subject to complete destruction and deterioration. According to the British historian Charles
Allen, historical records of Ashoka were effectively cleansed to the extent that his name was
largely forgotten for nearly two thousand years. However, very few mysterious stone
monuments and inscriptions miraculously survived, preserving his historical legacy :
" Pg.2 - Ashoka Maurya—or Ashoka the Great as he was later known—
holds a special place in the history of Buddhism and India. At its height
in around 250 BCE, his empire stretched across the Indian subcontinent
to Kandahar in the east, and as far north as the Himalayas. Through his
quest to govern by moral force alone, Ashoka transformed Buddhism
from a minor sect into a major world religion, while simultaneously
setting a new yardstick for government that had lasting implications
for all of Asia. His bold experiment ended in tragedy, however, and in
the tumult that followed the historical record was cleansed so
effectively that his name was largely forgotten for almost two thousand
years. Yet, a few mysterious stone monuments and inscriptions
miraculously survived the purge. "[74]
According to the Indian historian Ram Sharan Sharma, the Mauryans maintained a large army
and implemented a strict judicial system to exercise control over tribal populations under
their Empire :
" Pg.355 The biggest fact of Maurya political history was the
establishment of the Magadha Empire, which included the whole of
India except the far south. This empire was established with the
strength of the sword and it could be protected only with the strength
of the sword. Strong military power was necessary for both external
security and internal peace..The tribal people living inside the empire
and on its borders were equally a cause of trouble. So for this, there
was a huge permanent army and tight judicial system."[75]

17. Popular Maps
Indian New Parliament already have carved Mauryan Empire over mural which represents
Indian integrity and glorious past: [17] (https://bharatmotherofdemocracy.ignca.gov.in/conte
nts/ashoka-responsible-and-accountable-governance/en)) [18] (https://compass.rauias.co
m/current-affairs/mural-in-new-parliament/) [19] (https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/govern
ment-reacts-on-row-over-akhand-bharat-mural-in-new-parliament-4089062) . Several
historians have reconstructed the map of the Mauryan Empire based on details from
Ashoka's inscriptions and accounts from Greek historians, among other sources. For
example :
ASI (Archeological Survey Of India) referenced rough map of Mauryan Empire :[20] (https://
archive.org/details/dli.calcutta.06445/page/n421/mode/1up)
British Historian Geoffrey Parker created map on Mauryan Empire :[21] (https://archive.org/
details/timescompacthist0000unse_g4l2/page/29/mode/1up)
British historian Patrick K. O'Brien created Mauryan Empire Map: [22] (https://archive.org/d
etails/philipsatlasofwo0000unse_u6t7/page/46/mode/1up) ,
American historian Gerald Danzer created Mauryan Empire Map: [23] (https://archive.org/d
etails/atlasofworldhist0000danz/page/44/mode/1up)
British Historian Charles Allen created Mauryan Empire Map: [24] (https://www.google.co.i
n/books/edition/Ashoka/K4vHjbUtf_4C?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PT5&printsec=frontcover)
Chandragupta Maurya
Founding Emperors
Pataliputra, capital of the Mauryas. Ruins of pillared hall at Kumrahar site.

18. After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, Chandragupta led a series of campaigns in
305 BCE to take satrapies in the Indus Valley and northwest India.[76]
When Alexander's
remaining forces were routed, returning westwards, Seleucus I Nicator fought to defend
these territories. Not many details of the campaigns are known from ancient sources.
Seleucus was defeated and retreated into the mountainous region of Afghanistan.[77]
The two rulers concluded a peace treaty in 303 BCE, including a marital alliance. Under its
terms, Chandragupta received the satrapies of Paropamisadae (Kamboja and Gandhara) and
Arachosia (Kandhahar) and Gedrosia (Balochistan). Seleucus I received the 500 war
elephants that were to have a decisive role in his victory against western Hellenistic kings at
the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BCE. Diplomatic relations were established and several Greeks,
such as the historian Megasthenes, Deimakos and Dionysius resided at the Mauryan
court.[78]
Megasthenes in particular was a notable Greek ambassador in the court of Chandragupta
Maurya.[79]
His book Indika is a major literary source for information about the Mauryan
Empire. According to Arrian, ambassador Megasthenes (c. 350 – c. 290 BCE) lived in
Arachosia and travelled to Pataliputra.[80]
Megasthenes' description of Mauryan society as
freedom-loving gave Seleucus a means to avoid invasion, however, underlying Seleucus'
decision was the improbability of success. In later years, Seleucus' successors maintained
diplomatic relations with the Empire based on similar accounts from returning travellers.[76]
Chandragupta established a strong centralised state with an administration at Pataliputra,
which, according to Megasthenes, was "surrounded by a wooden wall pierced by 64 gates
The Pataliputra capital, discovered at the Bulandi Bagh site of Pataliputra, 4th–3rd c. BCE.

19. and 570 towers". Aelian, although not expressly quoting Megasthenes nor mentioning
Pataliputra, described Indian palaces as superior in splendor to Persia's Susa or Ecbatana.[81]
The architecture of the city seems to have had many similarities with Persian cities of the
period.[82]
Chandragupta's son Bindusara extended the rule of the Mauryan empire towards southern
India. The famous Tamil poet Mamulanar of the Sangam literature described how areas
south of the Deccan Plateau which comprised Tamil country was invaded by the Maurya
army using troops from Karnataka. Mamulanar states that Vadugar (people who resided in
Andhra-Karnataka regions immediately to the north of Tamil Nadu) formed the vanguard of
the Mauryan army.[44][83]
He also had a Greek ambassador at his court, named Deimachus.[84]
According to Plutarch, Chandragupta Maurya subdued all of India, and Justin also observed
that Chandragupta Maurya was "in possession of India". These accounts are corroborated by
Tamil sangam literature which mentions about Mauryan invasion with their south Indian allies
and defeat of their rivals at Podiyil hill in Tirunelveli district in present-day Tamil Nadu.[85][86]
Chandragupta renounced his throne and followed Jain teacher Bhadrabahu.[87][88][89]
He is
said to have lived as an ascetic at Shravanabelagola for several years before fasting to death,
as per the Jain practice of sallekhana.[90]
Bindusara
Bindusara was born to Chandragupta, the founder of the Mauryan Empire. This is attested by
several sources, including the various Puranas and the Mahavamsa.[91]
He is attested by the
Buddhist texts such as Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa ("Bindusaro"); the Jain texts such as
Parishishta-Parvan; as well as the Hindu texts such as Vishnu Purana ("Vindusara").[92][93]
According to the 12th century Jain writer Hemachandra's Parishishta-Parvan, the name of
A silver coin of 1 karshapana of the Maurya empire, period of Bindusara Maurya about 297–272 BC, workshop of
Pataliputra. Obv: Symbols with a sun. Rev: Symbol. Dimensions: 14 × 11 mm. Weight: 3.4 g.

