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{{For|the Rajput clan|Mori Rajputs}}
{{For|the Rajput clan|Mori Rajputs}}


{{For|an agricultural community of Indo-Gangetic plain|Maurya (surname)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2015}}
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| conventional_long_name = Maurya Empire
| conventional_long_name = Maurya Empire
| common_name            = Mauryan Empire
| common_name            = Mauryan Empire
| native_name            = {{transliteration|ISO|Maurya Sāmrājya}}
| native_name            =  
| image_coat            =  
| image_coat            =  
| era                    = [[Iron Age]]
| era                    = [[Iron Age]]
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| s6                    = Vidarbha kingdom (Mauryan era)
| s6                    = Vidarbha kingdom (Mauryan era)
| flag_s6                =  
| flag_s6                =  
| image_map              = Maurya Empire, c.250 BCE 2.png
| image_map              = Maurya Empire, c.250 BCE.png
| image_map_caption      = Maximum extent of the Maurya Empire, as shown by the location of [[Edicts of Ashoka|Ashoka's inscriptions]], and visualized by historians: [[Vincent Arthur Smith]];<ref name="Smith1920">{{citation|last=Smith|first=Vincent Arthur|title=The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2gxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA104|year=1920|publisher=Clarendon Press|pages=104–106}}</ref> [[R. C. Majumdar]];<ref name="India1950">{{citation|last1=Majumdar|first1=R. C.|last2=Raychaudhuri|first2=H. C.|last3=Datta|first3=Kalikinkar|title=An Advanced History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyIWMwEACAAJ|edition=Second|year=1950|publisher=Macmillan & Company|page=104}}</ref> and historical geographer [[Joseph E. Schwartzberg]].<ref name="dsal.uchicago.edu">Schwartzberg, Joseph E. [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/ ''A Historical Atlas of South Asia''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126011217/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/ |date=26 January 2021 }}, 2nd ed. (University of Minnesota, 1992), Plate III.B.4b (p.18) and Plate XIV.1a-c (p.145)</ref>
| image_map_caption      = Territories of the Maurya Empire conceptualized as core areas or linear networks separated by large autonomous regions in the works of scholars such as: historians [[Hermann Kulke]] and [[Dietmar Rothermund]];{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|p=69-70}} [[Burton Stein]];<ref name="Stein2010">{{citation|last=Stein|first=Burton|title=A History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&pg=GBS.PA74|year=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-2351-1|page=74 |quote=In the past it was not uncommon for historians to conflate the vast space thus outlined with the oppressive realm described in the Arthashastra and to posit one of the earliest and certainly one of the largest totalitarian regimes in all of history. Such a picture is no longer considered believable; at present what is taken to be the realm of Ashoka is a discontinuous set of several core regions separated by very large areas occupied by relatively autonomous peoples.}}</ref> David Ludden;<ref name="Ludden2013-lead-4"/> and [[Romila Thapar]];<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015b"/> anthropologists [[Monica L. Smith]]<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015a">{{citation|last1=Coningham|first1=Robin|last2=Young|first2=Ruth|title=The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE – 200 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA453|year=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-41898-7|page=453}}</ref> and [[Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah]];<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015b"/> archaeologist [[Robin Coningham]];<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015b">{{citation|last1=Coningham|first1=Robin|last2=Young|first2=Ruth|title=The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE – 200 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA451|year=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-41898-7|pages=451–466}}</ref> and historical demographer [[Tim Dyson]].<ref name="Dyson2018-16b">{{citation|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=16–17|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.}}</ref>
| image_map2            = Maurya Empire, c.250 BCE.png
| image_map2            = Maurya Empire, c.250 BCE 2.png
| image_map2_caption    = Territories of the Maurya Empire conceptualized as core areas or linear networks separated by large autonomous regions in the works of scholars such as: historians [[Hermann Kulke]] and [[Dietmar Rothermund]];{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|p=69-70}} [[Burton Stein]];<ref name="Stein2010">{{citation|last=Stein|first=Burton|title=A History of India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QY4zdTDwMAQC&pg=GBS.PA74|year=2010|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-1-4443-2351-1|page=74 |quote=In the past it was not uncommon for historians to conflate the vast space thus outlined with the oppressive realm described in the Arthashastra and to posit one of the earliest and certainly one of the largest totalitarian regimes in all of history. Such a picture is no longer considered believable; at present what is taken to be the realm of Ashoka is a discontinuous set of several core regions separated by very large areas occupied by relatively autonomous peoples.}}</ref> David Ludden;<ref name="Ludden2013-lead-4"/> and [[Romila Thapar]];<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015b"/> anthropologists [[Monica L. Smith]]<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015a">{{citation|last1=Coningham|first1=Robin|last2=Young|first2=Ruth|title=The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE – 200 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA453|year=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-41898-7|page=453}}</ref> and [[Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah]];<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015b"/> archaeologist [[Robin Coningham]];<ref name="ConinghamYoung2015b">{{citation|last1=Coningham|first1=Robin|last2=Young|first2=Ruth|title=The Archaeology of South Asia: From the Indus to Asoka, c.6500 BCE – 200 CE|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yaJrCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA451|year=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-41898-7|pages=451–466}}</ref> and historical demographer [[Tim Dyson]].<ref name="Dyson2018-16b">{{citation|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=16–17|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.}}</ref>
| image_map2_caption    = Maximum extent of the Maurya Empire, as shown by the location of [[Edicts of Ashoka|Ashoka's inscriptions]], and visualized by historians: [[Vincent Arthur Smith]];<ref name="Smith1920">{{citation|last=Smith|first=Vincent Arthur|title=The Oxford History of India: From the Earliest Times to the End of 1911|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p2gxAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA104|year=1920|publisher=Clarendon Press|pages=104–106}}</ref> [[R. C. Majumdar]];<ref name="India1950">{{citation|last1=Majumdar|first1=R. C.|last2=Raychaudhuri|first2=H. C.|last3=Datta|first3=Kalikinkar|title=An Advanced History of India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyIWMwEACAAJ|edition=Second|year=1950|publisher=Macmillan & Company|page=104}}</ref> and historical geographer [[Joseph E. Schwartzberg]].<ref name="dsal.uchicago.edu">Schwartzberg, Joseph E. [https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/ ''A Historical Atlas of South Asia''] , 2nd ed. (University of Minnesota, 1992), Plate III.B.4b (p.18) and Plate XIV.1a-c (p.145) |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126011217/https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/ |date=26 January 2021</ref>
| capital                = [[Pataliputra]]<br />(Present-day [[Patna]], [[Bihar]])
 
