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Summary
Ancient India Class 04

Sisunaga Dynasty (5:13 PM)

  • Sisunaga killed the last ruler of the Harnayaka dynasty(Nagdasak) and set up his dynasty in Magadha.
  • He also destroyed the power of Avanti.
  • His son Kalashoka is known for conducting the second Buddhist council at Vaishali.

Nanda Dynasty (344-321 BC) (5:19 PM)

  • It was established by Mahapadma Nanda.
  • Mahapadma Nanda took the title of Ekarat (sole sovereign).
  • His son Danananda become the next ruler and was unpopular with his subject because of oppressive taxation.
  • However such was the might of the Magadha empire, that army of alexander did not dare to attack Patliputra.

Foreign invasion of India (5:31 PM)

  • Around the 5th century BC, there was a struggle between greeks and Persians for supremacy.
  • In 516 BC, Persian ruler Darius attacked India and annexed the Gandhara region as a province of his empire.
  • This led to more commerce and trade between India and Persia, and the introduction of Kharosthi script (written from right to left just like Arabic languages) in the Indian subcontinent.
  • Successors of Darius like Xerxes employed Indians in his battle against the greeks.
  • Greek invasion:
  • Alexander from Macedonia destroyed the power of the Persian empire and marched toward India.
  • There were 2 rulers in the northwest regions Ambhi and Porus.
  • Ambhi submitted to the invader however Porus posed a great challenge to alexander.
  • He was a ruler of the region between the Jhelum and Chenab rivers.
  • The armies of Porus and alexander fought near the river Jhelum (Hydaspus river in greek accounts).
  • Porus was defeated but he bravely inspired Alexander and Porus was reinstalled as Satrap's provincial governor.
  • After this greek soldiers were tired and went back without attacking Patliputra.
  • Alexander died in 323 BC and his invasion is the first direct contact between Indians and Europeans.
  • This invasion led to an increase in interest among greek historians and geographers who wrote about India from primary and secondary sources.
  • New trade routes were opened, and greek architecture and sculpture influenced the Indian art form.
  • However, later the greek territories were lost to the Mauryans.

Mauryan empire (324/321-187 BC) (5:51 PM)

  • Sources for Mauryans:
  • Arthashastra:
  • It is attributed to Vishnugupta (personal name) also knowns as Kautilya (Gotra) and Chanakya (Son of Chanak).
  • It consists of 15 books and is called Adhikarans.
  • The 1st five deal with the internal administration of the state called Tantra.
  • The next eight deal with inter-state relations called Avapa and reset with miscellaneous topics.
  • Thus it is a theoretical work on statecraft and not a description of any particular empire.
  • It does not contain any information about Mauryas, Chandragupta, or Patliputra.
  • Artha (Material well-being) is considered superior to Dharam (spiritual well-being) and Kam (sensual well-being).
  • Indica by Megasthenes:
  • Megasthenes was an ambassador of Seleucus nicator.
  • Seleucus was one of the commanders of Alexender.
  • Megasthenes remained in the court of Chandragupta Maurya and also visited many regions of India.
  • His original work Indica is significantly lost, however many other Greek writers like Strabo, Arrian, and Pliny used Indica to write about India.
  • Chandragupta is mentioned as Sandrocottus, Bindusara is mentioned as Amitrochates, and Patliputra is mentioned as Palimbothra.
  • Ashokan inspection:
  • There are 14 major rock edicts, 7 pillar edicts, and also minor rock edicts.
  • It was mainly written in Brahmini script in the Prakrit language.
  • However, in some places, Kharosthi script, Greek, and Aramaic scripts have also been used.
  • James Prinsep was the 1st to decipher Brahmani's script.
  • In many of the inscriptions, Asoka is known as Devanampriya and Priyadashi.
  • The name Ashoka is the same as Devnampriya and Piyadasi were deciphered from 2 Buddhist texts of Sri Lanka Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa.
  • Apart from these, there are many other sources:
  • Mudrarakshasa by Vishakhadatta (written during Gupta's time).
  • The Buddhist text Ashokvadan.
  • Parishisht Parvan by Hemachandra (Chandragupta's connection with Jainism)
  • Sangam poet Mamulanar describes Chandragupta's southward expedition in his poem Akanannuru.