20. Bindusara's mother was Durdhara.[94]
Some Greek sources also mention him by the name
"Amitrochates" or its variations.[95][96]
Historian Upinder Singh estimates that Bindusara ascended the throne around 297 BCE.[83]
Bindusara, just 22 years old, inherited a large empire that consisted of what is now, Northern,
Central and Eastern parts of India along with parts of Afghanistan and Baluchistan.
Bindusara extended this empire to the southern part of India, as far as what is now known as
Karnataka. He brought sixteen states under the Mauryan Empire and thus conquered almost
all of the Indian peninsula (he is said to have conquered the 'land between the two seas' – the
peninsular region between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea). Bindusara did not
conquer the friendly Tamil kingdoms of the Cholas, ruled by King Ilamcetcenni, the Pandyas,
and Cheras. Apart from these southern states, Kalinga (modern Odisha) was the only
kingdom in India that did not form part of Bindusara's empire.[97]
It was later conquered by
his son Ashoka, who served as the viceroy of Ujjaini during his father's reign, which highlights
the importance of the town.[98][99]
Bindusara's life has not been documented as well as that of his father Chandragupta or of his
son Ashoka. Chanakya continued to serve as prime minister during his reign. According to
the medieval Tibetan scholar Taranatha who visited India, Chanakya helped Bindusara "to
destroy the nobles and kings of the sixteen kingdoms and thus to become absolute master
of the territory between the eastern and western oceans".[100]
During his rule, the citizens of
Taxila revolted twice. The reason for the first revolt was the maladministration of Susima, his
eldest son. The reason for the second revolt is unknown, but Bindusara could not suppress it
in his lifetime. It was crushed by Ashoka after Bindusara's death.[101]
Bindusara maintained friendly diplomatic relations with the Hellenic world. Deimachus was
the ambassador of Seleucid emperor Antiochus I at Bindusara's court.[102]
Diodorus states
that the king of Palibothra (Pataliputra, the Mauryan capital) welcomed a Greek author,
Iambulus. This king is usually identified as Bindusara.[102]
Pliny states that the Egyptian king
Philadelphus sent an envoy named Dionysius to India.[103][104]
According to Sailendra Nath
Sen, this appears to have happened during Bindusara's reign.[102]
Unlike his father Chandragupta (who at a later stage converted to Jainism), Bindusara
believed in the Ajivika sect. Bindusara's guru Pingalavatsa (Janasana) was a Brahmin[105]
of
the Ajivika sect. Bindusara's wife, Queen Subhadrangi (Queen Dharma/ Aggamahesi) was a
Brahmin[106]
also of the Ajivika sect from Champa (present Bhagalpur district). Bindusara is
credited with giving several grants to Brahmin monasteries (Brahmana-bhatto).[107]
Historical evidence suggests that Bindusara died in the 270s BCE. According to Upinder
Singh, Bindusara died around 273 BCE.[83]
Alain Daniélou believes that he died around 274

21. BCE.[100]
Sailendra Nath Sen believes that he died around 273–272 BCE, and that his death
was followed by a four-year struggle of succession, after which his son Ashoka became the
emperor in 269–268 BCE.[102]
According to the Mahavamsa, Bindusara reigned for 28
years.[108]
The Vayu Purana, which names Chandragupta's successor as "Bhadrasara", states
that he ruled for 25 years.[109]
Ashoka
Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath. c. 250 BCE.

22. As a young prince, Ashoka (r. 272–232 BCE) was a brilliant commander who crushed revolts
in Ujjain and Taxila. As monarch he was ambitious and aggressive, re-asserting the Empire's
superiority in southern and western India. But it was his conquest of Kalinga (262–261 BCE)
which proved to be the pivotal event of his life. Ashoka used Kalinga to project power over a
large region by building a fortification there and securing it as a possession.[110]
Although
Ashoka's army succeeded in overwhelming Kalinga forces of royal soldiers and civilian units,
an estimated 100,000 soldiers and civilians were killed in the furious warfare, including over
10,000 of Ashoka's own men. Hundreds of thousands of people were adversely affected by
the destruction and fallout of war. When he personally witnessed the devastation, Ashoka
began feeling remorse. Although the annexation of Kalinga was completed, Ashoka
embraced the teachings of Buddhism, and renounced war and violence. He sent out
missionaries to travel around Asia and spread Buddhism to other countries. He also
propagated his own dhamma.
Ashoka pillar at Vaishali.
Fragment of the 6th Pillar Edict of Ashoka (238 BCE), in Brahmi, sandstone, British Museum.

23. Ashoka implemented principles of ahimsa by banning hunting and violent sports activity and
ending indentured and forced labor (many thousands of people in war-ravaged Kalinga had
been forced into hard labour and servitude). While he maintained a large and powerful army,
to keep the peace and maintain authority, Ashoka expanded friendly relations with states
across Asia and Europe, and he sponsored Buddhist missions. He undertook a massive
public works building campaign across the country. Over 40 years of peace, harmony and
prosperity made Ashoka one of the most successful and famous monarchs in Indian history.
He remains an idealized figure of inspiration in modern India.
The Edicts of Ashoka, set in stone, are found throughout the Subcontinent. Ranging from as
far west as Afghanistan and as far south as Andhra (Nellore District), Ashoka's edicts state
his policies and accomplishments. Although predominantly written in Prakrit, two of them
were written in Greek, and one in both Greek and Aramaic. Ashoka's edicts refer to the
Greeks, Kambojas, and Gandharas as peoples forming a frontier region of his empire. They
also attest to Ashoka's having sent envoys to the Greek rulers in the West as far as the
Mediterranean. The edicts precisely name each of the rulers of the Hellenic world at the time
such as Amtiyoko (Antiochus), Tulamaya (Ptolemy), Amtikini (Antigonos), Maka (Magas) and
Alikasudaro (Alexander) as recipients of Ashoka's proselytism. The Edicts also accurately
locate their territory "600 yojanas away" (a yojanas being about 7 miles), corresponding to the
distance between the center of India and Greece (roughly 4,000 miles).[111]
Decline
Ashoka was followed for 50 years by a succession of weaker kings. He was succeeded by
Dasharatha Maurya, who was Ashoka's grandson. None of Ashoka's sons could ascend to the
throne after him. Mahinda, his firstborn, became a Buddhist monk. Kunala Maurya was blind
and hence couldn't ascend to the throne; and Tivala, son of Kaurwaki, died even earlier than
Ashoka. Little is known about another son, Jalauka.
The empire lost many territories under Dasharatha, which were later reconquered by
Samprati, Kunala's son. Post Samprati, the Mauryas slowly lost many territories. In 180 BCE,
Brihadratha Maurya, was killed by his general Pushyamitra Shunga in a military parade
without any heir. Hence, the great Maurya empire finally ended, giving rise to the Shunga
Empire.
Reasons advanced for the decline include the succession of weak kings after Aśoka Maurya,
the partition of the empire into two, the growing independence of some areas within the
empire, such as that ruled by Sophagasenus, a top-heavy administration where authority was

