Kalinga War Impact

• After his accession to the throne, Ashoka fought only one major war called the Kalinga war. In this war, 100,000 people were killed and 1,50,000 were taken as prisoners. The war brought to the Brahmana priests and the Buddhist monks great suffering, which caused Ashoka much grief and remorse. So, he abandoned the policy of physical occupation in favour of a policy of cultural conquest, meaning bherighosha was replaced by dhammagosha (mentioned in the 13th Major Rock Edict). After the Kalinga war, he tried to conquer the foreign dominions ideologically rather than by military conquest.
• Ashoka retained Kalinga after its conquest and incorporated it into his empire. The Kalinga war did not make Ashoka an extreme pacifist, he rather adopted a practical policy of consolidating his empire. He repeatedly asked the tribal people to follow the policy of dharma and threatened them not to violate the established rules of social order and righteousness (dharma). He appointed a class of officers – rajukas who were entrusted with the power of administering justice.
• Ashoka converted to Buddhism as a result of the Kalinga war. He became a monk and made huge gifts to the Buddhists and undertook dharma yatras (pilgrimages) to the Buddhist shrines. The Buddhist council was held under the chairmanship of his brother and missionaries were sent to south India, Sri Lanka, Burma and other countries to convert the people to Buddhism. Ashoka appointed dharma mahamatras for propagating dharma among various social orders including women.

Mauryan Administration

The Mauryan period was marked by innovative administrative policies. The King was the fountainhead of all powers; though it is said that Mauryan kings, especially Ashoka, claimed paternal despotism rather than divine rule. In Arthashastra, the concept of Saptanga Rajya has been mentioned which means that a state comprises seven interrelated and interlocked angas or prakritis (elements).

