The Mauryan empire was the first historical empire of India. In this chapter we meet its two great emperors, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka. Then we meet Kanishka of the Kushans, Samudragupta and Chandragupta II of the Guptas, and Harshavardhana. Finally, we learn about the Karkotas of Kashmir, the brave Rajputs and the Ahoms of Assam, who ruled between about 620 C.E. and 1200 C.E. and later.

Children, there is a wheel in the centre of our National Flag. Do you know its name? It is the Ashoka Chakra. It is put on our flag as a sign of progress. Who was Ashoka? Let us find out!

• Chandragupta Maurya was a brave and adventurous young man.
• Vishnugupta of Takshashila was insulted by Dhanananda, the Nanda king. Vishnugupta was wise and a great planner. He was also called Chanakya and Kautilya.
• Chanakya trained Chandragupta in warfare and helped him build an army. The people were unhappy with Dhanananda, so Chandragupta defeated him easily.
• So, about 2300 years ago, Chandragupta Maurya started the Mauryan empire. His capital was Pataliputra (today’s Patna, capital of Bihar).
• He then marched to North-West India, which was looked after by Seleucus, the representative of Alexander of Macedonia. Seleucus lost and made a peace treaty. He gave Afghanistan, Baluchistan and Western Sindh and his daughter in marriage. Chandragupta gifted him 500 elephants.
• Seleucus sent his ambassador Megasthenes to Chandragupta’s court. Megasthenes wrote the book ‘Indica’.
• Kautilya was Chandragupta’s prime minister. His book ‘Arthashastra’ is about politics and running a state. It was first found in the Oriental Library, Mysuru, by the scholar R. Shamashastri.
• Chandragupta accepted Jainism. He gave the throne to his son Bindusara, came to Karnataka with Jain monks and gave up his life by the vow of Sallekhana at Shravanabelagola (Hassan district). Bindusara ruled for about 25 years.

After Bindusara, his son Ashoka became king. He has a special place in world history. He was the first ruler who said, “The subjects are like my children.”

Ashoka’s inscriptions: Hundreds of his inscriptions are found all over the Indian subcontinent. Most are in the Brahmi script and Prakrit language. Seventeen inscriptions are found in nine places of Karnataka. The Maski inscription (Raichur district) is important because Ashoka’s name was found in it for the first time. Other inscriptions only said ‘Devanamapriya Priyadarshi’ (beloved of the gods, good-looking). Maski says ‘Devanamapriya Priyadarshi Ashoka’, so we learnt these titles meant Ashoka himself.

• In the 8th year of his rule, Ashoka attacked Kalinga (part of today’s Odisha).
• Thousands died, one lakh people were injured and one and a half lakh soldiers were captured.
• Ashoka was deeply hurt by the death and pain. He decided never to fight wars again. No other emperor in world history changed his mind like this.
• Because he chose the path of Dharma instead of war, he is respectfully called Mahashaya.

• Ashoka accepted Buddhism and taught his people: obey teachers, elders and parents; be kind, generous and truthful; give up violence, anger and jealousy.
• He held the third Buddhist conference at Pataliputra and built stupas.
• He sent messengers of Buddha’s teachings within India and abroad: to Burma (Myanmar), Sri Lanka, Egypt, West Asia and Eastern Europe. His son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra went to Sri Lanka. Mahadeva was sent to Mysuru (then Mahishamandala) and Rakshita to Banavasi (Uttara Kannada).

• The king was the head and had all powers. A council of ministers advised him.
• Higher officials looked after departments. Special officers called Dharma Mahamatras spread good moral conduct and cared for orphans, widows and the aged.
• The empire was divided into provinces. In villages the Gramika ruled with the help of village elders. Villages had a lot of power, and the Gram Sabha settled village disputes.

Many Ashokan buildings and sculptures can still be seen today, especially stupas and pillars. The Sanchi Stupa (Madhya Pradesh) and the pillars of Sarnath are famous. The four-headed lion on top of the Sarnath pillar is our National Emblem. Ashoka used stone instead of wood and bricks, so these works have lasted till today.

• About 2000 years ago, Gandhara (now in Afghanistan) was ruled by the Kushans. Later they conquered parts of India.
• Kanishka was the most famous Kushan king. His empire spread from Afghanistan to Bihar.
• He followed Buddhism, built many stupas, sent Buddhist missionaries abroad and held the fourth Buddhist conference in Kashmir (presided by the scholar Vasumitra).
• He started the Shaka era (Shalivahana Shaka) to mark his coming to power. Today it is the official calendar of the Government of India.