| common_languages      = [[Magadhi Prakrit]] (vernacular)
| capital                = [[Pataliputra]]<br />(present-day [[Patna]])
| common_languages      = [[Sanskrit]] (literary and academic),
[[Magadhi Prakrit]] (vernacular)
| religion              = {{plainlist|
| religion              = {{plainlist|
*[[Hinduism]]<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=164|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ancient_Indian_History_and_Civilization/Wk4_ICH_g1EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=maurya+dynasty+sen&printsec=frontcover }}</ref><ref name="GF68">{{cite book |last1=Bronkhorst|first1=Johannes|last2=Flood |first2=Gavin|author-link1=Johannes Bronkhorst|author-link2=Gavin Flood|title=The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice |date=July 2020|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-873350-8 |page=68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxT0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Omvedt |first1=Gail |title=Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste |date=18 August 2003 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-0-7619-9664-4 |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rSF8b5hbyP0C&pg=PT70 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Hinduism]]<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=164|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&q=maurya+dynasty+sen }}</ref><ref name="GF68">{{cite book |last1=Bronkhorst|first1=Johannes|last2=Flood |first2=Gavin|author-link1=Johannes Bronkhorst|author-link2=Gavin Flood|title=The Oxford History of Hinduism: Hindu Practice |date=July 2020|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-873350-8 |page=68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fxT0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA68 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Omvedt |first1=Gail |title=Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste |date=18 August 2003 |publisher=SAGE Publications |isbn=978-0-7619-9664-4 |page=119 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rSF8b5hbyP0C&pg=PT70 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Jainism]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=vincent A. |title=The Oxford History Of India Part. 1-3, Ed. 4th |date=1981 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=99 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.99999/page/n121/mode/2up|quote="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."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dalrymple|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mc2IVc6obeAC&pg=PT21|title=Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India|date=2009-10-07|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4088-0341-7|location=|pages=|language=en|quote="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,......"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Keay |first1=John |title=India: A History |date=1981 |publisher=Open Road + Grove/Atlantic |isbn=978-0-8021-9550-0 |pages=85–86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IquM4BrJ4YC&pg=PT174 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Jainism]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=vincent A. |title=The Oxford History Of India Part. 1-3, Ed. 4th |date=1981 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=99 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.99999/page/n121/mode/2up|quote="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."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dalrymple|first=William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mc2IVc6obeAC&pg=PT21|title=Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India|date=2009-10-07|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4088-0341-7|location=|pages=|language=en|quote="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,......"}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Keay |first1=John |title=India: A History |date=1981 |publisher=Open Road + Grove/Atlantic |isbn=978-0-8021-9550-0 |pages=85–86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0IquM4BrJ4YC&pg=PT174 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Buddhism]]<ref name="GF68"/><ref name="JDL">{{cite book |last1=Long |first1=Jeffery D.|author-link=Jeffery D. Long |title=Historical Dictionary of Hinduism |date=15 April 2020|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-2294-5 |page=255 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWXRDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA255 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Buddhism]]<ref name="GF68"/><ref name="JDL">{{cite book |last1=Long |first1=Jeffery D.|author-link=Jeffery D. Long |title=Historical Dictionary of Hinduism |date=15 April 2020|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-2294-5 |page=255 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IWXRDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA255 |language=en}}</ref>
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| GDP_PPP                =  
| GDP_PPP                =  
| currency              = [[Pana (Currency)|Panas]]
| currency              = [[Pana (Currency)|Panas]]
| title_leader          = [[Emperor|Samrat]]
| title_leader          = [[List of Magadha monarchs#House of Maurya|Emperor]]
| leader1                = [[Chandragupta Maurya|Chandragupta]]
| leader1                = [[Chandragupta Maurya|Chandragupta]]
| year_leader1          = 322–298&nbsp;BCE
| year_leader1          = 322–298&nbsp;BCE
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{{Maurya}}
{{Maurya}}
The '''Maurya Empire''', or the '''Mauryan Empire''', was a geographically extensive [[Iron Age]] [[list of ancient great powers|historical power]] on the [[Indian subcontinent]] based in [[Magadha]], having been founded by [[Chandragupta Maurya]] in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya">
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.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya">
{{citation
{{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=16–17}} 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."</ref> 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 was dependent on the loyalty of military commanders who controlled the armed cities sprinkling it.<ref name="Ludden2013-lead-4"/>{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|pp=xii, 448}}<ref>{{cite book | first1=Romila | last1=Thapar | title=A History of India, Volume 1 | publisher=Penguin Books | author-link=Romila Thapar | year=1990 | page=384 | isbn=0-14-013835-8}}</ref> During [[Ashoka]]'s rule (ca. 268–232 BCE) the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the Indian subcontinent except those in the deep south.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya"/> It declined for about 50&nbsp;years after Ashoka's rule, and dissolved in 185&nbsp;BCE with the assassination of Brihadratha by [[Pushyamitra Shunga]] and the foundation of the [[Shunga Empire]] in [[Magadha]].
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|pages=16–17}} 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."</ref> 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.<ref name="Ludden2013-lead-4"/>{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|pp=xii, 448}}<ref>{{cite book | first1=Romila | last1=Thapar | title=A History of India, Volume 1 | publisher=Penguin Books | author-link=Romila Thapar | year=1990 | page=384 | isbn=0-14-013835-8}}</ref> During [[Ashoka]]'s rule ({{Circa|268|232 BCE}}) the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the Indian subcontinent except those in the deep south.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya"/> It declined for about 50&nbsp;years after Ashoka's rule, and dissolved in 185&nbsp;BCE with the assassination of Brihadratha by [[Pushyamitra Shunga]] and the foundation of the [[Shunga Empire]] in Magadh.