1. King (Svamin)
   1. According to Kautilya, the king was the Dharma Pravakta or promulgator of the social order, as he issued Rajasasana i.e, royal rescripts and maintained Porana Pakiti i.e, ancient rules and customs.
   2. He was assisted by a council of ministers but he took final decisions by himself regarding law and order, revenue, war, etc. 
   3. In one of his rock edicts, Ashoka had declared that even common people could meet him anytime.
   4. The king had to exercise great vigilance to safeguard his life and position. Various types of spies collected intelligence and reported the same to the king. For example, there were Sanstha or stationary spies who were posted permanently at a particular region and Sanchara, who wandered from place to place collecting secret information.
   5. The special reporters of the king Pativedakas and Pulisani kept him informed of public opinion.
2. Amatya (all high officials, counsellors and executive heads of departments/ministers)
   1. Mantriparishad, a council of ministers, was appointed by the king to assist him in day to day administration (Mantriparishad is comparatively a larger body than Mantra-Parishad). They exercised a great influence in the appointment of governors, viceroys, deputy governors, treasurers, judges and other high officials. The Maha-Mantrins or the high ministers also attended the meeting of the Mantriparishad. The Maha-Mantrins received 48,000 panas (pana being a silver coin, equal to three-fourths of a tola) per annum while the members of Mantriparishad received only 12,000 panas per annum.
   2. There were also bodies of Nikayas (trained officials) who looked after the ordinary affairs of the region. Important functionaries were called Tirthas. The highest functionaries were Minister (Mantrin), high priest (Purohit), commander-in-chief (Senapati) and crown prince (Yuvaraja). 
   3. The officials who were in-charge of other important portfolios were known as Amatyas (who filled the administrative and judicial appointments), Mahamattas, and Adhyakshas. The state appointed 27 Adyakshas (Superintendents) mostly to regulate the economic activities of the state. They controlled and regulated agriculture, trade and commerce, weights and measures, crafts such as weaving and spinning, mining, etc.
   4. The Maurya period constitutes a landmark in the system of taxation in ancient India. Kautilya names many taxes to be collected  from peasants, artisans and traders. This required a strong and efficient machinery for assessment, collection and storage. The Samaharta was the highest officer in charge of assessment and Samadhata was the chief custodian of the state treasury and store house.
3. Janapada (Territory and Population)
   1. The Mauryan empire was divided into four provinces, apart from Magadha with its capital at Pataliputra. During the reign of Ashoka, a fifth province of Kalinga was incorporated.
      • Uttarapatha (northwestern India) – capital at Taxila
      • Dakshinapatha (southern India) – capital at Suvarnagiri
      • Eastern India – capital at Tosali
      • Avantiratha – capital at Ujjain
      • Kalinga – capital at Tasali/Dhauli
   2. The head of the provincial administration was the Viceroy, who was in charge of law and order and collection of taxes from the centre. He was generally a prince from the royal family (Kumara or Aryaputra) and was assisted by Mahamattas and a council of ministers. The provinces were further divided into divisions headed by Pradeshikas (with no advisory council). Divisions were divided into districts headed by Rajukas (rajju means rope and refers to the measurement of land using ropes). He was assisted by Yuktas.
   3. Districts were divided into groups of 5 or 10 villages headed by Sthanikas (who collected taxes), who were assisted by Gopas (maintained proper records and accounts). The lowest unit of administration was the village, headed by Gramini/Gramika on the consultation of Grama Vriddhas (elders of the village). The administration was thus, in the nature of a pyramid with the Gramini at the bottom and the King at the top.
   4. At Pataliputra, the capital city of the Mauryas, the municipal administration was of a unique kind. As per the sources- Megasthenes and Arthashastra, the city administration was conducted by six committees of five members each. Each committee was given different subjects like industry, foreigners, trade and market, etc.
      1. Industry – This committee looked after the production of commodities, kept watch on the quality of the raw material used, decided the fair value of the articles manufactured and stamped the finished goods.
      2. Foreigners – The duty of this committee was to take special care of foreigners, and send physicians to the foreigners who were not feeling well.
      3. Birth and death registration (vital statistics) – This committee was entrusted with the job of registering every birth and death with the purpose of not only levying tax, but also to ensure that the birth and death among both high and low don’t escape the cognizance of the government.
      4. Trade, commerce and market regulations – This committee kept a watch over the weights and measures and made sure that the commodities were sold well on time. It also ensured that seasonal products were sold by public notice and no one was allowed to deal with more than one commodity, however, one could do so by paying double or thrice the tax. Kautilya suggested that the dues realised in the form of grains should be kept as a buffer stock to be used in the time of food shortage.
      5. Manufactured articles – This board kept a vigil on the newly manufactured articles and ensured that the new ones were not mixed or piled with the old stock.
      6. Tax collection – This board collected one-tenth of the prices of the articles or produce sold as tax. Any fraud in the payment of this tax was punishable with the death penalty.
4. Durga (Fortified Capital)
   1. The Mauryans maintained a huge army. Anta-Mahamattas (higher officials) were responsible for the security of frontier forts. The detailed directions for the construction of the main fort in the capital city were given by Kautilya. He recommended troops to be positioned along the approaches to the fort and fort walls to be surrounded by three moats filled with lotuses and crocodiles. He also suggests that the fort should have several secret exit routes and be provided with plenty of supplies to tide over sieges. Kautilya strongly approves an adequately trained standing army, which was supposed to be recruited from all four varnas and maintained by the state.
