The Mauryan Empire

A. Kautilya\'s Arthashastra:

• Written in Sanskrit by Chanakya (Kautilya), prime minister of Chandragupta Maurya.
• Consists of 15 books (*Adhikaranas*) detailing principles of statecraft, monarchical duty, financial taxation, civil and criminal law, military strategy, and internal espionage (*Gudhapurushas*).
• Establishes the Saptanga Theory of state: King (Swami), Minister (Amatya), Country (Janapada), Fort (Durga), Treasury (Kosa), Army (Danda), and Ally (Mitra).

B. Megasthenes\' Indika:

• Written by Megasthenes, the Seleucid Greek ambassador sent by Seleucus I Nicator to the court of Chandragupta Maurya at Pataliputra (modern Patna).
• Describes the palatial capital Pataliputra ($14.5\text{ km}$ long, protected by a massive wooden palisade with 570 towers and 64 gates, surrounded by a $180\text{ m}$ wide defensive moat).
• Details the Municipal Administration of Pataliputra: governed by a commission of 30 members divided into 6 specialized boards of 5 members each:
  1. 1st Board: Industrial arts and crafts.
  2. 2nd Board: Welfare and surveillance of foreign visitors.
  3. 3rd Board: Registration of births and deaths (vital statistics).
  4. 4th Board: Trade and commerce, weights and measures.
  5. 5th Board: Supervision of manufactured goods.
  6. 6th Board: Collection of $10\%$ sales tax on goods sold.

A. The Kalinga War (261 BCE — 8th Year of Ashoka\'s Reign):

• Geostrategic Importance: Kalinga (modern coastal Odisha) controlled the vital maritime trade routes to Southeast Asia (Java, Sumatra) and land routes to southern India. It had remained independent from the Mauryan empire.
• The Battle and Carnage: Inscribed in Major Rock Edict XIII: $100,000$ soldiers were killed, $150,000$ were taken captive, and many times that number perished from disease and famine.
• Moral Awakening: Walking through the carnage, Ashoka was overcome with profound remorse (*Anushochana*). He realized that military conquest brings untold suffering to innocent Brahmins, monks, and ordinary families.
• Shift from Bherighosha to Dhammaghosha: Ashoka permanently abandoned armed conquest (Bherighosha — the sound of war drums) and replaced it with conquest through righteousness (Dhammaghosha — the victory of moral virtue). He embraced Buddhism under the guidance of monk *Upagupta*.

B. Ashoka\'s Dhamma:

Ashoka\'s Dhamma was not a religious sectarian dogma, but a universal ethical and moral code of conduct applicable to all citizens regardless of faith:

• Core Principles:
  1. Ahimsa (Non-violence): Prohibition of animal sacrifices and slaughtering of animals for the royal kitchen.
  2. Obedience & Reverence: Respect towards parents, teachers, and elders.
  3. Compassion & Kindness: Humane treatment of servants, slaves, and prisoners.
  4. Religious Tolerance: Respect for all religious sects (Brahmins, Buddhists, Jains, Ajivikas). In Rock Edict XII, Ashoka declared: "He who honors his own sect while disparaging another\'s sectarian faith, harms his own sect severely."
• Propagation of Dhamma:
  • Appointed special moral welfare officers called Dhamma Mahamattas to inspect justice, relieve distress, and promote virtue across the empire.
  • Engraved imperial edicts on durable rocks, cave walls, and polished sandstone pillars in the local vernacular (Prakrit in Brahmi script, and Greek/Aramaic in northwest frontier regions).
  • Dispatched peace missions to foreign lands: sent his son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) with a sapling of the sacred Bodhi Tree.

The Sarnath Lion Capital:

Erected by Ashoka at Sarnath (where Buddha preached his first sermon), carved from a single monolithic block of fine-grained Chunar sandstone with a mirror-like vitreous polish:

• Four Asiatic Lions: Seated back-to-back facing the four cardinal directions, symbolizing universal sovereignty, power, courage, and pride.
• Circular Abacus: Carved in high relief with four animals running clockwise: an Elephant (East), a Galloping Horse (South), a Humped Bull (West), and a Lion (North), separated by four Dharmachakras (24-spoked wheels).
• Bell-shaped Inverted Lotus: Serving as the architectural base.
• National Significance: On January 26, 1950, the Government of India adopted the Sarnath Lion Capital as the official National Emblem of India, and the 24-spoked wheel (Ashoka Chakra) was placed at the center of the National Flag of India. The motto *"Satyameva Jayate"* (Truth Alone Triumphs) from the Mundaka Upanishad is inscribed beneath it in Devanagari.