MAURYAN AGE AND POST MAURYAN

• ARTHASHASTRA IS A BOOK ON STATE CRAFT BY CHANDRAGUPTA'S ADVISOR KAUTILYA. MENTION OF SAPTANG THEORY IN IT.
• SAPTANG THEORY OF ARTHASHASTRA INVOLVES SEVEN ORGANS OF STATE -

  1. SWAMI/ KING
  2. AMATYA/MINISTERS
  3. JANAPAD/TERRITORY
  4. DANDA/ARMY
  5. DURG/FORT
  6. KOSH /TREASURY
  7. MITRA/ALLIES
• MEGASTHENES WAS THE GREEK AMBASSADOR OF KING SELECUS IN COURT OF CHANDRAGUPTA. HE WROTE THE BOOK INDICA DESRIBING ABOUT MAURYAN EMPIRE
• MUDRARAKSHASA WAS A SANSKRIT DRAMA BY VISHAKA DATTA . DESCRIBING ABOUT MACHINATION OF KAUTILYA TO OVERTHROW THE NANDAS
• CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA DEFEATED GREEK RULER SELECUS NIKATOR AND TOOK AREAS OF AFGHANISTAN
• CHANDRAGUPTA EMBRACED JAINSIM AND UNDER GUIDANCE OF MONK BHADRABAHU DIED BY SALLEKHANA
• BINDUSARA MENTIONED AS AMITOCRATES /SLAYER OF ENEMIES BY GREEK SOURCES.
• BINDUSARA PATRONISED AJIVIKA SECT
• TARANTHA, TIBETAN MONK MENTIONED ABOUT BINDUSARA AND HIM CONQUERING 16 STATES
• UNDER BUDDHIST MONK UPAGUPTA , ASHOKA TOOK BUDDHISM
• RAJATARINGINI BY KASHMIR SCHOLAR KALHANA MENTION ABOUT KASHMIR BEING PART OF MAURYAN EMPIRE
• ASHOKAN EDICTS ARE MOST RELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION FROM HIS TIME. THEY ARE WRITTEN MOSTLY IN BRAHMI
• THE 13TH ROCK EDICT OF ASHOKA MENTIONS ABOUT HIS KALINGA WAR
• ASHOKAN INSCRIPTIONS FIRST DECIPHERED BY JAMES PRINCEP
• ASHOKA REFERRED AS KING PIYADASI IN BARABAR CAVES AND AS RANYOASHOKA IN KANGANAHALLI (KARNATAKA)
• SANNIDATA - CHEIF TREASURY OFFICER

  SAMAHARTA- COLLECTOR GENERAL OF REVENUE
• FOREIGN STATES IN POST MAURYAN AGE WERE-

  1. INDO-GREEKS
  2. SAKAS/SCYTHIANS
  3. PARTHIANS
• GREEKS CAME FROM BACTRIA. MEANDER WAS THE MOST FAMOUS INDO-GREEK RULER WHO BECAME BUDDHIST AFTER INFLUENCE OF NAGASENA /NAGARJUNA
• GREEK AMBASSADOR HELIODORUS BECOME VAISHNAVITE AND ERECTED GARUDA PILLAR @BESNAGAR
• INFLUENCE OF GREEKS IN INDIA

  GREEKS INTRODUCED MILITARY GOVERNERS AND STAGE SHOWS USING CURTAINS (CUTRAINS CALLED YAVANIKA)

  • BROUGHT GOLD WITH THEM AND ISSUES GOLD COINS FOR FIRST TIME WITH NAME AND IMAGES OF RULER ON THEM.
  • INTRODUCED HELLINIC ART -> GAVE RISE TO GANDHAR SCHOOL OF ART
• TWO DIFFERENT GROUPS OF SAKAS RULING INDIA - WESTERN SATRAPS OVER MAHARASHTRA AND NORTHERN SATRAPS OVER TAXILA
• MOST PROMINENT SAKA RULER WAS RUDRAMAN-I WHO ISSUED 1ST INSCRIPTION IN SANSKRIT IN KAVYA STYLE. IT ALSO MENTIONS OF REPAIR OF SUDARSHAN LAKE IN KATHIAWAR.
• A KING OF UJJAIN- VIKRAMADITYA AFTER DEFEATING THE SAKAS STARTED AN ERA CALLED VIKRAM SAMVAT (57 B.C.)
• PARTHIANS ORIGINALLY WERE DROM IRAN. MOST NOTABLE RULER WAS GONDORPHERNES IN WHOSE REIGN ST. THOMAS CAME TO INDIA.
• the most prominent KUSHANA RULER is kaniska who established his capital @ Purushapur aka peshawar
• KANISHKA CONTROLLED SILK ROAD AND COLLECTED TOLL CHARGES FROM BOTH CHINESE AND ROMANS.
• KANISHKA STARTED AN HISTORICAL ERA TO MARK HIS ACESSION IN 78 A.D. AS SAKA SAMVAT.
• KANISHKA WAS A PATRON OF MAHAYAN SECT AND PATRONISED TWO MAJOR SCHOOLS OF BUDDHIST ART- MATHURA AND GANDHARA
• HOW GANDHARA SCHOOL OF ART DIFFERENT FROM MATHURA ONE

  GANDHARA SCHOOL- HYBRID = GREEK + INDIAN, USE OF GREY SANDSTONE

  • MATHURA - INDIGENOUS
  • GANDHARA - BUDDHA SHOWN WITH CURLY HAIR AND HALO BEHIND WITH A LIGHT DRAPER AND STRONG PHYSIQUE LIKE GREEK GOD APOLLO
  • MATHURA- BUDDHA- SHAVEN HEAD AND SAFFRON CLOTH IN BHUMISPARSHA MUDRA
• NOTABLE SCHOLARS OF KANISHKA COURT-

  • ASHVAGHOSHA- BUDDHACHARITA
  • CHARAK- CHARAKSAMHITA
  • NAGARJUNA - MADHYAMIKA
  • VASUMITA- CHAIRMAN OF 4TH BUDDHIST COUNCIL
• NATIVE STATES IN POST MAURYAN AGE-

  • SHUNGA
  • KANVAS
  • CHETI
  • SATAVAHANAS
• PUSHYAMITRA SHUNGA WAS THE FOUNDER OF SHUNGA DYNASTY WITH CAPITAL @ VIDISHA , M.P.
• PUSHYAMITRA SHUNGA DEFEATED GREEK KING DEMATRIUS
• SHUNGAS REVIVED THE BRAHMANISM AND PROMOTED GROWTH OF VAISHNAVISM AND SANSKRIT LANGUAGES
• PATANJALI WAS THE PREIST OF ASHVAMEDA YAJNA PERFORMED BY PUSHYAMITRA SHUNGA
• AGNIMITRA WAS SON OF PUSHYAMITRA WHO WAS THE HERO OF PLAY MALVIKAGNIMITRA BY KALIDAS
• KANVAS DYNASTY WS ESTABLISHED BY VASUDEVA WITH CAPITAL @ PATLIPUTRA
• CHETI OF KALINGA WAS KNOWN BY THE HATHIGUMPHA INSCRIPTIONS OF KHARAVELA . KHARAVELA WAS FOLLOWER OF JAINISM