MAINS : Sample Notes For History Optional

The Mauryan Kingdom was divided into four provinces which were further divided into districts and villages. The provincial governor was directly appointed by the king and was usually a member of the royal family. District governors were usually appointed by the provincial governors. The provincial governors were powerful and could act as a check on the viceroy and on occasions acted as effective rulers. Ashoka sent inspectors for tours every five years for an additional audit and check on provincial administration. The district was divided into a group of villages and the final unit of administration was the village. The group of villages was staffed with an accountant who maintained registered land and the tax collector who was concerned with various kinds of revenues. Each village had its own official such as the headman who was responsible to the accountant and the tax collector. The Mauryan rural administration as can be inferred from above was mainly designed to meet the needs of revenue administration though enforcement of law and order also remained an important task.

The growing economic activities of the state and the needs of urban settlements led to the creation of a machinery for town administration. The municipal administration of Patliputra described by Megasthenes does show the concern of the government for certain basic urban problems, such as sanitation, care of foreigners, registration of births and deaths etc. Kautilya does not give any indication of the association of local elements with town administration which is imposed from above. He lays down in detail the duties of the Nagaraka which included maintenance of law and order, supervision of sanitation arrangement and to take measures against outbreaks of fire. The Nagaraka has under him subordinate officials called sthanika and gopa who were placed in charge of the wards into which the town was divided.

Border administration was also an important element of administration. Ashoka introduced an element of moderation in his border administration and his dealings with the tribal people. The dharmamahamataras were asked to persuade the border people to confirm to dharma, rules to peaceful social conduct such as obeying the king and desisting from violence. But if they did not obey these rules, they were threatened with punishments.

The governance of the vast territory with the help of an expanding bureaucracy and a huge standing army involved expenditure. This seems to have been the guiding principle of the Mauryan state in undertaking and regulating numerous economic activities which brought it profit. It founded new settlements and sought to rehabilitate the decaying ones. The shudras for the first time were aided by the state to settle as farmers in these settlements. Kautilya deliberately fostered the rusticity of villages to augment agricultural output so as to achieve the maximum levels of surplus. The other source of taxation included the water tax (on land using the irrigation facilities of the state), tax on trade of cattle, livestock and dairy produce etc. Vishti (forced labour) was practiced. All this required strong and efficient machinery for assessment, collection and storage. However Kautilya considers assessment more important than storage and depositing.

The list of taxes is impressive and must have proved oppressive. But even all these were not considered adequate to meet the needs of exchequer, which had to finance the vast military and bureaucratic establishments. These, therefore had to be supplemented by the reclamation of virgin lands, exploitation of mines and the running of goldsmiths' shops, liquor shops and weaving concerns, all done under the aegis of the state.

The first efficient system of police and criminal administration buttressed by an elaborate system of espionage was developed during the Mauryan period. The kantakasodhana was organised to deal with a large number of eco crimes. The organisation of criminal administration was evidently an indigenous phenomenon. Similar is the case with various categories of spies who were employed to keep an eye and report on the criminal and anti-government activities of the people. The Dharmasthiyas were courts which decided personal disputes.

The nearest approach to a modern police-cum-magisterial officer was the Pradista, but he had some revenue functions also. On the other hand the samaharta, the sthanika and the gopa who had mainly judicial functions were also assigned some police and magisterial duties. Fines served as punishments in most cases. But certain crimes were considered too serious to be punished by fines alone and capital punishment was inflicted even by Ashoka, although he was a supporter of non-violence. Penalties, however, were based on varna hierarchies i.e. for the same kind of offence, brahmanas were punished far less severely than a shudra.

The Mauryan maintained friendly relations with several contemporary powers. Chandragupta received the Greek ambassador Megasthenes, Bindusara had cordial relations with Antiochus and Ashoka's edicts mention Antiochus Theos of Syria, Ptolemy III Philadelphus of Egypt, Antigonus Gonatus of Macedonia and Alexander etc. Ashoka also exchanged missions with Ceylon and gave his daughter in marriage to a Nepalese nobleman. Friendly political relationship with foreign rulers promoted commerce and communications with the outside world as well as exchange of ideas.

The Mauryan state took a keen interest in public works. These included:

• Interest in irrigation as it could be a major source of revenue e.g. Sudarshan lake
• Provision of medical treatment and medicines to both men and animals.
• State also helped citizens during natural calamities
• The Arthashastra mentions that king should look after orphans, old, unattended women etc.
• Laying down and repairing of roads etc.

