| 6. THE MAURYANS |
Rise of the Mauryans
The closeness to the source of natural resources like iron ores enabled the Magadhan princes to equip themselves with weapons, Agricultural tools of iron, which increased production and added to royal taxation alongwith the alluvial soil of Gangatic plains and sufficient rainfall which were very conducive for agricultural practices and rise of towns and use of metallic money boosted trade and commerce, which increased royal revenue, the use of elephants on a large scale in its war supplied by the eastern part of the country added to the military power and the unorthodox character of the Magadhan Society as a result of racial admixture.
Historical Sources of Mauryas
The history of Mauryas, unlike that of the earlier ruling houses, is rendered reliable by a variety of evidences drawn from such sources as the Buddhist and the Jain traditions; the Kalpasuta of Jains and the Jatakas, Dighanikaya, Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa of Buddhists respectively, The Arthashastra of Kautilya, the Greek accounts, the first decipherable inscription of Ashoka (deciphered by James Princip in 1837) and the archaeological remains. The Puranas and Mudrarakshasa of Vishakhadutta though belong to a later date, throw light on the history of the Mauryans alongwith Patanjali’s Mahabhashya.
6.1 Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of Mauryan dynasty, he was also known as Sandrocottus (kind towards friends) by Greek scholars. Brahmanical sources (Mudrarakshasa) say that the name Maurya was derived from Mura; a Shudra woman in the court of Nandas, and Chandragupta was son or grandson of the woman. Vishnu Purana also mentions him of low origin i.e. a Shudra. But the Buddhist and Jain sources ascribed him a Kshatriya status. His early career is shrouded in mystery. According to Justin, a Greek writer, he overthrew Nandas between 325-322 B.C. According to Plutarch, he met Alexander in Punjab and implicitly invited him to attack Nandas but offended him by his boldness of speech.
Chandragupta occupied Magadhan throne in 321 B.C. with the help of Chanakya (Kautilya). He had allied with a Himalayan chief Parvartaka. He defeated Seleucus Nicator, then Alexander’s governor in 305 B.C. who ceded to Chandragupta the three rich provinces of Kabul, Kandahar and Heart in return for 500 elephants.
- Seleucus probably gave one of his daughters to Chandragupta and sent his ambassador, Megasthenes to the Mauryan Court, who wrote an account (Indica) not only of the administration of the city of Pataliputra but also of the entire Mauryan Empire.
- The Greek writer Justin calls Chandragupta’s army as a “Dacoits gang”.
- According to the Jain work Parishista-parvan, Chandragupta converted to Jainism in the end years of his life and went to south near Sravanbelgola with his Guru Bhadrabahu. It is said that he starved himself to death here.
- According to the same text, Chanakya made Chandragupta enter into an alliance with Paravartaka (king of Himvatakuta) and the allied armies besieged Pataliputra.
- Vishakhadatta wrote a drama Mudrarakshasa (describing Chandragupta’s enemy) and Debi Chandraguptam in 6th century A.D.