Chandragupta Maurya raised an army, with the assistance of [[Chanakya]], his teacher and the author of [[Arthashastra]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=India: A History|last=Keay|first=John|publisher=Grove Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8021-3797-5|pages=82}}</ref>, and overthrew the [[Nanda Empire]], in {{circa|322 BCE}} thus laying the foundation for the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta rapidly expanded his power westwards across central and western India by defeating the [[satrap]]s left by [[Alexander the Great]], and by 317 BCE the empire had fully occupied [[northwestern India]].{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=31}} The Mauryan Empire then defeated [[Seleucus I Nicator]], a [[Diadochi|diadochus]] and founder of the [[Seleucid Empire]], during the [[Seleucid–Mauryan war]], thus acquiring territory west of the [[Indus River]], [[Afghanistan]] and [[Balochistan]].<ref>[[Seleucus I]] ceded the territories of [[Arachosia]] (modern Kandahar), [[Gedrosia]] (modern [[Balochistan]]), and [[Paropamisadae]] (or [[Gandhara]]). [[Aria (satrapy)|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).</ref>{{sfn|John D Grainger|2014|p=109|ps=: Seleucus "must ... have held Aria", and furthermore, his "son [[Antiochus I Soter|Antiochos]] was active there fifteen years later".}}
[[Chandragupta Maurya]] raised an army, with the assistance of [[Chanakya]], his teacher and the author of [[Arthashastra]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=India: A History|last=Keay|first=John|publisher=Grove Press|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8021-3797-5|pages=82}}</ref> and overthrew the [[Nanda Empire]] in {{circa|322 BCE}}, laying the foundation for the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta rapidly expanded his power west across central and western India by defeating the [[satrap]]s left by [[Alexander the Great]], and by 317 BCE the empire had fully occupied [[northwestern India]].{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=31}} The Mauryan Empire then defeated [[Seleucus I Nicator]], a [[Diadochi|diadochus]] and founder of the [[Seleucid Empire]], during the [[Seleucid–Mauryan war]], thus acquiring territory west of the [[Indus River]], [[Afghanistan]] and [[Balochistan]].<ref>[[Seleucus I]] ceded the territories of [[Arachosia]] (modern Kandahar), [[Gedrosia]] (modern Balochistan), and [[Paropamisadae]] (or [[Gandhara]]). [[Aria (satrapy)|Aria]] (modern [[Herat]]) "has been wrongly included in the list of ceded [[satrapy|satrapies]] by some scholars ... on the basis of wrong assessments of the passage of [[Strabo]] ... and a statement by [[Pliny]]{{dn|date=June 2023}}" (Raychaudhuri & Mukherjee 1996, p. 594).</ref>{{sfn|John D Grainger|2014|p=109|ps=: [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus]] "must ... have held Aria", and furthermore, his "son [[Antiochus I Soter|Antiochos]] was active there fifteen years later".}}


Under the Mauryas, internal and external trade, agriculture, and economic activities thrived and expanded across [[South Asia]] 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2016/dinner-on-the-grand-trunk-road/|title=Dinner on the Grand Trunk Road|last=Bhandari|first=Shirin|date=2016-01-05|publisher=Roads & Kingdoms|language=en-US|access-date=2016-07-19}}</ref> After the [[Kalinga War]], the Empire experienced nearly half a century of centralized rule under Ashoka. 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]].{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|p=67}}
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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2016/dinner-on-the-grand-trunk-road/|title=Dinner on the Grand Trunk Road|last=Bhandari|first=Shirin|date=2016-01-05|publisher=Roads & Kingdoms|language=en-US|access-date=2016-07-19}}</ref>{{rs?|date=April 2023}} 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]].{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|p=67}}


The population of South Asia during the Mauryan period has been estimated to be between 15 and 30 million.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya-4">
The population of South Asia during the Mauryan period has been estimated to be between 15 and 30 million.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya-4">
{{citation
{{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=24}} Quote: "Yet Sumit Guha considers that 20 million is an upper limit. This is because the demographic growth experienced in core areas is likely to have been less than that experienced in areas that were more lightly settled in the early historic period. The position taken here is that the population in Mauryan times (320–220 BCE) was between 15 and 30 million—although it may have been a little more, or it may have been a little less."</ref>  
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA24|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=24}} Quote: "Yet Sumit Guha considers that 20 million is an upper limit. This is because the demographic growth experienced in core areas is likely to have been less than that experienced in areas that were more lightly settled in the early historic period. The position taken here is that the population in Mauryan times (320–220 BCE) was between 15 and 30 million—although it may have been a little more, or it may have been a little less."</ref>  
The empire's period of dominion was marked by exceptional creativity in art, architecture, inscriptions and produced texts,<ref name="Ludden2013-lead-4">
The Maurya period was marked by exceptional creativity in art, architecture, inscriptions and texts,<ref name="Ludden2013-lead-4">
{{citation
{{citation
|last=Ludden
|last=Ludden
|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|year=2013|publisher=Oneworld Publications|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|pages=28–30}}
|first=David|title=India and South Asia: A Short History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EbFHAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA28|year=2013|publisher=Oneworld Publications|isbn=978-1-78074-108-6|pages=28–30}}
</ref> but also by the consolidation of [[caste]] in the Gangetic plain, and the declining rights of women in the mainstream [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan speaking]] regions of India.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya-3">
</ref> but also by the consolidation of [[caste]] in the Gangetic plain, and the declining rights of women in mainstream [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan speaking]] regions of India.<ref name="Dyson2018-lead-maurya-3">
{{citation
{{citation
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=19}}</ref>  
|last=Dyson|first=Tim|title=A Population History of India: From the First Modern People to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3TRtDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|year=2018|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-882905-8|page=19}}</ref>  
Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] (NBPW). The ''[[Arthashastra]]''<ref>"It is doubtful if, in its present shape, [the ''Arthashastra''] is as old as the time of the first Maurya", as it probably contains layers of text ranging from Maurya times till as late as the 2nd century CE. Nonetheless, "though a comparatively late work, it may be used ... to confirm and supplement the information gleaned from earlier sources". (Raychaudhuri & Mukherjee 1996, pp. 246–247)</ref> 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]].
Archaeologically, the period of Mauryan rule in South Asia falls into the era of [[Northern Black Polished Ware]] (NBPW). The ''[[Arthashastra]]''<ref>"It is doubtful if, in its present shape, [the ''Arthashastra''] is as old as the time of the first Maurya", as it probably contains layers of text ranging from Maurya times till as late as the 2nd century CE. Nonetheless, "though a comparatively late work, it may be used ... to confirm and supplement the information gleaned from earlier sources". (Raychaudhuri & Mukherjee 1996, pp. 246–247)</ref> and the [[Edicts of Ashoka]] are the primary sources of written records of Mauryan times.{{cn|date=April 2023}} The [[Lion Capital of Ashoka]] at [[Sarnath]] is the national [[emblem]] of the [[Republic of India]].