Thus, though essentially a police state, the Mauryan Empire also worked for the welfare of the people.

CONQUESTS OF CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA

Conquest of Punjab - From the time of Alexander's departure from India to his death in 323 B.C. (June) in Babylonia, there were chaos, instability and infighting among the Greeks in N.W. India. Chandragupta took advantage of these conditions and gained control of this area. It must be noted that the Treaty of Triparadisus does not mention those areas in Punjab and Sindh which were conquered by Alexander. It proves that Chandragupta had wrested these before the conclusion of this treaty. Treaty of Triparadisus was concluded in 321 B.C., according to which the territories conquered by Alexander were divided among his Generals.

Defeat of Nandas and gaining the control of Magadha - Puranas, Mudrarakshasa, Milindpanho, Parishishta Parvan and Mahavamsha Tika tell us that with the help of the cunning of Chanakya, Chandragupta overthrew Nanda king and Chandragupta wrested the control of Magadha.

War with Seleucus (306-305 B.C.): After consolidating his position in Babylonia and Bactria upto 312 B.C., Selecus decided to fulfil the wish of Alexander of conquering India. He invaded India and faced Chandragupta Maurya. Surprisingly, the classical writers (Justin, Strabo, Plutarch, Arrian) don't mention this war explicitly. Plutarch says that Chandragupta gave 500 elephants to Seleucus and Strabo says that Seleucus gave Asiana and took 500 elephants from Chandragupta in return for a matrimonial alliance. Generally, it is agreed that Seleucus was defeated in this war and had to cede 4 important territories to Chandragupta Mauyra. These were - Asiana (Herat), Arachosia (Kandhar), Gedsosia (Baluchistan) and Paropanisadar (Kabul Valley). This victory gained for Mauryas the scientific border.

Conquest of Saurashtra (West India): The Girnar (Junagarh) inscription of Rudradaman states that during the rule of Chandragupta Maurya, Pushyagupta was the provincial governor of Saurashtra. He constructed the Lake Sudarshan by constructing dams across the rivers Suvarnasikta and Palasani. This shows that Chandragupta's sway was extended to this area also.

South India - Jain texts, early medieval inscriptions and evidence from Tamil sources indicate that Chandragupta had South India under his control as well.

Kalinga - On the basis of Megasthenes' account, Pliny says that Kalinga was an independent province during Chandragupta's reign. But the evidence for Nanda's control of Kalinga, their subsequent overthrow by Chandragupta, and also Chandragupta's influence further south point towards Chandragupta's control over Kalinga also.

Bangladesh - The Mahasthan inscription (from Bogara, BD) which is an early Mauryan script mentions the image of Kakini. On this basis, Chandragupta's rule on this area is accepted. Jain texts like Kalpa Sutra and Parishishta Parvan call Chandragupta as ruler of Avanti.

BINDUSARA (298-273 B.C.)

• Puranas mention him as Nandasara, Bhadrasara and also as Varisara. One Chinese text Fa-Iu-An-Chu-Lin mentions him as Bindupala. Rajavali Katha, a Jain text calls him Singhasena. Jain texts call him as the Cesarean emperor of India.
• Athenius calls him Amitrochates, and Strabo calls him Alitrochates (Alitrochadis). These are thought to mean Amitraghat or Amitrakhad ('Slayer of Foes').
• Tibetan historian Taranath tells that on the advice of Chanakya, Bindusara had defeated sixteen kings whose kingdoms lay in the land between the two seas.
• According to the Divyavadan, during Bindusara's reign, the people of Taxila had revolted owing to the exploitative policies of the amatyas. This unrest was quelled by Ashoka who was the governor of Ujjain at that time.
• Athenius tells us that Bindusara had diplomatic relations with the Seleucid King of Syria, Antiochus-I, whom he requested to send him sweet wine, dried figs and a sophist. The last was refused as going against the tradition law by Antiochus-I.
• Bindusara has also been called as Nemit, the ruler of Champaran by Taranath.
• Since Ashoka is credited to have conquered only Kalinga, the extention of the Mauryan Empire beyond the Tungabhadra must have been the work of his predecessors. It was probably in the reign of Bindusara that the Mauryan control of Deccan and the Mysore plateau was firmly entrenched.