• Architecture: Kanishka’s stupa at Purushapura (Peshawar) had a 13-storeyed tower, 400 ft tall, a wonder of its time.
• Art: He invited artists from other countries. Mixing art styles created the new Mathura style and Gandhara style. A stone statue of Kanishka (head broken) was found at Mathura, with his name on the base.
• Coins: The Kushans were the first to issue gold coins in India.
• Literature: Ashvaghosha wrote ‘Buddhacharita’ in Sanskrit. Nagarjuna was a great philosopher and scientist. The physician Charaka wrote ‘Charaka Samhita’.

After the Mauryas, the Guptas built a big empire, about 1600 years ago, and ruled for more than two centuries. Their capital was Pataliputra. The most famous kings were Samudragupta and Chandragupta II.

• A great warrior. The Allahabad pillar inscription, written by his court poet Harisena, tells about his victories.
• He defeated nine kings of North India. Many others surrendered. The Kushans of Afghanistan and the Shakas (Satraps) of Gujarat accepted his power.
• In the South he defeated twelve kings, including the king of Kanchi. He performed the Ashwamedha yaga (horse sacrifice) to celebrate.
• He was a poet and musician, called ‘Kaviraja’ (king of poets). His coins show him playing the veena. The Buddhist monk Vasubandhu was his minister.

• Son of Samudragupta and an expert in war. He defeated the Shakas who had ruled Gujarat for over 300 years. His title was ‘Vikramaditya’.
• He issued new gold coins. The great poet Kalidasa was in his court.
• Fa-Hien, a Buddhist pilgrim from China, came in his time and wrote ‘Fo-kwo-ki’. He said crimes were rare, rule was good for people and travel was safe.

• Sanskrit literature: Kalidasa, one of the Navaratnas (nine jewels) of Chandragupta II, is called ‘Kavikula Guru’. His great play is ‘Abhijnana Shakuntalam’; other plays: Malavikagnimitra, Vikramorvashiya; poems: Raghuvamsha, Kumarasambhava, Ritusamhara, Meghaduta. Shudraka wrote ‘Mricchakatika’, Vishakhadatta wrote ‘Mudrarakshasa’, Vishnu Sharma wrote ‘Panchatantra’ and Amarasimha wrote the dictionary ‘Amarakosha’, still used today.
• Temples: Temple building began in the Gupta age. The Sanchi temple is the oldest temple in India. Others are at Bhitargaon and Devgarh (Dashavatara temple with a beautiful Vishnu idol). Gupta temples stood on a square plinth with a sanctum and a portico.
• Stupa: the Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath, 128 ft tall.
• Paintings: the wall paintings (murals) of the Ajanta caves are world famous. The caves were found again in 1819.
• Science and maths: Aryabhata wrote ‘Aryabhateeyam’, explained the reason for eclipses and worked on algebra and trigonometry, at just 23 years old! Brahmagupta was another mathematician and Varahamihira a great astronomer.
• Metallurgy: the Iron Pillar at Mehrauli (Delhi), 23 ft tall and 6 tonnes, has not rusted in 1500 years. An 8 ft copper Buddha statue was found at Nalanda.
• Ayurveda: Vagbhata wrote ‘Ashtanga Hridaya Samhita’. Surgeons used 127 types of instruments, and Indian doctors first used mercury as medicine.

• After the Guptas, the Pushyabhuti (Vardhana) dynasty became the most important. Its rulers were Prabhakaravardhana, Rajyavardhana and Harshavardhana.
• Harsha became king at just 16, after many sad events. A Malwa king killed his sister Rajyashree’s husband Grihavarman and imprisoned her in Kanauj. His brother Rajyavardhana defeated Malwa but was killed by Shashanka of Gaudadesha.
• Harsha found Rajyashree in the Vindhya mountains, took over the Moukhari kingdom and made Kanauj his capital. He fought Shashanka and won Kashmir and Sindh.
• In the South he was defeated by Pulakeshi II, the Kannada Chalukya king, on the banks of the Narmada. He ruled North India for about 40 years.
• Literature: Harsha himself wrote the Sanskrit plays Priyadarshika, Ratnavali and Nagananda. His court poet Banabhatta wrote ‘Harshacharita’, Harsha’s life story. He gave large gifts to Nalanda University.
• Dharma: He respected all religions. He was a Shaiva but gave great importance to Buddhism, and held religious conferences at Kanauj and Prayag.