== Etymology ==
== Etymology ==
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* The Jain texts state that Chandragupta was the son of a royal superintendent of peacocks (''mayura-poshaka'').{{sfn|Irfan Habib|Vivekanand Jha|2004|p=14}}
* The Jain texts state that Chandragupta was the son of a royal superintendent of peacocks (''mayura-poshaka'').{{sfn|Irfan Habib|Vivekanand Jha|2004|p=14}}
*[[Sangam literature|Tamil Sangam literature]] also designate them as '{{transliteration|ta|moriyar}}' and mention them after the [[Nanda Empire|Nandas]]<ref name="Singh 2008">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ&q=mokur+sangam+poem&pg=PA385|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|last=Singh|first=Upinder|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=9788131716779|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Sangam literature|Tamil Sangam literature]] also designate them as '{{transliteration|ta|moriyar}}' and mention them after the [[Nanda Empire|Nandas]]<ref name="Singh 2008">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pq2iCwAAQBAJ&q=mokur+sangam+poem&pg=PA385|title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century|last=Singh|first=Upinder|date=2008|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=9788131716779|language=en}}</ref>
*[[Kuntala country|Kuntala]] inscription (from the town of Bandanikke, [[Mysore district|North Mysore]] ) of 12th century AD chronologically mention Mauryya as one of the dynasties which ruled the region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107941|title=Annual Report Of Mysore 1886 To 1903|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
*[[Kuntala country|Kuntala]] inscription (from the town of Bandanikke, [[Mysore district|North Mysore]]) of 12th century AD chronologically mention Mauryya as one of the dynasties which ruled the region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.107941|title=Annual Report Of Mysore 1886 To 1903|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>


According to some scholars, Kharavela' [[Hathigumpha inscription]] (2nd-1st century BC) mentions era of Maurya Empire as Muriya Kala (Mauryan era),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/epigrahiaindicav014769mbp|title=Epigraphia Indica Vol.20|date=1920|publisher=Achaeological Survey of India|page=[https://archive.org/details/epigrahiaindicav014769mbp/page/n106 80]|language=en}}</ref> but this reading is disputed: other scholars—such as epigraphist [[D. C. Sircar]]—read the phrase as mukhiya-kala ("the principal art").<ref>{{cite book | chapter=The Satavahanas and the Chedis | author = [[D. C. Sircar]] | year = 1968 | title =The Age of Imperial Unity | editor = [[R. C. Majumdar]] | publisher = Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan | page = 215 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J1SgAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>
According to some scholars, Kharavela' [[Hathigumpha inscription]] (2nd-1st century BC) mentions era of Maurya Empire as Muriya Kala (Mauryan era),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/epigrahiaindicav014769mbp|title=Epigraphia Indica Vol.20|date=1920|publisher=Archaeological Survey of India|page=[https://archive.org/details/epigrahiaindicav014769mbp/page/n106 80]|language=en}}</ref> but this reading is disputed: other scholars—such as epigraphist [[D. C. Sircar]]—read the phrase as mukhiya-kala ("the principal art").<ref>{{cite book | chapter=The Satavahanas and the Chedis | author = [[D. C. Sircar]] | year = 1968 | title =The Age of Imperial Unity | editor = [[R. C. Majumdar]] | publisher = Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan | page = 215 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=J1SgAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>


According to the Buddhist tradition, the ancestors of the Maurya kings had settled in a region where peacocks (''mora'' in [[Pali language|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".{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=14}}
According to the Buddhist tradition, the ancestors of the Maurya kings had settled in a region where peacocks (''mora'' in [[Pali language|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".{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=14}}
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===Founding===
===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]] of the [[Nanda Empire|Nanda dynasty]] when he informed them of Alexander's invasion. Chanakya swore revenge and vowed to destroy the Nanda Empire.<ref name="Namita20082">{{cite book|last1=Sugandhi|first1=Namita Sanjay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bdULPF4gNYC&pg=PA88|title=Between the Patterns of History: Rethinking Mauryan Imperial Interaction in the Southern Deccan|year=2008|isbn=9780549744412|pages=88–89}}</ref> 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.
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.<ref name="Namita20082">{{cite book|last1=Sugandhi|first1=Namita Sanjay|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bdULPF4gNYC&pg=PA88|title=Between the Patterns of History: Rethinking Mauryan Imperial Interaction in the Southern Deccan|year=2008|isbn=9780549744412|pages=88–89}}</ref> 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.


{{Continental Asia in 200 BCE|right|The Maurya Empire and contemporary Asian polities circa 200 BCE}}
{{Continental Asia in 200 BCE|right|The Maurya Empire and contemporary Asian polities circa 200 BCE}}
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 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&nbsp;BCE, his empire fragmented into independent kingdoms led by his generals.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|p=31}}
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 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&nbsp;BCE, his empire fragmented into independent kingdoms led by his generals.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|p=31}}


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 [[Gaṇasaṅgha|military republics]] such as the [[Yaudheya]]s that had resisted Alexanders 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 Macedonians.<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=162|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ancient_Indian_History_and_Civilization/Wk4_ICH_g1EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=maurya+dynasty+sen&printsec=frontcover
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 [[Gaṇasaṅgha|military republics]] such as the [[Yaudheya]]s 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 (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia ns]].<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=162|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&q=maurya+dynasty+sen
}}</ref> Ancient Greek historians Nearchus, Onesictrius, and Aristobolus have provided lot of information about the Mauryan empire.<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=130|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ancient_Indian_History_and_Civilization/Wk4_ICH_g1EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=maurya+dynasty+sen&printsec=frontcover
}}</ref> Ancient Greek historians [[Nearchus]], [[Onesictrius]], and [[Aristobolus]] have provided lot of information about the Mauryan empire.<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=130|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&q=maurya+dynasty+sen
}}</ref> The Greek generals [[Eudemus (general)|Eudemus]] and [[Peithon, son of Agenor|Peithon]] ruled in the Indus Valley until around 317&nbsp;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.{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=31}}
}}</ref> The Greek generals [[Eudemus (general)|Eudemus]] and [[Peithon, son of Agenor|Peithon]] ruled in the Indus Valley until around 317&nbsp;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.{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|p=31}}