24. entirely in the hands of a few persons, an absence of any national consciousness,[112]
the
pure scale of the empire making it unwieldy, and invasion by the Greco-Bactrian Empire.
Some historians, such as H. C. Raychaudhuri, have argued that Ashoka's pacifism
undermined the "military backbone" of the Maurya empire. Others, such as Romila Thapar,
have suggested that the extent and impact of his pacifism have been "grossly
exaggerated".[113]
Shunga coup (185 BCE)
Buddhist records such as the Ashokavadana write that the assassination of Brihadratha and
the rise of the Shunga empire led to a wave of religious persecution for Buddhists,[114]
and a
resurgence of Hinduism. According to Sir John Marshall,[115]
Pushyamitra may have been the
main author of the persecutions, although later Shunga kings seem to have been more
supportive of Buddhism. Other historians, such as Etienne Lamotte[116]
and Romila
Thapar,[117]
among others, have argued that archaeological evidence in favour of the
allegations of persecution of Buddhists are lacking, and that the extent and magnitude of the
atrocities have been exaggerated.
Establishment of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BCE)
The fall of the Mauryas left the Khyber Pass unguarded, and a wave of foreign invasion
followed. The Greco-Bactrian king, Demetrius, capitalized on the break-up, and he conquered
southern Afghanistan and parts of northwestern India around 180 BCE, forming the Indo-
Greek Kingdom. The Indo-Greeks would maintain holdings on the trans-Indus region, and
make forays into central India, for about a century. Under them, Buddhism flourished, and one
of their kings, Menander, became a famous figure of Buddhism; he was to establish a new
capital of Sagala, the modern city of Sialkot. However, the extent of their domains and the
lengths of their rule are subject to much debate. Numismatic evidence indicates that they
retained holdings in the subcontinent right up to the birth of Christ. Although the extent of
their successes against indigenous powers such as the Shungas, Satavahanas, and Kalingas
are unclear, what is clear is that Scythian tribes, renamed Indo-Scythians, brought about the
demise of the Indo-Greeks from around 70 BCE and retained lands in the trans-Indus, the
region of Mathura, and Gujarat.
Megasthenes mentions military command consisting of six boards of five members each, (i)
Navy (ii) military transport (iii) Infantry (iv) Cavalry with Catapults (v) Chariot divisions and (vi)
Elephants.[118]
Military

25. Historians theorise that the organisation of the Empire was in line with the extensive
bureaucracy described by Chanakya in the Arthashastra: a sophisticated civil service
governed everything from municipal hygiene to international trade. The expansion and
defense of the empire was made possible by what appears to have been one of the largest
armies in the world during the Iron Age.[119]
According to Megasthenes, the empire wielded a
military of 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots and 9,000 war elephants besides
followers and attendants.[120]
The Empire was divided into four provinces, with the imperial capital at Pataliputra. From
Ashokan edicts, the names of the four provincial capitals are Tosali (in the east), Ujjain (in the
west), Suvarnagiri (in the south), and Taxila (in the north). The head of the provincial
administration was the Kumara (royal prince), who governed the provinces as king's
representative. The kumara was assisted by Mahamatyas and council of ministers. This
organizational structure was reflected at the imperial level with the Emperor and his
Mantriparishad (Council of Ministers).. The mauryans established a well developed coin
minting system. Coins were mostly made of silver and copper. Certain gold coins were in
circulation as well. The coins were widely used for trade and commerce[121]
The economy of the empire has been described as, "a socialized monarchy", "a sort of state
socialism", and the world's first welfare state.[122]
Under the Mauryan system there was no
private ownership of land as all land was owned by the king to whom tribute was paid by the
by the laboring class. In return the emperor supplied the laborers with agricultural products,
animals, seeds, tools, public infrastructure, and stored food in reserve for times of crisis.[122]
Administration
Statuettes of the Mauryan era

26. Local government
Arthashastra and Megasthenes accounts of Pataliputra describe the intricate municipal
system formed by Maurya empire to govern its cities. A city counsel made up of thirty
commissioners was divided into six committees or boards which governed the city. The first
board fixed wages and looked after provided goods, second board made arrangement for
foreign dignitaries, tourists and businessmen, third board made records and registrations,
fourth looked after manufactured goods and sale of commodities, fifth board regulated trade,
issued licenses and checked weights and measurements, sixth board collected sales taxes.
Some cities such as Taxila had autonomy to issue their own coins. The city counsel had
officers who looked after public welfare such as maintenance of roads, public buildings,
markets, hospitals, educational institutions etc.[123]
The official head of the village was
Gramika (in towns Nagarika).[124]
The city counsel also had some magisterial powers. The
taking of Census was regular process in the Mauryan administration. The village officials
(Gramika) and municipal officials (Nagarika) were responsible enumerating different classes
of people in the Mauryan empire such as traders, agriculturists, smiths, potters, carpenters
etc. and also cattle, mostly for taxation purposes.[125]
These vocations consolidated as
castes, a feature of Indian society that continues to influence the Indian politics till today.
Economy