   2. Megasthenes reports that the administration of different branches of the army was carried through a war office comprising 30 members. It was divided into six boards of five members each:
      1. The board of Admiralty – In charge of the navy (though Kautilya does not mention the navy).
      2. The board of Infantry – Headed by Padadhyaksha.
      3. The board of Cavalry – Headed by Asvadhyaksha.
      4. The board of War Chariots – Headed by Rathadhyaksha.
      5. The board of War Elephants – Headed by Hastyadhyaksha.
      6. The board of Transport and Supervision of Equipment
   3. In addition to these, there is mention of periodic levies of troops like Maula (hereditary warriors), Bhartiakas (mercenaries), and forest tribe soldiers, and allies (furnished by friends).
5. Kosha (Treasury)
   1. The state taxes were not sufficient to meet all the needs of the state like maintaining a huge standing army, employment of a huge number of state officials, the building of roads, etc. Therefore, the Mauryan empire had to undertake and regulate numerous economic activities to generate more and more resources. Taxes were levied in both cash and kind. Land revenue was the major source of income. Peasants had to pay one-sixth of the produce as bhaga and the extra tax bali as tribute. Peasants had to pay many other taxes like Pindakara (assessed on a group of villages), Hiranya (paid only in cash), Kara (levied on fruits and flower gardens), etc. The class of officials who collected land tax was called Agranomoi (Megasthenes). In addition, the Arthashastra states that the amount of tax would also depend on the nature of irrigation facilities and would range from one-fifth to one-third of the produce. However, there is no reference in any text of taking away the land of the farmers in case of non-payment of taxes. Kautilya also mentions certain emergency taxes (Pranaya) or the additional taxes that the state could impose if the treasury got depleted.
   2. One of the important results of the political unification of India under the Mauryas and the control of a strong centralized government was the impetus given to various crafts. Craft activities were also an important source of revenue to the state. Artisans living in the town had to pay taxes either in cash or kind or work free for the king (visthi- forced labour). There is mention of karamakara who were regarded as free labourers working for a regular wage and the dasas who were slaves. Traders and artisans were organised into corporate associations called shrenis or guilds or puga to protect their rights and these guilds were headed by Jesthaka. Guilds of textile merchants must have been prominent at that time as the Arthashastra mentions several places in the country which specialized in textiles. The main centres of textile manufacturing were Varanasi, Mathura, Bengal, Gandhara and Ujjain. The state-run textile workshops were placed under Sutradhyaksha and chariot workshops under a Rathadhyaksha. Mining and metallurgy were other important economic activities and the mine officer was called Akaradhyaksha. The Mauryans maintained a monopoly over the production of iron, which was in great demand by the army, industry and agriculture. The officer-in-charge was named Loha-adhyaksha.
   3. There was a brisk internal trade among different regions in various types of goods. Pataliputra was connected through various trade routes with all parts of the subcontinent. Taxila was the main centre of trade in the north-west which was further connected with Central Asian markets. Trade routes in the Mauryan period followed either the main highways or the navigable rivers. Urban taxes included Shulka (duties on imported and exported goods) and excise duties on local manufacturers.
   4. The use of currency became a fairly common feature of the Mauryan period. The punch-marked silver coins, carrying the symbols of the peacock, hill and the crescent (called pana) formed the imperial currency. Kautilya refers to the state officer-in-charge of coinage as Rupadarshaka. About the practice of usury, Megasthenes states that Indians neither put out money at usury (lending of money at high-interest rates) nor knew how to borrow.
   5. Thus during the Mauryan reign, there was extensive participation of the state in the economy and the state exercised great regulation and control over the economy.
6. Danda/Bala (Justice/Force)
   1. The king was the head of justice – the fountainhead of law and all matters of grave consequences were decided by him. Kautilya refers to the existence of two types of courts – Dharmasthiyas (dealing with civil matters) and Kantakasodhanas (dealing with criminal cases). Judges were called Dharmasthas, though Ashokan inscriptions mention city Mahamattas who were also given judicial functions. The Pradeshtris were the officers responsible for the suppression of criminals. The jail proper Bhandhanagara was different from the police lock-up called Charka.  Punishments to the persons found guilty by the court were very severe like amputation of limbs, decapitation, fines, etc. The nature of the punishment depended on the severity of the crime as well as the varna of the offender and the plaintiff. Kautilya mentions about four sources of law:
      1. Dharma (sacred law)
      2. Charitam (customs and precedents)
      3. Vyavahara (usage)
      4. Rajasasana (royal proclamations)
7. Mitra (Ally)
   1. From the point of the Vijigishu (the would-be conqueror), Kautilya discusses the inter-state policy and takes into account all possible circumstances. He lists six policies (Shad-gunya) to be followed by the king under these circumstances:
      1. Policy of Sandhi (peace treaty) – If one is weaker than the enemy.
      2. Policy of Vigraha (hostility) – If one is stronger than the other.
      3. Policy of Asana (keeping quiet) – If one’s power is equal to that of the enemy.
      4. Policy of Yana (marching on a military expedition) – If one is much stronger than the enemy.
      5. Policy of Samshraya (seeking shelter with another king or in a fort) – If one is very weak.
      6. Double policy of Dvaidhibhava (sandhi with one king and vigraha with another) – If one can fight the enemy with the help of an ally.
   2. The Mauryas had great diplomatic relations with various Hellenistic kingdoms and even South Asian countries. It seems that they had a department of foreign affairs. In Arthashastra, there is a mention of certain diplomatic posts of Nisriharthaduta, Parimitarthaduta, Sasanharaduta.