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.<ref>:"Androcottus, 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 was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth." Plutarch 62-3 [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243&layout=&loc=62.1 Plutarch 62-3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028230118/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243&layout=&loc=62.1 |date=28 October 2008 }}</ref> Chanakya is said to have met the Nanda king, angered him, and made a narrow escape.<ref>:"He was of humble Indian to a change of rule." Justin XV.4.15 "Fuit hic humili quidem genere natus, sed ad regni potestatem maiestate numinis inpulsus. Quippe cum procacitate sua Nandrum regem offendisset, interfici a rege iussus salutem pedum ceieritate quaesierat. (Ex qua fatigatione cum somno captus iaceret, leo ingentis formae ad dormientem accessit sudoremque profluentem lingua ei detersit expergefactumque blande reliquit. Hoc prodigio primum ad spem regni inpulsus) contractis latronibus Indos ad nouitatem regni sollicitauit." [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte15.html Justin XV.4.15] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201051124/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte15.html |date=1 February 2016 }}</ref>
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.<ref>:"Androcottus, 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 was hated and despised on account of his baseness and low birth." [[Plutarch]]  62-3 [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243&layout=&loc=62.1 Plutarch 62-3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081028230118/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0243&layout=&loc=62.1 |date=28 October 2008 }}</ref> Chanakya is said to have met the Nanda king, angered him, and made a narrow escape.<ref>:"He was of humble Indian to a change of rule." Justin XV.4.15 "Fuit hic humili quidem genere natus, sed ad regni potestatem maiestate numinis inpulsus. Quippe cum procacitate sua Nandrum regem offendisset, interfici a rege iussus salutem pedum ceieritate quaesierat. (Ex qua fatigatione cum somno captus iaceret, leo ingentis formae ad dormientem accessit sudoremque profluentem lingua ei detersit expergefactumque blande reliquit. Hoc prodigio primum ad spem regni inpulsus) contractis latronibus Indos ad nouitatem regni sollicitauit." [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte15.html Justin XV.4.15] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201051124/http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/justin/texte15.html |date=1 February 2016 }}</ref>{{rs?|date=April 2023}}


===Conquest of the Nanda Empire===
===Conquest of the Nanda Empire===
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Bindusara was born to [[Chandragupta Maurya|Chandragupta]], the founder of the Mauryan Empire. This is attested by several sources, including the various [[Puranas]] and the ''[[Mahavamsa]]''.{{sfn|Srinivasachariar|1974|p=lxxxvii}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2019}} 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").<ref name="VAS_Asoka">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/asokabuddhistemp00smitiala#page/18/mode/2up |title=Asoka, the Buddhist emperor of India |author=Vincent Arthur Smith |year=1920 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9788120613034 |pages=18–19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rlQOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA10 |title= On the Early Life of Asoka |author=Rajendralal Mitra |journal=Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |year=1878 |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bengal |page=10 |author-link= Rajendralal Mitra }}</ref> According to the 12th century Jain writer [[Hemachandra]]'s ''[[Parishishtaparvan|Parishishta-Parvan]]'', the name of Bindusara's mother was [[Durdhara]].<ref name="Rosalind_1993">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Po9tUNX0SYAC&pg=PA204 |title=The Clever Adulteress and Other Stories: A Treasury of Jaina Literature |chapter=The Minister Cāṇakya, from the Pariśiṣtaparvan of Hemacandra|translator=Rosalind Lefeber |editor=[[Phyllis Granoff]] |author=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1993 |pages=204–206 |isbn=9788120811508 }}</ref> Some Greek sources also mention him by the name "Amitrochates" or its variations.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|p=35}}{{sfn|Alain Daniélou|2003|p=108}}
Bindusara was born to [[Chandragupta Maurya|Chandragupta]], the founder of the Mauryan Empire. This is attested by several sources, including the various [[Puranas]] and the ''[[Mahavamsa]]''.{{sfn|Srinivasachariar|1974|p=lxxxvii}}{{full citation needed|date=April 2019}} 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").<ref name="VAS_Asoka">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/asokabuddhistemp00smitiala#page/18/mode/2up |title=Asoka, the Buddhist emperor of India |author=Vincent Arthur Smith |year=1920 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9788120613034 |pages=18–19 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rlQOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA10 |title= On the Early Life of Asoka |author=Rajendralal Mitra |journal=Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal |year=1878 |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bengal |page=10 |author-link= Rajendralal Mitra }}</ref> According to the 12th century Jain writer [[Hemachandra]]'s ''[[Parishishtaparvan|Parishishta-Parvan]]'', the name of Bindusara's mother was [[Durdhara]].<ref name="Rosalind_1993">{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Po9tUNX0SYAC&pg=PA204 |title=The Clever Adulteress and Other Stories: A Treasury of Jaina Literature |chapter=The Minister Cāṇakya, from the Pariśiṣtaparvan of Hemacandra|translator=Rosalind Lefeber |editor=[[Phyllis Granoff]] |author=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1993 |pages=204–206 |isbn=9788120811508 }}</ref> Some Greek sources also mention him by the name "Amitrochates" or its variations.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|p=35}}{{sfn|Alain Daniélou|2003|p=108}}


Historian Upinder Singh estimates that Bindusara ascended the throne around 297 BCE.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2008|p=331}} Bindusara, just 22&nbsp;years&nbsp;old, inherited a large empire that consisted of what is now, Northern, Central and Eastern parts of India along with parts of Afghanistan and [[Balochistan (region)|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 [[Tamils|Tamil]] kingdoms of the [[Chola Dynasty|Cholas]], ruled by King [[Ilamcetcenni]], the [[Pandyas]], and [[Chera Dynasty|Cheras]]. Apart from these southern states, [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] (modern Odisha) was the only kingdom in India that did not form part of Bindusara's empire.{{sfn|Dineschandra Sircar|1971|p=167}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&pg=PA152 |title=The Greeks in Bactria and India |author=William Woodthorpe Tarn |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781108009416 |page=152 |author-link=William Woodthorpe Tarn }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Mookerji Radhakumud |title=Asoka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXyftdtE1ygC&pg=PA8 |year=1962 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0582-8 |page=8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510200953/https://books.google.com/books?id=uXyftdtE1ygC&pg=PA8 |archive-date=10 May 2018 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
Historian [[Upinder Singh]] estimates that Bindusara ascended the throne around 297 BCE.{{sfn|Upinder Singh|2008|p=331}} Bindusara, just 22&nbsp;years&nbsp;old, inherited a large empire that consisted of what is now, Northern, Central and Eastern parts of India along with parts of Afghanistan and [[Balochistan (region)|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 [[Tamils|Tamil]] kingdoms of the [[Chola Dynasty|Cholas]], ruled by King [[Ilamcetcenni]], the [[Pandyas]], and [[Chera Dynasty|Cheras]]. Apart from these southern states, [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] (modern Odisha) was the only kingdom in India that did not form part of Bindusara's empire.{{sfn|Dineschandra Sircar|1971|p=167}} 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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-HeJS3nE9cAC&pg=PA152 |title=The Greeks in Bactria and India |author=William Woodthorpe Tarn |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781108009416 |page=152 |author-link=William Woodthorpe Tarn }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Mookerji Radhakumud |title=Asoka |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uXyftdtE1ygC&pg=PA8 |year=1962 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0582-8 |page=8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510200953/https://books.google.com/books?id=uXyftdtE1ygC&pg=PA8 |archive-date=10 May 2018 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>


