Chandragupta Maurya From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Chandragupta Maurya Samraat (Emperor) Statue of a standing young man in red stone. Statue of Chandragupta Maurya at the Birla Mandir, Delhi Titles Samraat Chakravartin Born 340 BC Birthplace Pataliputra (Patna), Bihar, India Died 298 BC Place of death Shravanbelgola, Karnataka, India[1] Predecessor Dhanananda of Nanda Dynasty Successor Bindusara Consort Durdhara Issue Bindusara Dynasty Maurya Mother Mura Chandragupta Maurya (340 BC – 298 BC) was the founder of the Mauryan Empire and the first emperor to unify India into one state. He ruled from 322 BC until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favour of his son Bindusara in 298 BC.[2][3][4] Chandragupta Maurya is a pivotal figure in the history of India. Prior to his consolidation of power, most of South Asia was ruled by small states, while the Nanda Dynasty dominated the Gangetic Plains.[5] Chandragupta succeeded in conquering and subjugating almost all of the Indian subcontinent by the end of his reign.[nb 1] His empire extended from Bengal and Assam in the east, to Afghanistan and Balochistan, eastern and south-east Iran in the west, to Kashmir in the north, and to the Deccan Plateau in the south. It was the largest empire yet seen in Indian history.[6][7] After unifying India, Chandragupta and his chief advisor Chanakya passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He established a strong central administration patterned after Chanakya’s text on politics, the Arthashastra (English: Economics and Political Science). Mauryan India was characterised by an efficient and highly organised bureaucratic structure with a large civil service. Due to its unified structure, the empire developed a strong economy, with internal and external trade thriving and agriculture flourishing. In both art and architecture, the Mauryan empire constituted a landmark. There was a growth in culture which derived its inspiration from the Achaemenids and the Hellenistic world.[8] Chandraguptas reign was a time of great social and religious reform in India. Buddhism and Jainism became increasingly prominent. In foreign Greek and Latin accounts, Chandragupta is known as Sandrokottos and Androcottus.[4] He became well known in the Hellenistic world for conquering Alexander the Greats easternmost satrapies, and for defeating the most powerful of Alexanders successors, Seleucus I Nicator, in battle. Chandragupta subsequently married Seleucuss daughter to formalize an alliance and established a policy of friendship with the Hellenistic kingdoms, which stimulated Indias trade and contact with the western world. The Greek diplomat Megasthenes is an important source of Mauryan history. Chandragupta was influenced to accept Jainism by the sage Bhadrabahu; he abdicated his throne to spend his last days at the Shravana Belgola, a famous religious site in southwest India, where he fasted to death. Along with his grandson, Ashoka, Chandragupta Maurya is one of the most celebrated rulers in the history of India. He has played a crucial role in shaping the national identity of modern India, and has been lionised as a model ruler and as a national hero. Contents [hide] 1 Early life 2 Foundation of the Maurya Empire 2.1 Nanda army 2.2 Conquest of the Nanda Empire 2.3 Conquest of Macedonian territories in India 3 Expansion 3.1 Conquest of Seleucus eastern territories 3.2 Southern conquest 4 Jainism and death 5 Successors 6 In popular culture 7 See also 8 References 8.1 Notes 8.2 Footnotes 9 Further reading 10 External links Early life[edit] Very little is known about Chandraguptas youth and ancestry. What is known is gathered from later classical Sanskrit literature, as well as classical Greek and Latin sources which refer to Chandragupta by the names Sandracottos or Andracottus.[9] Many Indian literary traditions connect him with the Nanda Dynasty in modern day Bihar in eastern India. More than half a millennium later, the Sanskrit drama Mudrarakshasa calls him a Nandanvaya i.e. the descendant of Nanda (Act IV). Again more than a millennium later, Dhundiraja, a commentator of 18th century on Mudrarakshasa states that Chandragupta was the son of the Nanda king Sarvarthasiddhi by a wife named Mura, daughter of a Vrishala (Shudra). Mudrarakshasa uses terms like kula-hina and Vrishala for Chandraguptas lineage. This reinforces Justins contention that Chandragupta had a humble origin.