27. For the first time in South Asia, political unity and military security allowed for a common
economic system and enhanced trade and commerce, with increased agricultural
productivity. The previous situation involving hundreds of kingdoms, many small armies,
powerful regional chieftains, and internecine warfare, gave way to a disciplined central
authority. Farmers were freed of tax and crop collection burdens from regional kings, paying
instead to a nationally administered and strict-but-fair system of taxation as advised by the
principles in the Arthashastra. Chandragupta Maurya established a single currency across
India, and a network of regional governors and administrators and a civil service provided
justice and security for merchants, farmers and traders. The Mauryan army wiped out many
gangs of bandits, regional private armies, and powerful chieftains who sought to impose their
own supremacy in small areas. Although regimental in revenue collection, Maurya also
sponsored many public works and waterways to enhance productivity, while internal trade in
India expanded greatly due to new-found political unity and internal peace.
Under the Indo-Greek friendship treaty, and during Ashoka's reign, an international network of
trade expanded. The Khyber Pass, on the modern boundary of Pakistan and Afghanistan,
became a strategically important port of trade and intercourse with the outside world. Greek
states and Hellenic kingdoms in West Asia became important trade partners of India. Trade
also extended through the Malay peninsula into Southeast Asia. India's exports included silk
goods and textiles, spices and exotic foods. The external world came across new scientific
knowledge and technology with expanding trade with the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka also
sponsored the construction of thousands of roads, waterways, canals, hospitals, rest-houses
and other public works. The easing of many over-rigorous administrative practices, including
those regarding taxation and crop collection, helped increase productivity and economic
activity across the Empire.
In many ways, the economic situation in the Mauryan Empire is analogous to the Roman
Empire of several centuries later. Both had extensive trade connections and both had
organizations similar to corporations. While Rome had organizational entities which were
largely used for public state-driven projects, Mauryan India had numerous private commercial
entities. These existed purely for private commerce and developed before the Mauryan
Empire itself.[126]
Maurya statuette, 2nd century BCE.

28. Maurya Empire coinage
Hoard of mostly Mauryan coins.
Silver punch mark coin of the Maurya empire, with symbols of wheel and elephant. 3rd century BCE.
Mauryan coin with arched hill symbol on reverse.

29. Mauryan Empire coin. Circa late 4th-2nd century BCE.
Mauryan Empire, Emperor Salisuka or later. Circa 207-194 BCE.[127]
Throughout the period of empire, Vedic was an important religion.[128]
The Mauryans favored
Brahmanism as well as Jainism and Buddhism. Minor religious sects such as Ajivikas also
received patronage. A number of Hindu texts were written during the Mauryan period.[129]
Religion

30. According to a Jain text from the 12th century, Chandragupta Maurya followed Jainism after
retiring, when he renounced his throne and material possessions to join a wandering group of
Jain monks and in his last days, he observed the rigorous but self-purifying Jain ritual of
santhara (fast unto death), at Shravana Belgola in Karnataka.[130][89][131][88]
Nevertheless, it is
possible that Chandragupta Maurya "did not give up the performance of sacrificial rites and
was far from following the Jaina creed of Ahimsa or non-injury to animals."[132]
Samprati, the
grandson of Ashoka, also patronized Jainism. Samprati was influenced by the teachings of
Jain monks like Suhastin and he is said to have built 125,000 derasars across India.[133]
Some of them are still found in the towns of Ahmedabad, Viramgam, Ujjain, and Palitana. It is
also said that just like Ashoka, Samprati sent messengers and preachers to Greece, Persia
and the Middle East for the spread of Jainism, but, to date, no evidence has been found to
support this claim.[134][135]
Bhadrabahu Cave, Shravanabelagola where Chandragupta is said to have died
The stupa, which contained the relics of Buddha, at the center of the Sanchi complex was originally built by the
Maurya Empire, but the balustrade around it is Sunga, and the decorative gateways are from the later Satavahana
period.

31. The Buddhist texts Samantapasadika and Mahavamsa suggest that Bindusara followed Hindu
Brahmanism, calling him a "Brahmana bhatto" ("monk of the Brahmanas").[136][137]
Magadha, the centre of the empire, was also the birthplace of Buddhism. Ashoka initially
practised Brahmanism but later followed Buddhism; following the Kalinga War, he renounced
expansionism and aggression, and the harsher injunctions of the Arthashastra on the use of
force, intensive policing, and ruthless measures for tax collection and against rebels. Ashoka
sent a mission led by his son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta to Sri Lanka, whose king
Tissa was so charmed with Buddhist ideals that he adopted them himself and made
Buddhism the state religion. Ashoka sent many Buddhist missions to West Asia, Greece and
South East Asia, and commissioned the construction of monasteries and schools, as well as
the publication of Buddhist literature across the empire. He is believed to have built as many
as 84,000 stupas across India, such as Sanchi and Mahabodhi Temple, and he increased the
popularity of Buddhism in Afghanistan and Thailand. Ashoka helped convene the Third
Buddhist Council of India's and South Asia's Buddhist orders near his capital, a council that
undertook much work of reform and expansion of the Buddhist religion. Indian merchants
embraced Buddhism and played a large role in spreading the religion across the Mauryan
Empire.[138]
The population of South Asia during the Mauryan period has been estimated to be between
15 and 30 million.[139]
According to Tim Dyson, the period of the Mauryan Empire saw the
consolidation of caste among the Indo-Aryan people who had settled in the Gangetic plain,
increasingly meeting tribal people who were incorporated into their evolving caste-system,
and the declining rights of women in the Indo-Aryan speaking regions of India, though "these
developments did not affect people living in large parts of the subcontinent."[140]
The Dharmarajika stupa in Taxila, modern Pakistan, is also thought to have been established by Emperor Asoka.
Society

32. The greatest monument of this period, executed in the reign of Chandragupta Maurya, was
the old palace at Paliputra, modern Kumhrar in Patna. Excavations have unearthed the
remains of the palace, which is thought to have been a group of several buildings, the most
important of which was an immense pillared hall supported on a high substratum of timbers.
The pillars were set in regular rows, thus dividing the hall into a number of smaller square
bays. The number of columns is 80, each about 7 meters high. According to the eyewitness
account of Megasthenes, the palace was chiefly constructed of timber, and was considered
to exceed in splendour and magnificence the palaces of Susa and Ecbatana, its gilded pillars
being adorned with golden vines and silver birds. The buildings stood in an extensive park
studded with fish ponds and furnished with a great variety of ornamental trees and
shrubs.[141]
Kauṭilya's Arthashastra also gives the method of palace construction from this
period. Later fragments of stone pillars, including one nearly complete, with their round
tapering shafts and smooth polish, indicate that Ashoka was responsible for the construction
of the stone columns which replaced the earlier wooden ones.
Architectural remains
Mauryan architecture in the Barabar Caves. Lomas Rishi Cave. 3rd century BCE.