• The Mauryas organized a huge administrative system. A detailed account of it is produced in the Indica of Megasthenes and Arthashastra of Kautilya.
• King
  • The king was the pivotal head of the state. He had legislative, executive and judicial power.
  • He was the supreme commander of the army and planned military operations with Commander-in-chief
  • King was assisted by his council of ministers which were headed by

Mantriparishadadhyaksha.

• The Mantriparishada was also head of the civil servants called Adhyakshas or Amatyas who kept in touch with all sections of the society and made a highly skilled secretariat divided into several departments.
• Some of these departments and their Adhyakshas are listed below:
  • Sannidhata(Royal Treasury)
  • Akaradhyaksha( Mines superintendent)
  • Suvarnaadhyaksha(gold superintendent)
  • Panyaadhyaksha(commerce superintendent)
  • Kupyadhyaksha(forest officer)
  • Lavanadhyaksha(Salt department)
  • Sitadhyaksha(Agriculture)
• Ministers
  • The council of ministers is called Parishad.
  • Kautilya refers to two kinds of ministers i.e the Mantrins and the Amatyas.
  • The Mantrins constituted the inner circle of the Parishad which corresponded to the modern cabinet.
  • Policies were framed by the cabinet while the Amaytas carried them out.
• The ministers were no doubt directly responsible to the king for the due discharge of their duties.
• Paura-Janapada
  • The Paura Janapada was the assembly of the people of the town and the country.
  • This assembly could demand Anguttaras or favours from the king in times of crisis.
  • This assembly could undertake social work and give relief to the poor and helpless.The Paura Janapada acted as a powerful check on royal authority

• Governor
  • In each province there was a governor or viceroy who was sometimes a prince of royal blood.
  • The princes, when appointed as viceroys were called Kumar Mahamatras while the rest of the viceroys were simply designated as Mahamatras.
• Provinces were further divided into mandals (commissionaires) and its head was known as Pradeshta
• District Administration/ Aahar/ Vishay
  • Each was administered by officers i.e Pradeshika, Yukta and Rajukka.
  • Pradeshika was senior and Rajukka was subordinate. Yukta was subordinate to both of them.
  • It was duty of Pradeshika to tour the kingdom every five year and collect details of the administration.