[10][11] On the other hand, the same play describes the Nandas as of Prathita-kula, i.e. illustrious, lineage. The medieval commentator on the Vishnu Purana informs us that Chandragupta was the son of a Nanda prince and a Hindi: dasi (English: maid) named Mura. The poets Kshmendra and Somadeva call him Purvananda-suta, son of the genuine Nanda, as opposed to Yoga-Nanda, i.e. pseudo-Nanda. The Nanda dynasty was started by Mahapadma Nanda, who is considered the first Shudra king of Magadha.[citation needed] The Buddhist text the Mahavamsa calls Chandragupta a member of a division of the Gupta(Vaisya) clan called the Moriya (Maurya). Divyāvadāna calls Bindusara, son of Chandragupt, an anointed Vaisya, Murdhabhishikata, and in the same work King Ashoka, son of Bindusara, is also styled a Vaisya. The Mahaparinibbana Sutta states that the Moriyas (Mauryas) belonged to the Kshatriya community of Pippalivana. These traditions indicate that Chandragupt came from a Vaisya lineage. The Mahavamshatika connects him with the Shakya clan of the Buddha, a clan which also belongs to the race of Ādityas.[citation needed] A medieval inscription represents the Maurya clan as belonging to the solar race of Kshatriyas. It is stated that the Maurya line sprang from Suryavamsi Mandhatri, son of prince Yuvanashva of the solar race.[citation needed] Chandragupta was a student of Chanakya. Plutarch reports that he met with Alexander the Great and Uvaratanam Velayudan, probably around Takshasila in the northwest, and that he viewed the ruling Nanda Empire in a negative light: 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, Parallel Lives: Life of Alexander 62.9 According to this text, the encounter would have happened around 326 BCE, suggesting a birth date for Chandragupta around 340 BCE. Plutarch and other Greco-Roman historians appreciated the gravity of Chandragupta Mauryas conquests. Justin describes the humble origins of Chandragupta, and explains how he later led a popular uprising against the Nanda king.[12] Foundation of the Maurya Empire[edit] Further information: Magadha and Maurya Empire Silver punch mark coin of the Maurya empire, with symbols of wheel and elephant. 3rd century BCE. Chandragupta Maurya, with the help of Chanakya, defeated the Magadha king and the army of the Chandravanshi clan. Following his victory, the defeated generals of Alexander settled in Gandhara (the Kamboja kingdom), todays Afghanistan. At the time of Alexanders invasion, Chanakya was a teacher in Takshasila. The king of Takshasila and Gandhara, Ambhi (also known as Taxiles), made a peace treaty with Alexander. Chanakya, however, planned to defeat the foreign invasion and sought help from other kings to unite and fight Alexander. Parvateshwara (Porus), a king of Punjab, was the only local king who was able to challenge Alexander at the Battle of the Hydaspes River, but he was defeated. Chanakya then went further east to Magadha, to seek the help of Dhana Nanda, who ruled the vast Nanda Empire which extended from Bihar and Bengal in the east to Punjab and Sindh in the west,[12] but Dhana Nanda refused to help him. After this incident, Chanakya began to persuade his disciple Chandragupta of the need to build an empire that could protect Indian territories from foreign invasion. Nanda army[edit] The Nanda Empire at its greatest extent under Dhana Nanda circa 323 BCE. Main article: Nanda Dynasty According to Plutarch, at the time of the Battle of the Hydaspes River, the Nanda Empires army numbered 200,000 infantry, 80,000 cavalry, 8,000 chariots, and 7,000 war elephants, which discouraged Alexanders men and prevented their further progress into India: “ As for the Macedonians, however, their struggle with Porus blunted their courage and stayed their further advance into India. For having had all they could do to repulse an enemy who mustered only twenty thousand infantry and two thousand horse, they violently opposed Alexander when he insisted on crossing the river Ganges also, the width of which, as they learned, was thirty-two furlongs, its depth a hundred fathoms, while its banks on the further side were covered with multitudes of men-at‑arms and horsemen and elephants. For they were told that the kings of the Ganderites and Praesii were awaiting them with eighty thousand horsemen, two hundred thousand footmen, eight thousand chariots, and six thousand fighting elephants. And there was no boasting in these reports. For Androcottus, who reigned there not long afterwards, made a present to Seleucus of five hundred elephants, and with an army of six hundred thousand men overran and subdued all India. ” —Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Alexander 62.1-4 In order to defeat the powerful Nanda army, Chandragupta needed to raise a formidable army of his own.