First Experiment in Imperial Government in India

The first Empire in India, extending from Sind River to Ganges was established by the Mauryans. Chandragupta Maurya managed to win his Empire from the remnants of Nanda kingdom in 321 BC and established his throne securely in the Gangetic plain first. Gradually he turned his attention to north-west of India, where Seleucid kings were ruling.

In a fight against the Greek Seleucus Nicator in 305 BC, Chandragupta Maurya seemed to have won and a favorable treaty was signed in 303 BC. Areas of present East Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Makran were ceded to Maurya from Nicator’s domain, in return of 500 elephants, highly useful in wars in those days.

A marriage alliance was negotiated and the daughter of Nicator was given in marriage to Chandragupta. She came to live in Pataliputra, the capital of Maurya kingdom and along with her came many Greek maiden as her companions. Envoys were exchanged and Megasthenes from the court of Nicator came to live in Pataliputra, and left his impressions of India in a write up called Indica.

Chandragupta was of Shudra caste and not a kshatrya. His Prime Minister Kautilya, a Brahman, was the one who skillfully managed to win the throne of Nandas to Chandragupta. It was an interesting combination – a shrewd Brahman adviser and a Shudra man with muscles. Kautilya, also known as Chanakya, still stands in India for shrewdness or ‘Chanakya tantra.’ The book he wrote, Arthasastra bears witness to this fact.

At the end, Chandragupta became an ardent Jaina, abdicated in favor of his son Bindusara and retired to Sharavanabelgola in today’s Karnataka. He became an ascetic and in the orthodox traditions of Jain religion, he ended his life by regulated slow starvation - self euthanasia? Well, Jain religion permits the same.

Interestingly, the next ruler, Bindusara, asked and received as gifts from Greek King Antiochus I, sweet wine, dried figs and a sophist! On his death in 276 BC, after a period of scuffle with his brothers over the throne, Ashoka succeeded in enthroning himself as an Emperor in 272 BC. His empire extended from north-western India to the east and up to Karnataka in the south. Kalinga was outside his empire and he waged a war and won it.

In the southern peninsula, the Chera, Chola and Pandya kings were ruling and Ashoka seemed to have had friendly relations with them and also with the Sri Lankan king. He had contacts with Antiochus II Theos of Syria, (260-246 BC); Ptolomy II Philadelphus of Egypt (285-247 BC); Antigonus Gonatus of Macedonia (276-239 BC); Magas of Cyrene and Alexander of Epirus.

There were a lot of Greek influences on the Mauryan kings and the people and vice versa. Capitals of the Ashokan pillars are remarkably similar to those at Persepolis and the very idea of engraving on rocks by Ahoka could have come to him on hearing those of the King Darius. He made many Major and Minor Rock Edicts and later engraved on polished sandstone monolithic pillars with animals depicted as capitals, called Pillar Edicts.

Ashoka campaigned against Kalinga kingdom in 260 BC and won. But the destruction caused by the war filled him with deep remorse. 150,000 people were deported; 100,000 soldiers died fighting; and many more perished. The misery caused to the families and the survivors touched his heart. “This participation is all men in suffering weighs heavily on my mind,” he engraved in his Major Rock Edict XIII.

Gradually Ashoka became an ardent Buddhist and adopted non-violence as his principle. The Third Buddhist Council was held during his time at Pataliputra. Decision to spread Buddhism actively was taken during this council and proselytizing was taken up all over India and Asia. His own son Mahinda went to Sri Lanka to preach Buddhism.

It is of interest to note that Ashoka gifted a branch of the original Bodhi tree under which Buddha obtained enlightenment to Sri Lankan Prince and that had survived till today, whereas unfortunately the original tree in India itself was vandalized by anti-Buddhist elements and got destroyed completely.

Emperor Ashoka died in 232 BC and the empire broke up soon afterwards and it ended when the last Mauryan ruler was assassinated by his Commander-in- Chief, Pushyamitra, a Brahman. The usurper founded the Shunga dynasty; thus ended the first experiment in imperial government in India.

Many historians have blamed Ashoka’s non-violence policy, his emphasis on social ethics and his taking active part in propagating Buddhism which went against the grain of Vedic Brahmanism, as the causes for the Empire’s decline and demise. Not necessarily. The real causes may have to be looked at elsewhere.

Vast resources were required to maintain a great standing army, the payment of salary to the higher bureaucracy, the highly centralized administration, and such other costs of maintaining the Empire would have been a great strain on the treasury. The main tax revenue was land revenue, as it was very much an agrarian economy, through trade also flourished. Towards the end there seemed to have been a drought and decline in the fortunes of the empire.