33. During the Ashokan period, stonework was of a highly diversified order and comprised lofty
free-standing pillars, railings of stupas, lion thrones and other colossal figures. The use of
stone had reached such great perfection during this time that even small fragments of stone
art were given a high lustrous polish resembling fine enamel. This period marked the
beginning of Buddhist architecture. Ashoka was responsible for the construction of several
stupas, which were large domes and bearing symbols of Buddha. The most important ones
are located at Sanchi, Bodhgaya, Bharhut, and possibly Amaravati Stupa. The most
widespread examples of Mauryan architecture are the Ashoka pillars and carved edicts of
Ashoka, often exquisitely decorated, with more than 40 spread throughout the Indian
subcontinent.[142]
The peacock was a dynastic symbol of Mauryans, as depicted by Ashoka's pillars at
Nandangarh and Sanchi Stupa.[50]
An early stupa, 6 meters in diameter, with fallen umbrella on side. Chakpat, near Chakdara. Probably Maurya, 3rd
century BCE.

34. Maurya structures and decorations at Sanchi
(3rd century BCE)
Approximate
reconstitution
of the Great
Stupa at
Sanchi under
the Mauryas.
Remains of the Ashokan Pillar in polished stone (right of the Southern Gateway).
Remains of the shaft of the pillar of Ashoka, under a shed near the Southern Gateway.

35. Pillar and its inscription (the "Schism Edict") upon discovery.
The capital nowadays.[143]

36. The protection of animals in India was advocated by the time of the Maurya dynasty; being
the first empire to provide a unified political entity in India, the attitude of the Mauryas
towards forests, their denizens, and fauna in general is of interest.[145]
The Mauryas firstly looked at forests as resources. For them, the most important forest
product was the elephant. Military might in those times depended not only upon horses and
men but also battle-elephants; these played a role in the defeat of Seleucus, one of
Alexander's former generals. The Mauryas sought to preserve supplies of elephants since it
was cheaper and took less time to catch, tame and train wild elephants than to raise them.
Kautilya's Arthashastra contains not only maxims on ancient statecraft, but also
unambiguously specifies the responsibilities of officials such as the Protector of the Elephant
Forests.[146]
On the border of the forest, he should establish a forest for elephants
guarded by foresters. The Office of the Chief Elephant Forester
Natural history
The two Yakshas, possibly 3rd century BCE, found in Pataliputra. The two Brahmi inscriptions starting with ...
(Yakhe... for "Yaksha...") are paleographically of a later date, circa 2nd century CE Kushan.[144]

37. should with the help of guards protect the elephants in any terrain.
The slaying of an elephant is punishable by death.
— Kautilya, Arthashastra
The Mauryas also designated separate forests to protect supplies of timber, as well as lions
and tigers for skins. Elsewhere the Protector of Animals also worked to eliminate thieves,
tigers and other predators to render the woods safe for grazing cattle.
The Mauryas valued certain forest tracts in strategic or economic terms and instituted curbs
and control measures over them. They regarded all forest tribes with distrust and controlled
them with bribery and political subjugation. They employed some of them, the food-gatherers
or aranyaca to guard borders and trap animals. The sometimes tense and conflict-ridden
relationship nevertheless enabled the Mauryas to guard their vast empire.[147]
When Ashoka embraced Buddhism in the latter part of his reign, he brought about significant
changes in his style of governance, which included providing protection to fauna, and even
relinquished the royal hunt. He was the first ruler in history to advocate conservation
measures for wildlife and even had rules inscribed in stone edicts. The edicts proclaim that
many followed the king's example in giving up the slaughter of animals; one of them proudly
states:[147]
However, the edicts of Ashoka reflect more the desire of rulers than actual events; the
mention of a 100 'panas' (coins) fine for poaching deer in royal hunting preserves shows that
rule-breakers did exist. The legal restrictions conflicted with the practices freely exercised by
the common people in hunting, felling, fishing and setting fires in forests.[147]
Contacts with the Hellenistic world
Mauryan ringstone, with standing goddess. Northwest Pakistan. 3rd Century BCE

38. Foundation of the Empire
Relations with the Hellenistic world may have started from the very beginning of the Maurya
Empire. Plutarch reports that Chandragupta Maurya met with Alexander the Great, probably
around Taxila in the northwest:[148]
Sandrocottus(Chandragupta), when he was a stripling, saw
Alexander himself, and we are told that he often said in later times
that Alexander narrowly missed making himself master of the
country, since its king (Dhananda) was hated and despised on
account of his baseness and low birth.
— Plutarch 62-4[148][149]
Reconquest of the Northwest (c. 317–316 BCE)
Chandragupta ultimately occupied Northwestern India, in the territories formerly ruled by the
Greeks, where he fought the satraps (described as "Prefects" in Western sources) left in
place after Alexander (Justin), among whom may have been Eudemus, ruler in the western
Punjab until his departure in 317 BCE or Peithon, son of Agenor, ruler of the Greek colonies
along the Indus until his departure for Babylon in 316 BCE.
India, after the death of Alexander, had assassinated his prefects, as
if shaking the burden of servitude. The author of this liberation was
Sandracottos, but he had transformed liberation in servitude after
victory, since, after taking the throne, he himself oppressed the very
people he has liberated from foreign domination.
— Justin XV.4.12–13[150]
Later, as he was preparing war against the prefects of Alexander, a
huge wild elephant went to him and took him on his back as if tame,
and he became a remarkable fighter and war leader. Having thus
acquired royal power, Sandracottos possessed India at the time
Seleucos was preparing future glory.
— Justin XV.4.19[151]

39. Conflict and alliance with Seleucus (305 BCE)
Seleucus I Nicator, the Macedonian satrap of the Asian portion of Alexander's former empire,
conquered and put under his own authority eastern territories as far as Bactria and the Indus
(Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55), until in 305 BCE he entered into a
confrontation with Emperor Chandragupta:
Always lying in wait for the neighbouring nations, strong in arms
and persuasive in council, he [Seleucus] acquired Mesopotamia,
Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia,
Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples
that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so
that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia
after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus
was subject to Seleucus.
— Appian, History of Rome, "The Syrian Wars" 55[152]
Though no accounts of the conflict remain, it is clear that Seleucus fared poorly against the
Indian Emperor as he failed to conquer any territory, and in fact was forced to surrender
much that was already his. Regardless, Seleucus and Chandragupta ultimately reached a
settlement and through a treaty sealed in 305 BCE, Seleucus, according to Strabo, ceded a
number of territories to Chandragupta, including eastern Afghanistan and Balochistan.
A map showing the north western border of Maurya Empire, including its various neighboring states.