[12] Conquest of the Nanda Empire[edit] Further information: Nanda Dynasty Main article: Nanda War Chandraguptas empire when he founded it c. 320 BCE, by the time he was about 20 years old. Chanakya had trained and guided Chandragupta and together they planned the destruction of Dhana Nanda. The Mudrarakshasa of Visakhadutta as well as the Jain work Parisishtaparvan talk of Chandraguptas alliance with the Himalayan king Parvatka, sometimes identified with Porus.[13] It is noted in the Chandraguptakatha that Chandragupta and Chanakya were initially rebuffed by the Nanda forces. Regardless, in the ensuing war, Chandragupta faced off against Bhadrasala, the commander of Dhana Nandas armies. He was eventually able to defeat Bhadrasala and Dhana Nanda in a series of battles, culminating in the siege of the capital city Pataliputra[12] and the conquest of the Nanda Empire around 321 BCE,[12] thus founding the powerful Maurya Empire in Northern India by the time he was about 20 years old. Conquest of Macedonian territories in India[edit] Main article: Seleucid–Mauryan war Chandragupta had defeated the remaining Macedonian satrapies in the northwest of the Indian subcontinent by 317 BCE. After Alexanders death in 323 BCE, Chandragupta, turned his attention to Northwestern India (modern Pakistan), where he defeated the satrapies (described as prefects in classical Western sources) left in place by Alexander (according to Justin), and may have assassinated two of his governors, Nicanor and Philip.[3][12] The satrapies he fought may have included Eudemus, ruler in western Punjab until his departure in 317 BCE; and Peithon, son of Agenor, ruler of the Greek colonies along the Indus until his departure for Babylon in 316 BCE. The Roman historian Justin described how Sandrocottus (Greek version of Chandraguptas name) conquered the northwest: “ Some time after, as he was going to war with the generals of Alexander, a wild elephant of great bulk presented itself before him of its own accord, and, as if tamed down to gentleness, took him on its back, and became his guide in the war, and conspicuous in fields of battle. Sandrocottus, having thus acquired a throne, was in possession of India, when Seleucus was laying the foundations of his future greatness; who, after making a league with him, and settling his affairs in the east, proceeded to join in the war against Antigonus. As soon as the forces, therefore, of all the confederates were united, a battle was fought, in which Antigonus was slain, and his son Demetrius put to flight. ” —Justin, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV, XV.4.19 Expansion[edit] By the time he was only about 20 years old, Chandragupta, who had succeeded in defeating the Macedonian satrapies in India and conquering the Nanda Empire, had founded a vast empire that extended from the Bay of Bengal in the east, to the Indus River in the west. In later years he would expand this empire. Chandragupta Maurya (340 BC – 298 BC) was the founder of the Mauryan Empire and the first emperor to unify India into one state. He ruled from 322 BC until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favour of his son Bindusara in 298 BC.[4][5][6] Chandragupta Maurya is a pivotal figure in the history of India. Prior to his consolidation of power, most of South Asia was ruled by small states, while the Nanda Dynasty dominated the Gangetic Plains.[7] Chandragupta succeeded in conquering and subjugating almost all of the Indian subcontinent by the end of his reign.[nb 1] His empire extended from Bengal and Assam in the east, to Afghanistan and Balochistan, eastern and south-east Iran in the west, to Kashmir in the north, and to the Deccan Plateau in the south. It was the largest empire yet seen in Indian history.[8][9] After unifying India, Chandragupta and his chief advisor Chanakya passed a series of major economic and political reforms. He established a strong central administration patterned after Chanakya’s text on politics, the Arthashastra. Mauryan India was characterised by an efficient and highly organised bureaucratic structure with a large civil service. Due to its unified structure, the empire developed a strong economy, with internal and external trade thriving and agriculture flourishing. In both art and architecture, the Mauryan empire constituted a landmark. There was a growth in culture which derived its inspiration from the Achaemenids and the Hellenistic world.