Chandragupta Maurya (321-297 BC) (6:50 PM)

  •  He rose to the throne with the help of Chanakya.
  • There are differing accounts regarding his origin.
  • The most accepted theory is that he belonged to a ruling clan Pipphalivana in Uttar Pradesh.
  • He defeated Dhana Nanda and later defeated Seleucus nicator around 301 BC.
  • A treaty was signed under the terms many of the northwest regions become Mauryan territory.
  • Seleucus' daughter Helen was married to Chandragupta and Seleucus received 500 elephants.
  • Chandragupta Maurya converted to Jainism under Bhadrabahu and moved to Shravanabelagola in the later part of his life, where he died practising Sallekhana.

Bindusara (Amitraghata) (297-273 BC) (7:00 PM)

  • He inherited a large territory covering almost the whole of India except the southernmost regions, Kalinga, and northeast.
  • He adopted Ajivika.
  • According to Pliny Bindusar maintained interstate relations with greek kings such as Antiochus(King of Syria), and Ptolemy-II(king of Egypt).
  • Bindusara requested Antiochus to buy and sell him sweet wine, dried figs, and a sophist.
  • Antiochus replied that greek laws don't permit sophists to be bought.
  • Bindusara wanted his son Susima to succeed him but many of his officials supported Ashoka.

Ashoka (268-232 BC) (7.11 PM)

  • He is considered one of the greatest kings of India.
  • In the war of succession that followed Bindusara's death, Ashoka emerged victorious, aided by his father's ministers.
  • Minister named Radhagupta seems to have played an important role.
  • Ashoka was said to be a bad-tempered, ruthless, and cruel king who followed the path of conquest.
  • In 9th year of his reign, he waged war with Kalinga.
  • Hathigumpha inscription mentions that Kalinga was part of Magadha during the Nanda dynasty and later it declared independence.
  • Ashoka's Kalinga war may have been punitive.
  • However, the horrors of the war disturbed him and he perhaps is the only example in the world of a king who renounced war after winning one.
  • He changed his policy from Bherighosha(physical conquest) to Dhammaghosha(cultural conquest).
  • Ashoka's Dhamma is a moral code of conduct to spread the message of peaceful coexistence amongst various sects and religious practices at that time.
  • The content of the dhamma was inscribed by Ashoka on rocks and pillars.
  • Special officers called Dhamma Mahamantras were appointed to spread this message.
  • Recently a stone portrait of Ashoka was discovered in Kanganhalli with Ranyo Ashoka written on it.
  • After the death of Ashoka, the might of the Mauryan empire declined which may have led to the emergence of many regional kingdoms.
  • The last Mauryan king Brihadratha was assassinated by his own general Pushyamitra sunga in about 187 BC.

Aspects of Mauryan society (7:35 PM)

  • Megasthenes divided Indian people into 7 strata but this was his invention.
  • 4 fold varna system was an integral part of society.
  • Arthashastra talks about Dasa and Dasi, which can be associated with slavery in India.
  • However, Megasthenes lauded Indian society for not having any slaves.
  • Kautilya lays out various rules for slaves, he talks about Ahitakas who were placed to creditors when contracting a debt.
  • Arthasastra states if a Dasi bore her master a son then she was released from enslavement and the child was considered the father's legitimate heir.
  • Untouchability was prevalent for example Chandals and Shavapaka were included in the category called Antavasyin.
  • Mauryan administration:
  • Arthasasthra is the 1st Indian text to define a state.
  • It envisages 7 interrelated and interlocked elements of the state known as Saptangrajya:
  • Svamin- King.
  • Amatya- ministers.
  • Kosha- treasury.
  • Janpada- territory.
  • Durg- Fortified capital.
  • Danda- Justice.
  • Mitra- Ally.
  • Svamin:
  • King is the promulgator of social order an absolute authority who took final decisions regarding law and order, reviewed war, etc.
  • King had to exercise great vigilance to safeguard his life and position.
  • Various types of spies collected information for him such as stationary spies called Sanstha and those wandering from one place to another called Sanchar.
  • King also maintained special reporters called Pativedaka and Polisni to inform him of public opinion.
  • King maintained a female bodyguard for protection.
  • He had moral obligations for the welfare of his people.

The topic for the next class: Mauryan administration to continue.