• The revenue and general administration was carried on in the districts by Sthanikas and Gopas with their own staffs of officials.
  • The Gopa had charge of five to ten villages in which he supervised the maintenance of boundaries, registered gifts, sales and mortgages and kept an accurate census of the people and their material resources.
  • The Sthanika had similar duties in the district under his charge and the Gopa necessarily functioned under him.
• The Sthanikas were responsible to Samaharta who commanded the services of Pradeshtris who were identical with the Pradeshikas of the Ashoka inscription for the supervision of local administration.
• Village Administration
  • The village was the smallest unit of administration incharge of an official called Gramika
  • Also, village elders(gram-viddhas) are often mentioned in the Arthshastra and they had a share in guiding and assisting the people generally and assisting the officials of the government in disposing of petty disputes arising in the village.
• Municipal Administration
  • According to Megasthenese, Patliputra was controlled by a municipal commission of 30 members who were divide into 6 boards of five members each.
• All the municipal commissioners in their collective capacity were required to control all the affairs of the city and keep in order the markets, temples, harbours and public works.
• Judicial Administration
  • The Mauryan state had very efficient judicial system.
  • The king was the fountain head of justice.
  • There were two classes of courts.
    • Dharmasthiya(diwani) were civil courts which decided cases relating to contract, gift, aggrement, sales, marriages,etc.
    • Kantakshodhan(faujdari) courts were criminal courts which dealt with the cases of theft, robbery, murder, sex offences,etc
  • The Supreme Court was at the capital and was presided by the king as the chief justice.
  • There were subordinate courts at the headquarters of the provinces, divisions and districts.
  • Villages had in addition popular courts consisting of village elders who tried minor case
• Espionage
  • Kautilya had put a great emphasis on the espionage system which was intended to promote progress, efficiency and stability in the state.
  • Mahamatyapasharpa was the head of the spies.
  • Mainly there were two types of spies:
    • Sanstha- they were stationed at one place.
    • Sanchara- they used to wander in the empire

Mauryan Art and Sculpture

The Mauryans made a remarkable contribution to art and architecture and introduced stone masonry on a wide scale. During the Mauryan empire, two types of art and architecture emerged – Court art and Popular art. Mauryan court art implies architectural works (in the form of pillars, stupas and palaces) commissioned by Mauryan rulers for political and religious purposes. Popular art was initiated by commoners which includes sculpture, cave arts, pottery, etc. Megasthenes describes the palaces of the Mauryan empire as one of the greatest creations of mankind and the Chinese traveller Fa Hien called Mauryan palaces as god-gifted monuments.

• Ashokan pillars (usually made up of Chunar sandstone) assumed a great significance in the entire Mauryan empire. The main objective of these pillars was to disseminate the Buddhist ideology and court orders in the entire Mauryan empire. All the pillars are circular and monolithic. Our national emblem is adopted from the four-lion capital of the Ashokan pillar at Sarnath in Benaras. Mauryan art is believed to have Persian (Achaemenian) influence since the pillar inscriptions of Ashoka are similar in form and style to the Persian king Darius’ inscriptions.

Some of the similarities with Persian pillars –

• Both Mauryan and Achaemenian pillars used polished stones and have certain common sculpture motifs such as lotuses.
• The Mauryan idea of inscribing proclamations on pillars has its origin in Persian pillars.
• Inscriptions of both empires begin in the third person and then move to the first person.

However, there are also differences between Mauryan and Persian pillars. These are:

• The shape and ornamentation of the Mauryan lotus (typical bulge) is different from the Persian one (non-bulge).
• Most of the Persian pillars have fluted/ridged surfaces while the Mauryan pillars have smooth surfaces.
• Unlike Mauryan shafts which are built of monoliths, Persian shafts were built of separate segments of stones (aggregated one above the other).
• Persian pillars stand on bases while Mauryan pillars have no base.
• The art of stupa reached its zenith during the Ashokan period. They were actually burial mounds in which relics and ashes of the dead were kept. It is believed that there were about 84,000 stupas built during the time of Ashoka. The core of the stupa was made of unburnt brick while the outer surface was made by using burnt bricks, which were then covered with plaster and medhi and the toran were decorated with wooden sculptures e.g, Sanchi Stupa (Madhya Pradesh), Piprahwa Stupa (Uttar Pradesh, oldest one).