40. Marriage alliance
Chandragupta and Seleucus concluded a peace treaty and a marriage alliance in 303 BCE.
Chandragupta received vast territories and in a return gave Seleucus 500 war
elephants,[157][158][159][160][161]
a military asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of
Ipsus in 301 BCE.[162]
In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador,
Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, and later Deimakos to his son Bindusara, at the Mauryan
court at Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar). Later, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the ruler of
Ptolemaic Egypt and contemporary of Ashoka, is also recorded by Pliny the Elder as having
sent an ambassador named Dionysius to the Mauryan court.[163]
Mainstream scholarship asserts that Chandragupta received vast territory west of the Indus,
including the Hindu Kush, modern-day Afghanistan, and the Balochistan province of
Pakistan.[164][165]
Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the
inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka, are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
He (Seleucus) crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus
[Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that
stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and
contracted a marriage relationship.
Figure of a foreigner, found in Sarnath, 3rd century BCE.[153]
This is a probable member of the West Asian Pahlava or
Saka elite in the Gangetic plains during the Mauryan period.[154][155][156]

41. — Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55 (https://www.livi
us.org/ap-ark/appian/appian_syriaca_11.html)
After having made a treaty with him (Sandrakotos) and put in order
the Orient situation, Seleucos went to war against Antigonus.
— Junianus Justinus, Historiarum Philippicarum, libri XLIV,
XV.4.15 (http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/trad15.
html)
The treaty on "Epigamia" implies lawful marriage between Greeks and Indians was
recognized at the State level, although it is unclear whether it occurred among dynastic rulers
or common people, or both.
Exchange of presents
Classical sources have also recorded that following their treaty, Chandragupta and Seleucus
exchanged presents, such as when Chandragupta sent various aphrodisiacs to Seleucus:[95]
And Theophrastus says that some contrivances are of wondrous
efficacy in such matters [as to make people more amorous]. And
Phylarchus confirms him, by reference to some of the presents
which Sandrakottus, the king of the Indians, sent to Seleucus; which
were to act like charms in producing a wonderful degree of
affection, while some, on the contrary, were to banish love.
— Athenaeus of Naucratis, The deipnosophists, Book I, chapter
32[166]
His son Bindusara 'Amitraghata' (Slayer of Enemies) also is recorded in Classical sources as
having exchanged presents with Antiochus I:[95]
But dried figs were so very much sought after by all men (for really,
as Aristophanes says, "There's really nothing nicer than dried figs"),
that even Amitrochates, the king of the Indians, wrote to Antiochus,
entreating him (it is Hegesander who tells this story) to buy and send
him some sweet wine, and some dried figs, and a sophist; and that
Antiochus wrote to him in answer, "The dry figs and the sweet wine
we will send you; but it is not lawful for a sophist to be sold in
Greece.

42. — Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIV.67[167]
Greek population in India
An influential and large Greek population was present in the northwest of the Indian
subcontinent under Ashoka's rule, possibly remnants of Alexander's conquests in the Indus
Valley region. In the Rock Edicts of Ashoka, some of them inscribed in Greek, Ashoka states
that the Greeks within his dominion were converted to Buddhism:
Here in the king's dominion among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the
Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras
and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-
Gods' instructions in Dharma.
— (Rock Edict Number 13)
Now, in times past (officers) called Mahamatras of morality did not
exist before. Mahdmatras of morality were appointed by me (when I
had been) anointed thirteen years. These are occupied with all sects
in establishing morality, in promoting morality, and for the welfare
and happiness of those who are devoted to morality (even) among
The Kandahar Edict of Ashoka, a bilingual edict (Greek and Aramaic) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar. Kabul Museum.
(See image description page for translation.)

43. the Greeks, Kambojas and Gandharas, and whatever other western
borderers (of mine there are).
— (Rock Edict Number 5)
Fragments of Edict 13 have been found in Greek, and a full Edict, written in both Greek and
Aramaic, has been discovered in Kandahar. It is said to be written in excellent Classical
Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. In this Edict, Ashoka uses the word Eusebeia
("Piety") as the Greek translation for the ubiquitous "Dharma" of his other Edicts written in
Prakrit:
Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King Piodasses (Ashoka)
made known (the doctrine of) Piety (εὐσέβεια, Eusebeia) to men; and
from this moment he has made men more pious, and everything
thrives throughout the whole world. And the king abstains from
(killing) living beings, and other men and those who (are) huntsmen
and fishermen of the king have desisted from hunting. And if some
(were) intemperate, they have ceased from their intemperance as
was in their power; and obedient to their father and mother and to
the elders, in opposition to the past also in the future, by so acting on
every occasion, they will live better and more happily.
— Trans. by G.P. Carratelli Template:Usurped

44. Dhamma Vijaya to the West (c. 250 BCE)
The distribution of the Edicts of Ashoka.[168]
Map of the Buddhist missions during the reign of Ashoka.

45. Territories "conquered by the Dharma" according to Major Rock Edict No. 13 of Ashoka (260–
218 BCE).[169][170]
Also, in the Edicts of Ashoka, Ashoka mentions the Hellenistic kings of the period as
recipients of his Buddhist proselytism, although no Western historical record of this event
remains:
The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and
even six hundred yojanas (5,400–9,600 km) away, where the Greek
king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named
Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south
among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni (Sri
Lanka).
— Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika.
Ashoka also encouraged the development of herbal medicine, for men and animals, in their
territories:
Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's [Ashoka's]
domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, the
Pandyas, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni
and where the Greek king Antiochos rules, and among the kings who
are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods,
King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment:

46. medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals.
Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not
available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical
roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and
grown. Along roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the
benefit of humans and animals.
— 2nd Rock Edict
The Greeks in India even seem to have played an active role in the spread of Buddhism, as
some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as Dharmaraksita, are described in Pali sources as
leading Greek ("Yona") Buddhist monks, active in Buddhist proselytism (the Mahavamsa,
XII)[171]
Subhagasena and Antiochos III (206 BCE)
Sophagasenus was an Indian Mauryan ruler of the 3rd century BCE, described in ancient
Greek sources, and named Subhagasena or Subhashasena in Prakrit. His name is mentioned
in the list of Mauryan princes. He may have been a grandson of Ashoka, or Kunala, the son of
Ashoka. He ruled an area south of the Hindu Kush, possibly in Gandhara. Antiochos III, the
Seleucid king, after having made peace with Euthydemus in Bactria, went to India in 206 BCE
and is said to have renewed his friendship with the Indian king there:
He (Antiochus) crossed the Caucasus and descended into India;
renewed his friendship with Sophagasenus the king of the Indians;
received more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty
altogether; and having once more provisioned his troops, set out
again personally with his army: leaving Androsthenes of Cyzicus the
duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand
over to him.
— Polybius, The Histories, 11.39[172]
Fa-Hian, the Chinese Buddhist monk and traveler, mentioned Dharmavarddhana, who was
believed to be Subhagsena by historians :
From this, descending eastward, journeying for five days, we arrive at
the country of Gandhara (Kien-to-wei). This is the place which

