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Chandragupta finally won in 303 B.C. Both signed a treaty and entered
into a marriage alliance.
Who married whose daughter is not clearly known? But it seems that
Chandragupta made a gift of 500 elephants to the Greek general and
obtained the territory across the Indus viz., the Satrapies of
Paropanisadai (Kabul), Aria (Herat), Arachoisa (Kandahar), and Gedrosia
(Baluchistan). Seleucuss ambassador, Megasthenes, lived for many years
at the Maurya court at Pataliputra and travelled extensively in the country.
According to Jaina sources (Parisistaparvan), Chandragupta embraced
Jainism towards the end of his life and stepped down from the throne in
favour of his son, Bindusara. Accompanied by Bhadrabahu, a Jaina saint,
and several other monks he is said to have gone to Sravana Belgola near
Mysore, where he deliberately starved himself to death in the approved
Jaina fashion (Sallekhana).
*Kautilya and Arthashastra**: *
Kautilya was the Prime Minister of Chandragupta Maurya. Chandragupta
found the Mauryan Empire with his help. Arthashastra was written by him.
It is the most important source for writing the history of the Mauryas
and is divided into 15 adhikarnas or sections and 180 Prakaranas or
subdivisions. It has about 6,000 slokas. The book was discovered by
Shamasastri in 1909 and ably translated by him.
It is a treatise on statecraft and public administration. Despite the
controversy over its date and authorship, its importance lies in the
fact that it gives a clear and methodological analysis of economic and
political conditions of the Mauryan period.
The similarities between the administrative terms used in the
Arthashastra and in the Asokan edicts certainly suggests that the
Mauryan rulers were acquainted with this work.As such his Arthashastra
provides useful and reliable information regarding the social and
political conditions as well as the Mauryan administration.
*1. King:*
Kautilya suggests that the king should be an autocrat and he should
concentrate all powers into his own hands. He should enjoy unrestricted
authority over his realm. But at the same time, he should give honour to
the Brahmanas and seek advice from his ministers. Thus the king though
autocrat, should exercise his authority wisely.
He should be cultured and wise. He should also be well-read so as to
understand all the details of his administration. He says that the chief
cause of his fall is that the king is inclined towards evil. He lists
six evils that led to a kings decline. They are haughtiness, lust,
anger, greed, vanity and love of pleasures. Kautilya says that the king
should live in comfort but he should not indulge in pleasures.
*2. Ideals of Kingship: *
The major ideal of kingship according to Kautilya is that his own
well-being lies in the well-being of his people of only the happy
subjects ensure the happiness of their sovereign. He also says that the
king should be Chakravarti or the conqueror of different realms and
should win glory by conquering other lands.
He should protect his people from external dangers and ensure internal
peace. Kautilya maintained that the soldiers should be imbued with the
spirit of a holy war before they march to the battlefield. According
to him, all is fair in a war waged in the interest of the country.
*3. About the Ministers:*
Kautilya maintains that the king should appoint ministers. King without
ministers is like a one-wheeled chariot. According to Kautilya, kings
ministers should be wise and intelligent. But the king should not become
a puppet in their hands.
He should discard their improper advise. The ministers should work
together as; a team. They should hold meetings in privacy. He says that
the king who cannot keep his secrets cannot last long.
*4. Provincial Administration: *
Kautilya tells us that the kingdom was divided into several provinces
governed by the members of the royal family. There were some smaller
provinces as Saurashtra and Kambhoj etc. administered by other officers
called Rashtriyas. The provinces were divided into districts which
were again sub-divided into villages. The chief administrator of the
district was called the SthaniK while the village headman was called
the Gopa.
*5. Civic Administration:*
The administration of big cities as well as the capital city of
Pataliputra was carried on very efficiently. Pataliputra was divided
into four sectors. The officer incharge of each sector was called the
Sthanik. He was assisted by junior officers called the Gopas who
looked after the welfare of 10 to 40 families. The whole city was in the
charge of another officer called the Nagrika. There was a system of
regular census.
*6. Spy Organisation:*
Kautilya says that the king should maintain a network of spies who
should keep him well informed about the minute details and happenings in
the country, the provinces, the districts and the towns. The spies
should keep watch on other officials. There should be spies to ensure
peace in the land. According to Kautilya, women spies are more efficient
than men, so they should, in particular, be recruited as spies. Above
all the kings should send his agents in neighbouring countries to gather
information of political significance.
*7. Shipping:*
Another significant information that we gather from Kautilya is about
shipping under the Mauryas. Each port was supervised by an officer who
kept vigil on ships and ferries. Tolls were levied on traders,
passengesand fishermen. Almost all ships and boats were owned by the kings.
*8. Economic Condition:*
Kautilya says that poverty is a major cause of rebellions. Hence there
should be no shortage of food and money to buy it, as it creates
discontent and destroys the king. Kautilya therefore advises the king to
in the sources that Ashoka was not the crown prince but succeeded after
killing his brothers. There is, however, no unanimity in the texts
either regarding the nature of the struggle or the number of his brothers.
In one place the Mahavamsa states that Asoka killed his elder brother to
become king whereas elsewhere in the same work and also in the Dipavamsa
he is said to have killed ninety-nine brothers. The Mahavamsa states
that although he put ninety-nine brothers to death, Asoka spared the
life of the youngest of these, Tissa who was later made vice-regent (He
retired to a life of religious devotion having come under the influence
of the preacher Mahadhammarakkhita and then known by the name of
Ekaviharika). It seems that though there was a struggle, a lot of
descriptions of it are plain exaggerations.
After ascending the throne, Ashoka according to Taranatha spent several
years in pleasurable pursuits and was consequently called Kamasoka. This
was followed by a period of extreme wickedness, which earned him the
name of Candasoka. Finally his conversion to Buddhism and his
subsequent piety led him to be called Dhammasoka.
The most important event of Ashokas reign seems to have been his
conversion to Buddhism after his victorious war with Kalinga in 260 B.C.
Kaling controlled the routes to South India both by land and sea, and
it was therefore necessary that it should become a part of the Mauryan
Empire.
The 13th Major Rock Edict vividly describes the horrors and miseries of
this war and the deep remorse it caused to Ashoka. In the words of the
Mauryan emperor, A hundered and fifty thousand people were deported, a
hundred thousand were killed and many times that number perished. It
has been stated in the past that he was dramatically converted to
Buddhism immediately after the battle, with its attendant horrors.
But this was not so, and as one of his inscriptions, viz., Bhabra Edict,
states it was only after a period of more than two years that he became
an ardent supporter of Buddhism under the influence of a Buddhist monk,
Upagupta.
He also states his acceptance of the Buddhist creed, the faith in the
Buddha, the Dhamma (the teachings of the Buddha), and the Samgha.
Written specifically for the local Buddhist clergy, he also refers to
himself as the king of Magadha, a title which he uses only on this
occasion.
The Buddhist church was reorganised during his reign with the meeting of
Third Buddhist council at Pataliputra in 250 B.C. under the chairmanship
of Mogalliputta Tissa but the emperor himself does not refer to it in
his inscriptions.
This stresses the point that Asoka was careful to make a distinction
between his personal support for Buddhism and his duty as emperor to
remain unattached and unbiased in favour of any religion. The Third
Buddhist Council is significant because it was the final attempt of the
more sectarian Buddhists, the Theravada School, to exclude both
dissidents and innovators from the Buddhist Order.
Furthermore, it was at this Council that it was decided to send
missionaries to various parts of the sub-continent and to make Buddhism
an actively proselytizing religion.