[10] Chandraguptas reign was a time of great social and religious reform in India. Buddhism and Jainism became increasingly prominent. In foreign Greek and Latin accounts, Chandragupta is known as Sandrokottos and Androcottus.[11] He became well known in the Hellenistic world for conquering Alexander the Greats easternmost satrapies, and for defeating the most powerful of Alexanders successors, Seleucus I Nicator, in battle. Chandragupta subsequently married Seleucuss daughter to formalize an alliance and established a policy of friendship with the Hellenistic kingdoms, which stimulated Indias trade and contact with the western world. The Greek diplomat Megasthenes is an important source of Mauryan history. Chandragupta was influenced to accept Jainism by the sage Bhadrabahu; he abdicated his throne to spend his last days at the Shravana Belgola, a famous religious site in southwest India, where he fasted to death. Along with his grandson, Ashoka, Chandragupta Maurya is one of the most celebrated rulers in the history of India. He has played a crucial role in shaping the national identity of modern India, and has been lionised as a model ruler and as a national hero. Conquest of Seleucus eastern territories[edit] Silver coin of Seleucus I Nicator, who fought Chandragupta Maurya, and later made an alliance with him. Chandragupta extended the borders of his empire towards Seleucid Persia after his conflict with Seleucus c. 305 BCE. Seleucus I Nicator, a Macedonian satrap of Alexander, reconquered most of Alexanders former empire and put under his own authority the eastern territories as far as Bactria and the Indus (Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55), until in 305 BCE he entered into conflict with Chandragupta: Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, Seleucid Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus. He crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. Some of these exploits were performed before the death of Antigonus and some afterward. —Appian, History of Rome, The Syrian Wars 55 The exact details of engagement are not known. As noted by scholars such as R. C. Majumdar and D. D. Kosambi, Seleucus appears to have fared poorly, having ceded large territories west of the Indus to Chandragupta. Due to his defeat, Seleucus surrendered Arachosia, Gedrosia, Paropamisadae, and Aria.[14] Mainstream scholarship asserts that Chandragupta received vast territory west of the Indus, including the Hindu Kush, modern day Afghanistan, and the Balochistan province of Pakistan.[15][16] Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka, are known as far as Kandhahar in southern Afghanistan. After having made a treaty with him [Sandrakotos] and put in order the Orient situation, Seleucos went to war against Antigonus. —Junianus Justinus, Historiarum Philippicarum libri XLIV, XV.4.15 It is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucuss daughter to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war-elephants,[14][17][18][19][20][21] a military asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 302 BCE. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, and later Deimakos to his son Bindusara, at the Mauryan court at Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state). Later Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and contemporary of Ashoka the Great, is also recorded by Pliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador named Dionysius to the Mauryan court.[22] Classical sources have also recorded that following their treaty, Chandragupta and Seleucus exchanged presents, such as when Chandragupta sent various aphrodisiacs to Seleucus: And Theophrastus says that some contrivances are of wondrous efficacy in such matters [as to make people more amorous]. And Phylarchus confirms him, by reference to some of the presents which Sandrakottus, the king of the Indians, sent to Seleucus; which were to act like charms in producing a wonderful degree of affection, while some, on the contrary, were to banish love. —Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistae, I.32
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