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".{{sfn|Alain Daniélou|2003|p=109}} 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.<ref name="EB_legends">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/legendsofindianb00burn#page/20/mode/2up |title=Legends of Indian Buddhism |author=Eugène Burnouf |publisher=E. P. Dutton |location=New York |year=1911 |pages=59 }}</ref>
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".{{sfn|Alain Daniélou|2003|p=109}} 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.<ref name="EB_legends">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/legendsofindianb00burn#page/20/mode/2up |title=Legends of Indian Buddhism |author=Eugène Burnouf |publisher=E. P. Dutton |location=New York |year=1911 |pages=59 }}</ref>
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[[File:Ashoka pillar at Vaishali, Bihar, India.jpg|thumb| Ashoka pillar at [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]].]]
[[File:Ashoka pillar at Vaishali, Bihar, India.jpg|thumb| Ashoka pillar at [[Vaishali (ancient city)|Vaishali]].]]
[[File:6thPillarOfAshoka.JPG|thumb|Fragment of the 6th Pillar [[Edicts of Ashoka|Edict of Ashoka]] (238 BCE), in [[Brāhmī script|Brahmi]], sandstone, [[British Museum]].]]
[[File:6thPillarOfAshoka.JPG|thumb|Fragment of the 6th Pillar [[Edicts of Ashoka|Edict of Ashoka]] (238 BCE), in [[Brāhmī script|Brahmi]], sandstone, [[British Museum]].]]
As a young prince, Ashoka ({{reign|272|232}}&nbsp;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 (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] (262–261&nbsp;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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States|last1=Allchin|first1=F. R.|last2=Erdosy|first2=George|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1995|location=Cambridge|pages=306}}</ref> 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 propogated his own ''dhamma.''{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}
As a young prince, Ashoka ({{reign|272|232}}&nbsp;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 (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]] (262–261&nbsp;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.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States|last1=Allchin|first1=F. R.|last2=Erdosy|first2=George|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1995|location=Cambridge|pages=306}}</ref> 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.''{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}


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&nbsp;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.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}
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&nbsp;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.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}
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====Establishment of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180&nbsp;BCE)====
====Establishment of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180&nbsp;BCE)====
{{Main|Indo-Greek Kingdom}}
{{Main|Indo-Greek Kingdom}}
[[File:World in 200 BCE.png|thumb|300px|Map of the world in 200 BC showing the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]], the Maurya Empire and the [[Yuezhi]] (Kushans)]]
The fall of the Mauryas left the [[Khyber Pass]] unguarded, and a wave of foreign invasion followed. The [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greco-Bactrian]] king, [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius]], capitalized on the break-up, and he conquered southern Afghanistan and parts of northwestern India around 180&nbsp;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 I|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 [[Shunga Empire|Shunga]]s, [[Satavahana]]s, and [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]]s are unclear, what is clear is that Scythian tribes, renamed [[Indo-Scythians]], brought about the demise of the Indo-Greeks from around 70&nbsp;BCE and retained lands in the trans-Indus, the region of [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]], and Gujarat.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}
The fall of the Mauryas left the [[Khyber Pass]] unguarded, and a wave of foreign invasion followed. The [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom|Greco-Bactrian]] king, [[Demetrius I of Bactria|Demetrius]], capitalized on the break-up, and he conquered southern Afghanistan and parts of northwestern India around 180&nbsp;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 I|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 [[Shunga Empire|Shunga]]s, [[Satavahana]]s, and [[Kalinga (historical kingdom)|Kalinga]]s are unclear, what is clear is that Scythian tribes, renamed [[Indo-Scythians]], brought about the demise of the Indo-Greeks from around 70&nbsp;BCE and retained lands in the trans-Indus, the region of [[Mathura, Uttar Pradesh|Mathura]], and Gujarat.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}


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[[File:MauryaStatuettes.jpg|thumb|Statuettes of the Mauryan era]]
[[File:MauryaStatuettes.jpg|thumb|Statuettes of the Mauryan era]]


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).{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}. 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<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999  |page=160|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ancient_Indian_History_and_Civilization/Wk4_ICH_g1EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=maurya+dynasty+sen&printsec=frontcover
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).{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}. 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<ref>{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999  |page=160|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&q=maurya+dynasty+sen
}}</ref>
}}</ref>


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]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gabriel A |first=Richard |title=The Ancient World :Volume 1 of Soldiers' lives through history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&pg=PA301 |date=30 November 2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=28 |isbn=9780313333484 }}</ref> 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.{{sfn|R. C. Majumdar|2003|p=107}} A vast [[espionage]] system collected intelligence for both internal and external security purposes. Having renounced offensive warfare and expansionism, Ashoka nevertheless continued to maintain this large army, to protect the Empire and instil stability and peace across West and South Asia.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}.Even though large parts were under the control of  Mauryan empire the spread of information and imperial message was limited since many parts were inaccessible and were situated far away from capital of empire.<ref>{{cite book|title= History of India |first= Herman |last= Kulke |publisher= Routledge |year=2004 |page=79 |isbn= 9780415329200 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_History_of_India/RoW9GuFJ9GIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=india++history&printsec=frontcover}}</ref>
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]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gabriel A |first=Richard |title=The Ancient World :Volume 1 of Soldiers' lives through history |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HscIwvtkq2UC&pg=PA301 |date=30 November 2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=28 |isbn=9780313333484 }}</ref> 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.{{sfn|R. C. Majumdar|2003|p=107}} A vast [[espionage]] system collected intelligence for both internal and external security purposes. Having renounced offensive warfare and expansionism, Ashoka nevertheless continued to maintain this large army, to protect the Empire and instil stability and peace across West and South Asia.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}.Even though large parts were under the control of  Mauryan empire the spread of information and imperial message was limited since many parts were inaccessible and were situated far away from capital of empire.<ref>{{cite book|title= History of India |first= Herman |last= Kulke |publisher= Routledge |year=2004 |page=79 |isbn= 9780415329200 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RoW9GuFJ9GIC&q=india++history}}</ref>