• Cave architecture – Caves were generally used as Viharas i.e, living quarters by the Jain and Buddhist monks. The caves during the Mauryan period were marked by a highly polished finish of the interior walls and decorative gateways. For example:
  • The seven caves – Satgharwa (Jehanabad district, Bihar) were created by the emperor Ashoka for the Ajivika sect.
  • Barabara caves near Gaya – Four caves – Karna Chaupar, Sudama cave, Lomash Rishi cave, Vishva Zopri cave.
  • Nagaragunja caves – Three caves in Bihar.
  • Majestic Dhauli caves near Bhubaneswar, Odisha which contain rock sculpture of the front part of an elephant.

• Sculptures – Among several stone and terracotta sculptures of this period, the polished stone sculpture of a female known as the Didarganj Yakshini (demi-gods and spirits; Yakshinis are generally regarded as fertility deities, and the female counterpart of Yakshas, who were the deities connected with water, trees, forest, wilderness and fertility) is the famous one. Another important polished Chunar sandstone sculpture is the torso of a nude male figure found at Lohanipur in Patna. The stone portrait of Ashoka found at Kanaganahalli (near Sannati, Karnataka) is also spectacular. A large number of carved ring stones and disc stones which probably have religious and ritualistic significance have been found at various sites in northern India such as Delhi, Taxila, Mathura, Vaishali and Kaushambi. They have different carvings arranged in two or more concentric circles and have different designs and geometric patterns.

• Pottery – Pottery of the Mauryan period is generally referred to as Northern Black Polished Ware (NBPW). Mauryan pottery was characterized by black paint and highly lustrous finish and was used as luxury items. Kosambi and Pataliputra were the centres of NBPW pottery.

• Court Art
  • Royal Buildings
    • The Greek historian Megasthenes described the palaces of the Mauryan empire as one of the greatest creation of mankind and Chinese traveller Fa-Hian called Mauryan palaces as god gifted monuments or the monuments built by god not by humans.
    • About Patliputra Megasthenese mentions, it had 64 entrances and 570 towns.
  • Pillars
    • The majestic free standing Ashokan pillars symbolize the axis of the world that separated heaven and earth.
    • Ashoka mainly used these pillars for the propagation of Dhamma
    • Ashoka’s first pillar was found from Vaishali known as Koluha pillar.
    • In terms of art and architecture Sarnath pillar of Ashoka is the best example of it
    • Motifs associated with pillars:
      • One Lion– It appears on the pillars of Vaishali, Lauriya Nandangarh and Rampurva pillars.
      • Elephant – An elephant capital was found at Sankisha.
      • Bull– It was found on the Rampurva pillars.
      • Four Lions– On Sarnath and Sanchi pillars.

Sarnath Pillar

• Caves
  • The Mauryan period saw the beginning of rock cut cave architecture.
  • The Barabar and Nagarjuni hills contain several caves which are built by Ashoka and Dasharatha.
  • The caves are simple but have highly polished interiors.
  • The only sculpture ornamentation is a relief carving on the doorway of a cave known as Lomas Rishi Cave.
  • These caves were dedicated by Ashoka and Dashratha to the Ajiva

Lomas Rishi Cave

• Stupas
  • Stupas were burial mounds prevalent in India from Vedic period
  • Stupas consist of a cylindrical drum with a circular dome and a Harmika and a Chhatra on the top.
    • A circular terrace(medhi) enclosed by a railing, surrounds the dome, on which the faithful are to circumnutate in a clockwise direction and this gallery is known as
    • The entire structure is enclosed by a low wall called Vedika, which is punctuated at the four cardinal points by Toranas(gateways).
  • Sanchi stupa in Madhya Pradesh is the most famous of the Ashokan stupas.
  • Piprahwa stupa in Uttar Pradesh is the oldest one.
  • There are several important stupas which were built by Ashoka for example: Bharhut stupa, Sanchi stupa, Dharmarajjika stupa at Sarnath and Taxila, Bodhgaya stupa and Bairat stupa.
  • Ashoka reign marked an important stage in the history of Buddhist stupa