47. Dharmavarddhana, the son of Asoka, governed. Buddha also in this
country, when he was a Bodhisattva, gave his eyes in charity for the
sake of a man. On this spot also they have raised a great stupa, adorned
with silver and gold. The people of this country mostly study the Little
Vehicle.
~Chapter X ,The travels of Fa-Hian (400 A.D.) [25] (https://www.wisdoml
ib.org/south-asia/book/the-travels-of-fa-hian/d/doc220110.html)
322 BCE: Chandragupta Maurya conquers the Nanda Empire, founding Maurya dynasty.[173]
317–316 BCE: Chandragupta Maurya conquers the Northwest of the Indian subcontinent.
305–303 BCE: Chandragupta Maurya gains territory by defeating the Seleucid Empire.
298–269 BCE: Reign of Bindusara, Chandragupta's son. He conquers parts of Deccan,
southern India.
269–232 BCE: The Mauryan Empire reaches its height under Ashoka, Chandragupta's
grandson.
261 BCE: Ashoka conquers the kingdom of Kalinga.
250 BCE: Ashoka builds Buddhist stupas and erects pillars bearing inscriptions.
184 BCE: The empire collapses when Brihadratha, the last emperor, is killed by Pushyamitra
Shunga, a Mauryan general and the founder of the Shunga Empire.
Timeline

48. Mauryan History Sources Authentic Names
Jain Scriptures
1 - Brihatkalpa Sutra
2 - Brihatkathakosha
3 - Aradhana Satkathaprabandh
4 - Shri Chandravirachita Kathakosha
5 - Nemichandrakrita Kathakosha
6 - Parishishtaparvana
7 - Vividhtirthakalpa
8 - Punyashravakathakosha
9 - Nisitha Sutra
Buddhist Scriptures
1 - Mahavansha
2‌
‌- Dipavansha
3‌
‌- Mahabodhivansha
4 - Tripitaka
5 - Divyavadana
6 - Ashokavadana
7 ‌
- Vinayapitaka
8 - Mahavansatika (Vansatthappakasini)
9 - Uttara Vihara Attakatha
Vedic Scriptures 1 - Matsya Purana
2 - Vishnu Purana
Sources of Mauryan History

49. 3‌- Bhagavata Purana
4 - Bhavishya Purana
5 - Brahmanda Purana
6 - Vayu Purana
7 - Kamandaka Neetisara
Inscriptions / Rock Edicts Evidence
1 - Ashoka's Rock Edicts, Cave Inscriptions, Pillar Edicts
2 - Kharavela's Hathigumpha Rock Edicts
3 - Rudradaman Inscription of Junagarh
Ancient Historical Books
1 - Arthashastra, Kautilya
2 - Mudrarakshasa, Vishakhadatta
3 - Mahabhashya, Patanjali
4 - Malavikagnimitram, Kalidasa
5 - Harshacharita, Banabhatta
6 - Rajatarangini, Kalhana
7 - Indica, Megasthenese
8 - Naturalis Historia, Pliny
9 - Epitome of Trogus, Justin
10 - Geographica, Strabo
11 - Anabasis Alexandri, Arrian
12 - The travels of Fa-Hian, Fa Hian
According to Vicarasreni of Merutunga, Mauryans rose to power in 312 BC.[174]
In literature

50. Rulers-
Ruler Reign Notes
Chandragupta
Maurya
322–
297
BCE
Founder of first Indian united empire.
Bindusara
297–
273
BCE
Known for his foreign diplomacy and crushed of Vidarbha
revolt.
Ashoka
268–
232
BCE
Greatest emperor of dynasty. His son Kunala was blinded
and died before his father. Ashoka was succeeded by his
grandson. Also known for Kalinga War victory.
Dasharatha
Maurya
232–
224
BCE
Grandson of Ashoka.
Samprati
224–
215
BCE
Brother of Dasharatha.
Shalishuka
215–
202
BCE
Devavarman
202–
195
BCE
Shatadhanvan
195–
187
BCE
The Mauryan Empire had shrunk by the time of his reign
Brihadratha
187–
184
BCE
Assassinated by his Commander-in-chief Pushyamitra
Shunga in 185 BCE.
List of rulers

51. Family tree of Maurya Emperors
Magadha
Pradyota dynasty
Gupta Empire
History of India
List of Hindu empires and dynasties
1. Indian Historical Quarterly, Vol-13, Issue no.-1-4 (http://archive.org/details/dli.calcutta.06445) .
2. https://books.google.nl/books?id=eyHTschgg50C&pg=PA178&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
3. Shackley, Myra L. (2006). Atlas of travel and tourism development (http://archive.org/details/atlasoftr
aveltou0000shac) . Internet Archive. Amsterdam ; Boston : Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-7506-6348-9.
4. https://archive.org/details/history-of-ancient-and-early-medeival-india-from-the-stone-age-to-the-12th-
century-pdfdrive
5. Spielvogel, Jackson J. (2012). Western civilization (http://archive.org/details/westerncivilizat08edspi
e) . Internet Archive. Boston, MA : Wadsworth Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-0-495-91329-0.
6. https://books.google.nl/books?
id=cCdmEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT143&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
7. The Times ancient civilizations (http://archive.org/details/timesancientcivi0000unse) . Internet
Archive. London : Times Books. 2002. ISBN 978-0-00-710859-6.
8. Haywood, John (1997). Atlas of world history (http://archive.org/details/atlasofworldhist00hayw) .
Internet Archive. New York : Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 978-0-7607-0687-9.
9. Philip's Atlas of World History: From the Origins of Humanity to the Year 2000 (http://archive.org/deta
ils/philipsatlasofwo0000unse_u6t7) . Internet Archive. The Softback Preview. 1999. ISBN 978-0-540-
07858-5.
10. https://books.google.nl/books?id=ffZy5tDjaUkC&pg=PA46&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
11. https://www.routledge.com/India-The-Ancient-Past-A-History-of-the-Indian-Subcontinent-from-c-
7000/Avari/p/book/9781138828216
Family tree
See also
Notes