The economy of the empire has been described as, "a socialized monarchy", "a sort of state socialism", and the world's first welfare state.<ref name="Boesche2003">{{cite book|author=Roger Boesche|title=The First Great Political Realist: Kautilya and His Arthashastra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K85NA7Rg67wC&pg=PA67|year=2003|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-0607-5|pages=67–70}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Boesche2003" />
The economy of the empire has been described as, "a socialized monarchy", "a sort of state socialism", and the world's first welfare state.<ref name="Boesche2003">{{cite book|author=Roger Boesche|title=The First Great Political Realist: Kautilya and His Arthashastra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K85NA7Rg67wC&pg=PA67|year=2003|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-0607-5|pages=67–70}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Boesche2003" />


=== Local government ===
=== 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MazdaWXQFuQC&q=pataliputra+local+government+system&pg=SL1-PA262|title=Indian History|date=1988|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=9788184245684|language=en}}</ref> The official head of the village was Gramika (in towns [[Nagar Palika|Nagarika]]).<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.172447|title=India As Described By Megasthenes|last=Narain Singh Kalota|date=1978}}</ref> 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 ([[Nagar Palika|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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/explained-the-politics-behind-the-caste-census-in-bihar/articleshow/96916420.cms|title=Explained: History and politics of caste census in Bihar &#124; India News - Times of India|website=The Times of India}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=ToI is not a reliable source for history; also see [[Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard/Archive_287#Times_of_India_RFC]]|date=January 2023}} These vocations consolidated as castes, a feature of Indian society that continues to influence the Indian politics till today.
[[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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MazdaWXQFuQC&q=pataliputra+local+government+system&pg=SL1-PA262|title=Indian History|date=1988|publisher=Allied Publishers|isbn=9788184245684|language=en}}</ref> The official head of the village was Gramika (in towns [[Nagar Palika|Nagarika]]).<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.172447|title=India As Described By Megasthenes|last=Narain Singh Kalota|date=1978}}</ref> 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 ([[Nagar Palika|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.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/explained-the-politics-behind-the-caste-census-in-bihar/articleshow/96916420.cms|title=Explained: History and politics of caste census in Bihar &#124; India News - Times of India|website=The Times of India}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=ToI is not a reliable source for history; also see [[Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Noticeboard/Archive_287#Times_of_India_RFC]]|date=January 2023}} These vocations consolidated as castes, a feature of Indian society that continues to influence the Indian politics till today.


==Economy==
==Economy==
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==Religion==
==Religion==
Throughout the period of empire, [[Brahmanism]] was an important religion.<ref name="Nath sen 1999 164">{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=164|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Ancient_Indian_History_and_Civilization/Wk4_ICH_g1EC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=maurya+dynasty+sen&printsec=frontcover
Throughout the period of empire, [[Brahmanism]] was an important religion.<ref name="Nath sen 1999 164">{{cite book|title= Ancient Indian History and Civilization|first= Sailendra |last= Nath sen |publisher= Routledge |year=1999 |page=164|isbn= 9788122411980 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC&q=maurya+dynasty+sen}}</ref> The Mauryans favored Brahmanism as well as Jainism and Buddhism. Minor religious sects such as [[Ajivika]]s also received patronage. A number of [[List of Hindu texts|Hindu texts]] were written during the Mauryan period.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ray | first=A. | title=Towns and Cities of Medieval India: A Brief Survey | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-351-99731-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4TslDwAAQBAJ | page=22}}</ref>
}}</ref> The Mauryans favored Brahmanism as well as Jainism and Buddhism. Minor religious sects such as [[Ajivika]]s also received patronage. A number of [[List of Hindu texts|Hindu texts]] were written during the Mauryan period.<ref>{{cite book | last=Ray | first=A. | title=Towns and Cities of Medieval India: A Brief Survey | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2016 | isbn=978-1-351-99731-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4TslDwAAQBAJ | page=22}}</ref>


[[File:Shravanabelagola2007 - 44.jpg|thumb|Bhadrabahu Cave, [[Shravanabelagola]] where [[Chandragupta Maurya|Chandragupta]] is said to have died]]
[[File:Shravanabelagola2007 - 44.jpg|thumb|Bhadrabahu Cave, [[Shravanabelagola]] where [[Chandragupta Maurya|Chandragupta]] is said to have died]]
According to a Jain text from 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]].{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|pp=39-41}}{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2004|p=178}}{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|pp=64-65}}{{sfn|Geoffrey Samuel|2010|pp=60}} [[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 [[derasar]]s across India.{{sfn|John Cort|2010|p=142}} Some of them are still found in the towns of Ahmedabad, Viramgam, Ujjain, and Palitana.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} 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.{{sfn|John Cort|2010|p=199}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Tukol |first=T. K. |author-link=T. K. Tukol |title=Jainism in South India |url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/article/south.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191052/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/article/south.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
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]].{{sfn|R. K. Mookerji|1966|pp=39-41}}{{sfn|Romila Thapar|2004|p=178}}{{sfn|Hermann Kulke|2004|pp=64-65}}{{sfn|Geoffrey Samuel|2010|pp=60}} 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."<ref name="India1960">{{citation|last1=Majumdar|first1=R. C.|author-link1=R. C. Majumdar|last2=Raychauduhuri|first2=H. C.|author-link2=H. C. Raychaudhuri|last3=Datta|first3=Kalikinkar|title=An Advanced History of India  |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MyIWMwEACAAJ|year=1960|publisher=Macmillan & Company Ltd; New York: St Martin's Press|location=London|quote=If the Jaina tradition is to be believed, Chandragupta was converted to the religion of Mahavira.  He is said to have abdicated his throne and passed his last days at Sravana Belgola in Mysore.  Greek evidence, however, suggests that the first 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. He took delight in hunting, a practice that was continued by his son and alluded to by his grandson in his eighth Rock Edict.  It is, however, possible that in his last days he showed some predilection for Jainism ...}}</ref> [[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 [[derasar]]s across India.{{sfn|John Cort|2010|p=142}} Some of them are still found in the towns of Ahmedabad, Viramgam, Ujjain, and Palitana.{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} 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.{{sfn|John Cort|2010|p=199}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Tukol |first=T. K. |author-link=T. K. Tukol |title=Jainism in South India |url=http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/article/south.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304191052/http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/article/south.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>


