History Optional (Mauryan Empire) by Shivlal Gupta

Model Answer

Question #1. How far do you agree that the Mauryan Empire had a new form of government, which was marked by centralized control and planning?

Ans

Approach

• The Maurya period saw the establishment of the first empire in the history of the Indian subcontinent.
• In the beginning of the answer give a brief introduction about the sources giving information related to the Mauryan administration.
• Describe the nature of Mauryan administration and the various levels in it.
• At the end of the answer, show the importance of the Mauryan administrative system in Indian history.

Introduction

• The Mauryan empire marks a watershed juncture in Indian history. For the first time in the history of India, a large portion of the subcontinent, extending up to the far north-west, was under a single paramount power.

Sources

• This period has a greater number and more diverse type of primary sources as compared to the earlier periods; more importantly many of these sources are contemporary with the period under review.
• Let us look at a few of them in greater detail.The most important literary source is Megasthenes’ Indica The other equally popular source is Kautilya’sArthashastra
• The texts like the Divyavadana and the Ashokavadana as well as Sri Lankan Buddhist chronicles such as the Mahavamsa and the Dipavamsa and the king-lists in Puranas, again of a later period, refer to Mauryas.

MAURYAN EMPIRE GOVERNMENT

• The foundation of the Mauryan empire was laid by Chandragupta Maurya, who overthrew the Nanda dynasty in 321/324 BCE.
• The administrative structure involved a division of the empire into provinces, each under the direct governance of a prince (kumara) or a member of the royal family.
• The inscriptions suggest four such provinces – a southern one with its centre at Survarnagiri, a northern province with capital at Taxila, a western one with its capital at Ujjayini, and an eastern one with its capital at Tosali.
• Senior officers called pradeshikas were tasked with touring the empire every five years and performing an audit as well as keeping a check on the provincial administration.
• In addition, there were judicial officers, rajukas, in both urban and rural areas, whose judicial functions often combined with assessment of revenue.
• A well-organized administration was needed for a variety of tasks such as surplus production, extraction of surplus, its distribution or expenditure, strong army to conquer areas, tax collection from traders and agriculturalists etc.
• Traditional viewpoints saw the Mauryan empire as a centralized bureaucratic empire.
• Such empires are characterized by powerful kings who through military exploits bring peace and cohesiveness to the kingdom.
• They are marked by the presence of allies, enemies, matrimonial relations, and diplomatic alliances.
• Centralized bureaucratic empires are exploitative in nature with corresponding elements of inequality among social classes.
• RomilaThapar’s earlier contention that the Mauryan empire was a uniform and centralized administered entity was modified by her in a later study.
• According to her, at the hub was the metropolitan state of Magadha, broadly an area of the distribution of the pillar edicts.
• This was the area of maximum centralized administration. Then there were the core areas, which were of strategic importance and agrarian and commercial potential.
• This second category was less under central control and was under the control of governors and senior officials.
• Gandhara, Raichur Doab, Southern Karnataka,Kalinga and Saurashtra were such core areas.
• The third category was those areas which were located at the peripheries.
• The economy of such regions was not restructured by the Mauryan State. Only the resources were tapped.
• The governance of such a vast realm was aided through multiple foci of administration.
• Thus, regional variations and diversities were accommodated by the Mauryan rulers into their polity.
• While an empire accommodates and integrates these diversities on the one hand, at the same time, it also favours homogeneity as a binding force.
• Thus, imperial systems make attempts to draw together the ends of the empire, to encourage the movement of peoples and goods
• This includes the use of script, punch-marked coins in exchange transactions and the projection of a new ideology that sets new precepts.
• In the case of the Mauryan empire, the State attempted cultural homogeneity through the introduction of the policy of Dhamma.

Conclusion

• The Mauryan administration was highly central, but despite its central tendency, historians have not considered it autocratic. The planning and coherence of the Mauryan administration is revealed from literary sources, especially the Arthashastra.

 Question #2. “The concept of Ashoka’s Dhamma, as propogated by Great Ashoka, had its basis in Vedic—Upanishadic literature.” Discuss.  

Ans 

Approach

• The period of Ashoka is very important in ancient Indian history because of his Dhamma policy.
• State the main elements of Ashoka's Dhamma at the beginning of the answer.
• Describe the traditions and religious philosophies it inspired, especially with reference to Vedic and Upanishad literature.
• At the end of the answer, assess the reasons for the influence of Vedic literature in the Dhamma of Ashoka.

Introduction

• Sources of information about Asoka's Dhamma are his inscriptions on the basis of which we can say that Asoka preached non-violence, toleration and social responsibility.

Body

• He followed these precepts in his administrative policy. It has to be noted that Dhamma cannot be equated with Buddhism.
• It was a set of principles gleaned from various religious traditions and was implemented to hold the empire together.
• The word Dhamma is the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit word Dharma.
• In his inscriptions, Ashoka mentions various codes of conduct, from which he gives the name of Dhamma.
• This code talks about the welfare and moral upliftment of all living beings
• However, there is not much evidence regarding the religious beliefs of Ashoka's early life, such as in RajTarangini, Ashoka has been described as a follower of Shaivism.
• Ashoka clearly salutes the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha in the short inscription from Bhabru.
• The evidence of Ashoka being a Buddhist is also found from the small pillars of Sarnath, Sanchi and Kaushambi.
• Ashoka has taken the definition of his Dhamma from the Buddhist text rahulovaadsutt, but Vedic influence is also visible on his Dhamma.
• Giving the definition of Dhamma in the seventh pillar article, Ashoka says that dharma is the least sin, maximum welfare, mercy, charity, purity, mildness, virtuousness.
• All the above mentioned elements of Ashoka's Dhamma are also found in Vedic literature.
• Ashoka, in the 26th year of his coronation, in the edict of the fifth pillar inscription, declares that violence should be done on some creatures like fish, ant etc.
• Along with Buddhist literature the vedic traditions’ adherence to non violence (Ahimsa) and support to universal brotherhood seemed more appealing to the peace loving societies.
• The principal contents of the Upanishads are philosophical speculations and the spirit of their contents is anti-ritualistic.
• Ashoka's policy of Dhamma was also against rituals and advocated tolerance for all sects.

Conclusion

• Although Ashoka's Dhamma policy was mainly based on the ideological philosophy of Buddhism, Buddhism itself was based on the inspiration and reaction of Vedic and Upanishad literature.
• Therefore, the influence of Vedic Upanishad literature in Ashoka's Dhamma policy cannot be ignored.