• Hiuen Tsang (Hu-en-Tsang), a famous Chinese traveller, came about 1400 years ago, travelled in India for 15 years, studied at Nalanda and stayed long in Harsha’s court. He wrote the travelogue ‘Si-yu-ki’ (Record of the Western Kingdoms).
• Nalanda University (in today’s Bihar) was famous for over six centuries. Students came from Japan, China and other lands. It had 8 big schools and 3 big libraries. Buddhism, Veda, Yoga and medicine were taught.
• There were no fees for study, food or shelter; the income of 100 villages paid for it. Later, attacks burned its books and it lost its fame.

• Started by Durlabhavardhana in 625 C.E.; it lasted 230 years (625–855 C.E.) and spread from the Himalayas into Central Asia.
• The Karkotas worshipped the Sun. Their capital was Parihasapura (Paraspore). They built the famous Martand Sun Temple.
• The greatest ruler, Lalitaditya, came to power in 724 C.E. and ruled 36 years. His empire included today’s Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Bihar. He encouraged art and culture.
• This was the most glorious period of Shaivism in Kashmir: Vasugupta wrote ‘Shivasutra’; Abhinavagupta was a famous philosopher and poet. The book says the poet Kalhana was in Lalitaditya’s court.

• The Rajputs were known for courage and power. They said they were Kshatriyas of the Surya vamsha and Chandra vamsha. They ruled North India for about 500 years and bravely fought the Arabs, Turks and Mughals.
• Rajput character: they felt it their duty to protect cows, orphans, the weak and women; they protected anyone who asked for help; they were inspired by songs about their ancestors’ brave deeds.
• Rajput women were very brave. When their husbands died in war, they gave up their lives together rather than live in dishonour. This was called ‘Johar’.

• Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh): the Kandariya Mahadeva temple. There were 85 temples; 22 remain.
• Dilwara (Mount Abu, Rajasthan): marble temples with very fine carvings.
• Konark (Odisha): the Sun Temple, shaped like the Sun God’s chariot with 24 carved wheels.
• Bhubaneswar (Odisha): the 1000-year-old Lingaraja temple, whose shikhara is 180 ft high.
• Gwalior fort (Madhya Pradesh): “the pearl among Indian forts”, with Raja Mansingh’s palace for Queen Mriganayani and a huge statue of the first Jain Tirthankara, Vrishabhanatha (Adinatha).
• Jaipur (Rajasthan): the ‘Pink City’, with the five-storeyed Hawa Mahal. Udaipur has the largest palace in Rajasthan.
• Paintings: Rajputs encouraged murals and fine miniature (chikani) paintings on walls and in books.
• Literature: Sanskrit flourished; Gujarati, Hindi and Rajasthani grew. Chand Bardai wrote ‘Prithviraj Raso’. Jayadeva, who wrote ‘Gita Govinda’, was in the Sena court. They supported Nalanda, Kashi, Vikramashila and Ujjaini.

• Land given to government servants (from Gupta times) led to the zamindari system, which troubled farmers.
• Towns had craftsmen and traders; Vaishyas did business and banking. Foreign trade grew, mostly with Arab traders: India exported spices, cotton and silk cloth, perfumes and diamonds, and imported horses from Central Asia and Arabia.
• Money was spent on forts and temples, which gave people jobs.
• Social classes were based on professions. Women were respected and were experts in literature, dance, music, painting and embroidery.
• Bathing at holy places was sacred. Pushkar near Ajmer (centre of Brahma worship) was a pilgrimage place, with a famous yearly camel fair.

• The Ahoms ruled parts of today’s Assam for 598 years (1228–1826 C.E.). The dynasty was started by the Shan prince Sukapha, whose ancestors crossed the Patkai mountains.
• The king was called ‘Aasam Raja’ and the people ‘Kavopha’. A king was chosen only with the agreement of the Patra Mantris (Burhagohain, Borgohain, Borbarua, Borphukan, Borpatrogohain), who could even remove a king.
• Three important rulers: Sukapha (founder), Suhungmung (expanded the empire) and Supatpha (developed the kingdom). Lachit Borphukan was a famous commander-in-chief.
• Queens also took part in ruling. The chief queen was the Bor Kuwari. After a king’s death, queens ran the kingdom, and coins carried the names of both king and queen.
• The Ahoms were the main obstacle to the Mughals in the North-East. The Mughals attacked many times (1615–1682 C.E.), but King Chakradhwaja Singha and Borphukan won back the lost places, and Guwahati became part of the Ahom kingdom.
• The Ahoms had a strong navy on the Brahmaputra, built excellent ships and knew guerrilla warfare, so the Mughals could not defeat them easily.