Sanchi Stupa

• Viharas
  • The Viharas in India were originally constructed to shelter the monks during the rainy season, when it became difficult for them to lead the wanderer’s life.
  • In Patliputra Ashoka built Ashokaram vihara and Kakuttaram

The Mauryan period also witnessed the rapid development of material culture in the Gangetic plains. The new material culture of the Gangetic basin was based on the intensive use of iron and iron implements (such as socketed axes, ploughshare, and spoked wheel), the prevalence of writing, use of punch-marked coins, NBPW pottery artifacts, the introduction of burnt bricks and timber in construction and ring wells. The existence of inscriptions, occasional NBPW potsherds and punch-marked coins in parts of Bangladesh (Bogra district), Odisha (Sisupalgarh), Andhra (Amravati) and Karnataka points towards the spread of material culture to these peripheral areas too. 

Mauryan Society

• Varna system
  • Varna system had completely developed during the time of Mauryas.
    • There were four types of Varna i.e Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra and their work was decided according to their Varna .
  • Apart from these four Varnas Kautilya in his Arthashastra talked about Varnashankaras such as Nishad, Magadh, Sut, Veg, Chandals, etc. Kautilya considered them to be Shudras.
• Sati system
  • Kautilya has not given any information about sati system.
  • But Strabo mentioned that sati system was prevalent among the Kath tribes of Punjab.

• Entertainment / Amusement
  • There were several ways of entertainment such as hunting, acting, magic, drama, painting, etc. Citizens use to entertain themselves through Vihara-yatra, Samaj and Pravahana.
  • Pravahana was a social function which included a gathering when organized

Mauryan Economy

• Revenue System and Taxation
  • The primary source of revenue for the state was land revenue.
  • The royal share of the produce of the soil is known as Bhaga, generally amounted to one-sixth.
  • There were  two types of lands:
    • State land/ Rajkiya Bhoomi- the income derived from this land was known as Sita. Those farmers who used their own seeds and farming tools for doing agriculture use to keep half of the produce to themselves and those farmers who were provided with seeds and farming by the state were allowed to keep one-third or one-fourth with themselves and rest part was sent to the state.
    • Private land/ Niji Bhoomi– the income derived from this land was known as Bhaga. This land belonged to the farmers . They had to pay one-fourth or one-sixth as tax.

• Tax was collected both in cash and kind.
• Rajukka did the measurement of land.
• Tax free villages were known as Pariharaka and tax free land was known as Udwalik or Parihar.
• There was also a concept of emergency tax known as Pranay tax .
• According to Kautilya this tax could only be imposed once during the reign of a king.
• These were various other sources of income of the state. The state charged toll tax and trade tax on the article sold. There was forest tax, tax on intoxicants, mine tax, irrigation tax,etc.
• Under the Mauryas, some groups of the people were exempted from taxes. Brahmanas , students, women, blind, deaf,etc were exempted from taxation.
• Agriculture
  • Most important feature of the economy was agriculture.
  • Kautilya mentioned about three crops in a year whereas Megasthenese mentions about two types of crops.
  • The economy of the state was based on agriculture, animal husbandry and trade. These three were all together known as Varta.
  • It was during the Mauryan period that the transition to agriculture was completed in India and agriculture became the basic economic activity of the people.
  • The principal crops were rice, barley, millet and wheat. There are also references to sugarcane, fruits and vegetables.
• Industries
  • The prime industry during the Mauryas were spinning and weaving
    • Madura, Aparant, Kalinga, Kashi, Vatsa and Mahishmati are mentioned as important cotton textile centre in Kautilya’s Arthashastra .
  • In the same context, Kautilya mentions linen fabrics of Kasi and Pundra
  • As regards to costlier textiles, there were references to silk cloth. Kautilya mentions Kauseya along with Chinese fabric of Chinese manufacture
  • The manufacture of wool was an old and indigenous industry. Kautilya refers to varieties of fabrics of sheep’s wool.
• Communication and Transport
  • Roads and ports were important ways of communication. There were mainly four roads:
    • Uttarapath– Purushpur to Tamralipti. According to Megasthenese this road was 1300 miles long. It was constructed by Chandragupta Maurya and during the reign of Sher Shah Suri this road was known as Sadak-iazam. During the time of Lord Auckland it was known as Grand Trunk Road.