52. 12. Cady, John F. (John Frank) (1964). Southeast Asia: its historical development (http://archive.org/detai
ls/southeastasiaits0000cady_v1t8) . Internet Archive. New York, McGraw-Hill.
13. Danzer, Gerald A. (2000). An atlas of world history (http://archive.org/details/atlasofworldhist0000da
nz) . Internet Archive. Ann Arbor, MI : Borders Press. ISBN 978-0-681-46572-5.
14. Smith, Vincent Arthur, Press The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911
(https://books.google.com/books?id=p2gxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA104%7Cyear=1920%7Cpublisher=Clar
endon) , pp. 104–106 {{citation}}: Check |url= value (help)
15. Rand McNally and Company; Palmer, R. R. (Robert Roswell) (1965). Rand McNally atlas of world
history (http://archive.org/details/randmcnallyatla00rand) . Internet Archive. Chicago.
16. The Times compact history of the world (http://archive.org/details/timescompacthist0000unse_g4l
2) . Internet Archive. London : Times Books. 2008. ISBN 978-0-00-726731-6.
17. Majumdar, R. C.; Raychaudhuri, H. C.; Datta, Kalikinkar, & Company An Advanced History of India (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=MyIWMwEACAAJ%7Cedition=Second%7Cyear=1950%7Cpublisher=
Macmillan) , p. 104 {{citation}}: Check |url= value (help)
18. Schwartzberg, Joseph E. A Historical Atlas of South Asia (https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwa
rtzberg/) , 2nd ed. (University of Minnesota, 1992), Plate III.B.4b (p.18 (https://dsal.uchicago.edu/re
ference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=055) ) and Plate XIV.1a-c (p.145 (https://dsal.uchicago.ed
u/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=182) )
|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/ |date=26 January 2021
19. Nath sen, Sailendra (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization (https://books.google.com/books?
id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&q=maurya+dynasty+sen) . Routledge. p. 164. ISBN 9788122411980.
20. Bronkhorst, Johannes; Flood, Gavin (July 2020). The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=fxT0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68) . Oxford University Press. p. 68.
ISBN 978-0-19-873350-8.
21. Omvedt, Gail (18 August 2003). Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste (https://book
s.google.com/books?id=rSF8b5hbyP0C&pg=PT70) . SAGE Publications. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-7619-
9664-4.
22. Smith, vincent A. (1981). The Oxford History Of India Part. 1-3, Ed. 4th (https://archive.org/details/in.e
rnet.dli.2015.99999/page/n121/mode/2up) . Oxford University Press. p. 99. "the only direct
evidence throwing light ....is that of Jain tradition. ...it may be that he embraced Jainism towards the
end of his reign. ...after much consideration I am inclined to accept the main facts as affirmed by
tradition .... no alternative account exists."
23. Dalrymple, William (2009-10-07). Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India (https://books.g
oogle.com/books?id=Mc2IVc6obeAC&pg=PT21) . Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4088-0341-7.
"It was here, in the third century BC, that the first Emperor of India, Chandragupta Maurya, embraced
the Jain religion and died through a self-imposed fast to the death,......"

53. 24. Keay, John (1981). India: A History (https://books.google.com/books?id=0IquM4BrJ4YC&pg=PT17
4) . Open Road + Grove/Atlantic. pp. 85–86. ISBN 978-0-8021-9550-0.
25. Long, Jeffery D. (15 April 2020). Historical Dictionary of Hinduism (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=IWXRDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA255) . Rowman & Littlefield. p. 255. ISBN 978-1-5381-2294-5.
26. Boyce, Mary; Grenet, F. (January 1991). A History of Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism under
Macedonian and Roman Rule (https://books.google.com/books?id=Euh5DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA149) .
BRILL. p. 149. ISBN 978-90-04-29391-5.
27. Avari, Burjor (2007). India, the Ancient Past: A History of the Indian Sub-continent from C. 7000 BC to
AD 1200 (https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1e2V_4Um10C) Archived (https://web.archive.org/
web/20221123134054/https://books.google.com/books?id=Y1e2V_4Um10C) 23 November 2022
at the Wayback Machine Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0415356156. pp. 188-189.
28. Taagepera, Rein (1979). "Size and Duration of Empires: Growth-Decline Curves, 600 B.C. to 600 A.D.".
Social Science History. 3 (3/4): 132. doi:10.2307/1170959 (https://doi.org/10.2307%2F1170959) .
JSTOR 1170959 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1170959) .
29. Turchin, Peter; Adams, Jonathan M.; Hall, Thomas D (December 2006). "East-West Orientation of
Historical Empires" (https://web.archive.org/web/20190520161830/http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.ph
p/jwsr/article/view/369/381) . Journal of World-Systems Research. 12 (2): 223. ISSN 1076-156X (ht
tps://www.worldcat.org/issn/1076-156X) . Archived from the original (http://jwsr.pitt.edu/ojs/index.
php/jwsr/article/view/369/381) on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
30. Dyson, Tim (2018), A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day (ht
tps://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16) , Oxford University Press, pp. 16–17,
ISBN 978-0-19-882905-8 Quote: "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and
communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and
subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire'
which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban
centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south."
31. Ludden, David (2013), India and South Asia: A Short History (https://books.google.com/books?id=EbF
HAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA28) , Oneworld Publications, pp. 28–30, ISBN 978-1-78074-108-6
32. Hermann Kulke 2004, pp. xii, 448.
33. Thapar, Romila (1990). A History of India, Volume 1. Penguin Books. p. 384. ISBN 0-14-013835-8.
34. Keay, John (2000). India: A History. Grove Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-8021-3797-5.
35. R. K. Mookerji 1966, p. 31.
36. Seleucus I ceded the territories of Arachosia (modern Kandahar), Gedrosia (modern Balochistan), and
Paropamisadae (or Gandhara). Aria (modern Herat) "has been wrongly included in the list of ceded
satrapies by some scholars ... on the basis of wrong assessments of the passage of Strabo ... and a
statement by Pliny" (Raychaudhuri & Mukherjee 1996, p. 594).

54. 37. John D Grainger 2014, p. 109: Seleucus "must ... have held Aria", and furthermore, his "son Antiochos
was active there fifteen years later".
38. Bhandari, Shirin (2016-01-05). "Dinner on the Grand Trunk Road" (http://roadsandkingdoms.com/201
6/dinner-on-the-grand-trunk-road/) . Roads & Kingdoms. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
39. Hermann Kulke 2004, p. 67.
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sacrificial rites and was far from following the Jaina creed of Ahimsa or non-injury to animals. He
took delight in hunting, a practice that was continued by his son and alluded to by his grandson in his
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133. John Cort 2010, p. 142.
134. John Cort 2010, p. 199.