[[File:Sanchi2.jpg|thumb|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.]]
[[File:Sanchi2.jpg|thumb|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.]]
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== Family tree ==
{{Chart top|width=100%|collapsed=yes|Family tree of Maurya Emperors}}
{{Tree chart/start|align=center|style=font-size:95%}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Chandragupta Maurya|Chandragupta<br>Maurya]]'''<br><sup>(1)</sup><br><small>r. 324/1-297 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#FFD700}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Bindusara|Bindusara<br>Amitraghata]]'''<br><sup>(2)</sup><br><small>r. 297-273 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#FFD700}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Ashoka|Ashoka<br>the Great]]'''<br><sup>(3)</sup><br><small>r. 268-232 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#FFD700}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | |A02  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01=Child<br>of Ashoka|
A02=[[Kunala]]}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | |A02  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Dasharatha Maurya|Dasharatha]]'''<br><sup>(4)</sup><br><small>r. 232-224 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#FFD700|
A02='''[[Samprati]]'''<br><sup>(5)</sup><br><small>r. 224-215 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A02=border-color:#FFD700}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Shalishuka]]'''<br><sup>(6)</sup><br><small>r. 215-202 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#FFD700}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Devavarman (Maurya)|Devavarman]]'''<br><sup>(7)</sup><br><small>r. 202-195 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#FFD700}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Shatadhanvan]]'''<br><sup>(8)</sup><br><small>r. 195-187 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#FFD700}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{Tree chart|border=1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |A01  | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
A01='''[[Brihadratha Maurya|Brihadratha]]'''<br><sup>(9)</sup><br><small>r. 187-184 BCE</small>|boxstyle_A01=border-color:#FFD700}}
{{Tree chart/end}}
{{Chart bottom}}


==See also==
==See also==
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* {{cite book |author=John Cort |author-link=John E. Cort |title=Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDBpq23-0QoC |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-538502-1 }}
* {{cite book |author=John Cort |author-link=John E. Cort |title=Framing the Jina: Narratives of Icons and Idols in Jain History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MDBpq23-0QoC |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-538502-1 }}
* {{cite book |author=John D Grainger |title=Seleukos Nikator (Routledge Revivals): Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0TXKAgAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-80098-9 }}
* {{cite book |author=John D Grainger |title=Seleukos Nikator (Routledge Revivals): Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0TXKAgAAQBAJ |year=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-317-80098-9 }}
* {{citation |last=Hemacandra |translator=R.C.C. Fynes |title=The Lives of the Jain Elders |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quNpKVqABGMC |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-283227-6}}
* {{cite book |author=Kailash Chand Jain |title=Lord Mahāvīra and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-TxcO9dfrcC |date=1991 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0805-8 }}
* {{cite book |author=Kailash Chand Jain |title=Lord Mahāvīra and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8-TxcO9dfrcC |date=1991 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=978-81-208-0805-8 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kosmin |first1=Paul J. |author-link=Paul J. Kosmin |title=The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in Seleucid Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9UWdAwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-674-72882-0 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Kosmin |first1=Paul J. |author-link=Paul J. Kosmin |title=The Land of the Elephant Kings: Space, Territory, and Ideology in Seleucid Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9UWdAwAAQBAJ |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |date=2014 |isbn=978-0-674-72882-0 }}
* {{citation |last=Malalasekera |first=Gunapala Piyasena |title=Encyclopaedia of Buddhism: Acala |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5UfYAAAAMAAJ |year=2002 |publisher=Government of Ceylon}}
* {{cite book |author=R. K. Mookerji |author-link=Radha Kumud Mukherjee |title=Chandragupta Maurya and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA3 |year=1966 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0405-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=R. K. Mookerji |author-link=Radha Kumud Mukherjee |title=Chandragupta Maurya and His Times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA3 |year=1966 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0405-0 }}
* {{citation |last=Mookerji |first=Radha Kumud |author-link=Radha Kumud Mukherjee |title=Chandragupta Maurya and his times |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C |edition=4th |year=1988 |orig-year=first published in 1966 |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |isbn=81-208-0433-3}}
* {{cite book |author=R. C. Majumdar |author-link=R. C. Majumdar |title=Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |year=2003 |orig-year=1952 |isbn=81-208-0436-8 }}
* {{cite book |author=R. C. Majumdar |author-link=R. C. Majumdar |title=Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XNxiN5tzKOgC |publisher=[[Motilal Banarsidass]] |year=2003 |orig-year=1952 |isbn=81-208-0436-8 }}
* {{cite book |author=Romila Thapar |title=Early India: From the Origins to A.D. 1300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5irrXX0apQC |year=2004 |orig-year=first published by Penguin in 2002 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24225-8 }}
* {{citation |last=Roy |first=Kaushik |title=Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia: From Antiquity to the Present |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-107-01736-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vRE3n1VwDTIC}}
* {{citation |last=Sen |first=R.K. |title=Journal of the Buddhist Text Society of India |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r0ZBAQAAMAAJ |year=1895 |publisher=The Society |chapter=Origin of the Maurya of Magadha and of Chanakya}}
* {{cite book |author=S. N. Sen |title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC |year=1999 |publisher=New Age International |isbn=978-81-224-1198-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=S. N. Sen |title=Ancient Indian History and Civilization |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk4_ICH_g1EC |year=1999 |publisher=New Age International |isbn=978-81-224-1198-0 }}
* {{cite book |author=Upinder Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GW5Gx0HSXKUC |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9 }}
* {{cite book |author=Upinder Singh |title=A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GW5Gx0HSXKUC |year=2008 |publisher=Pearson |isbn=978-81-317-1677-9 }}
* {{cite book |author=Romila Thapar |title=Early India: From the Origins to A.D. 1300 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-5irrXX0apQC |year=2004 |orig-year=first published by Penguin in 2002 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24225-8 }}
* {{citation |last=Thapar |first=Romila |author-link=Romila Thapar |title=The Past Before Us|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aei9AAAAQBAJ |year=2013 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-72651-2 }}
{{refend}}
{{refend}}
* {{citation |last=Thapar |first=Romila |author-link=Romila Thapar |title=The Past Before Us|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aei9AAAAQBAJ |year=2013 |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |isbn=978-0-674-72651-2 }}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category|Mauryan Empire}}
 
*[https://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html Livius.org: Maurya dynasty]
*[https://www.livius.org/man-md/mauryas/mauryas.html Livius.org: Maurya dynasty]
*[http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/ancient/maurya.htm Extent of the Empire]
*[http://www.kamat.com/kalranga/ancient/maurya.htm Extent of the Empire]
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