• Dakshinapath– Shravasti to Pratishthan.
• The third road connected Bhrigukacch to Mathura.
• The fourth road began from Champa to Kaushambi
• Ports
  • Barbairikam- It was located in Sindh , Bhrigukacch(Bharoach)- Greeks called it Berigaja, sopra, these three ports were situated in the western parts of the empire. Tamralipti was the important port on the eastern side
  • Kautilya in his Arthashastra mentioned about the import duties which was 10% on the imported goods.
  • State also participated directly in trade and commerce. State had monopoly over some products such as wine, salt, mine, ships, forest,etc.
• Trade and Commerce
  • External trade was carried on with Syria, Egypt, Greece,etc. in the west
  • After the conquest of Kalinga with its sea port on the eastern coast of India. It was carried on with the countries of South-East Asia and China.

• The chief articles of export were spices, pearls, diamonds, sandalwoods, ivory, cotton cloth, silk yarn, muslin, etc.
• The principal imports were linen, silver, gold, dry fruits, etc
• Further, an important aspect of Mauryan economy was the state monopoly of mining and metallurgy. It was a source of great income.
  • The superintendent of mining was Akradhyaksha whose duty was to prospect for new mines and reopen old and disused ones
• Coins
  • In Arthashastra coins were called as Roop.
  • Other types of coins were:
    • Nishaka/Suvarna- Gold coins.
    • Karshapan/ Dharan/ Pann- silver coin
    • Mashak/ kakini- there were copper coins.
  • In Arthashastra it is mentioned that there were state minting factories also and its head was known as Lakshanadhyaksha.
  • Rupdarshaka was known as the examiner of coins.
  • The economic month of Mauryas started from July
  • Apart from these, there were also called punch marked coins.
    • Several images such as of snakes, peacock, trees were punched on these coins.
    • The coins had only images and did have any information or inscription written on it.

Military Organisation

• The Mauryas maintained a large well equipped army which was three times larger than the Nandas.
• The Mauryan army consisted of four wings i.e the infantry, the cavalry, the elephants and chariots
• The Arthashastra refers to camel and as corps as well
• The administration of the army was looked after by a war office consisting of 30 members who were divided six boards of 5 members each.

Decline and Disintegration of the Mauryan Empire

• The Mauryan Empire was the first empire in the history of India.
• The empire turned unfortunate in its last few years and began to decline due to the following reasons:
  • The neutral policies of Ashoka failed to support supremacy of the Brahmins
    • Ashoka’s policies agitated the Brahmins which led to their anti-reactions and ultimately to the Brahmanic revolution.
    • This is proved by the murder of Brihadratha the last Mauryan emperor by his Brahmin commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Sunga

• Exploitative rule of provincial Amatyas
  • There are evidences of local revolts during the time of Bindusara as well as Ashoka at Taxila.
  • This depicts that the Amatyas were turning despotic gradually.
• Extreme centralization of administration and power
  • There was a lack of sovereignty among all the administrative units as right from centre to the lowest unit of administration was intervened by the state.
  • A strong network of bureaucrats and spies established in every nooks and corners of the empire.
  • This complicated the whole system.
  • After the death of Ashoka the weak successors led to the weakening of the state which led to the transformation of administration from centralized to decentralized and ultimately contributed to the decline of the empire
• Weak successors and disintegration of the empire
  • This was the most important factor behind the success of the Magadha imperialism was the rise of strong rulers one after another but after Ashoka the graph declined and weak successors succeeded him one after another