Ideas and Movements in the Age of Mauryas

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T h e M a u ry a n Ag e i s a s e m in a l pe r i od i n t h e

p o li t ic a l a n d s o ci o -c u lt u ra l l i fe o f t h e

p eo p le o f I n di a . I t w a s c h ar a ct e ri s ed b y t h e

r i s e o f i m p er i a l p ow e r t o a n u n pr e c ed e n t ed

l ev el , t he b lo ss om in g o f c ul tu re a nd a rt s ,

t h e g r ow t h o f e c on o my a n d b r is k c o nt a ct s

w i t h l a n d s a n d p e o p l e s b e y o n d i t s

g eo gr ap hi ca l f ro nt ie rs . I t i s t o t hi s a ge

t ha t t he t er m Cl as si ca l i s a pp ro pr ia te ly

applicable , and wit h suf f icie nt go o d re ason,

in s o f ar as it has serve d India as an

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t he st ude nt s o f Hist o ry a varie t y o f

p r ob l em s w h ic h ar e a s c o mp l ex a s t h ey a r e

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s e e ks t o e x am i n e a s t o h o w t h e i n t e ll e c t ua l

a nd cu lt ur al mo ve me nt s o f t he A ge w er e

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Ideas and

Movementsin the Age of

the MauryasS.N. Dube

Ideasand

Movementsinthe

AgeoftheMaurya

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S.N.Du

be

W i t h Sp e c ia l R e f er e n ce t oPli and Ardhamgadh Sources


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IDEAS AND MOVEMENTS IN THEAGE OF THE MAURYAS(With Special Reference to Pli & Ardhamgadh Sources)


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IDEAS AND MOVEMENTS INTHE AGE OF THE MAURYAS(With Special Reference to Pli & Ardhamgadh Sources)

S . N . D U B E


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First published 2012

Indian Institute of Advanced Study, Shimla, 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means,

without prior permission of the publisher

ISBN 978-81-7986-092-2

Published byThe Secretary

Indian Institute of Advanced StudyRashtrapati Nivas, Shimla

T b


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Contents

Preface 9

1. Introduction 13

2. Study of the Sources 23

3. Intellectual and Social Background 45

4. Imperial Unification and Wider Horizons 87

5. Benign Autocracy and Its Legacies 125

6. Rise and Ramifications of Early Buddhist Sects 159

7. Critical Transition in Buddhist Ideas 1798. Consolidation of Other Ascetic Orders 223

9. Theistic Movements 267

10. Conclusion 307

General Bibliography 327

Encyclopaedias, Dictionaries, Journals, Periodicals 340

Index 342


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Dedicated to the sacred memory ofmy beloved mother

Smt. Shyama Dube

and

to that of my revered father

Shri Uma Shanker Dube B.A., LL.B(S.P.P., U.P. Police Lucknow)


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Abbreviations

BB Bibliotheca BuddhicaBI Bibliotheca IndicaBST Buddhist Sanskrit Text SeriesCHI Cambridge History of IndiaCII Corpus Inscriptionum IndicarumDPPN Dictionary of the Pali Proper NamesEI Epigraphia IndicaEMB Early Monastic BuddhismERE Encyclopaedia of Religion and EthicsIHQ Indian Historical Quarterly

IA Indian Antiquary JA Journal AsiatiqueJBBRAS Journal of the Bombay Branch of Royal Asiatic

SocietyJBORS Journal of Bihar and Orissa Research SocietyJBRS Journal of Bihar Research SocietyJPTS Journal of Pali Text SocietyJRAS Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great

Britain and IrelandPE Pillar Edict PHAI Political History of Ancient IndiaPTS Pali Text Society RE Rock Edict SBB S d B k f th B ddhi t


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PREFACE

The age of the Mauryas is a seminal period of Indian historycharacterised by changes of far-reaching significance in thepolitical as well as socio-cultural life of the people of India.It witnessed the rise of imperial power to an unprecedentedlevel, enabling the unification of India under the auspicesof a single common authority. The unified state, the first inIndias history, incorporated a greater part of Bhratavaraas also some adjacent regions. The political unification underthe Mauryas makes the chronology of Indian history precise.Political unity leads to historical unity. A uniform and

efficient system of administration under Chandragupta andhis successors brought in its train the cultural unity of thecountry. A study of the age presents the students of history a

variety of problems, which are as complex for a satisfactoryexplanation as they are important. Numerous questions,interesting in themselves and more interesting by reason oftheir general significance, unfold before us as the ageprogresses. With a view to understanding the vitality and

continuity of Indian tradition, as well as its ability to adapt toalien ideas, harmonise contradictions and mould newthought patterns, it is interesting to examine as to how theintellectual and cultural movements of the age weremutually inter-connected as also with the development of a

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10 IDEAS AND MOVEMENTS IN THE AGE OF MAURYAS

age in terms of political unity leading to historical and

cultural unity and all important question of chronology beingmade precise. The second chapter, entitled Study of theSources, surveys relevant sources, highlighting those whichare of our direct concern, i.e., Pliand Ardhamgadhtexts.The third chapter, entitled Intellectual and Social Background,traces the backdrop of spiritual unrest and intellectualferment opening the vista of heterodox ascetic movements,the foremost being Buddhism and Jainism. Each one of them

was based on a distinctive set of doctrines and distinctiverules of monastic and social conduct. Their genesis andnature, as well as the extent of their spread and expansionin the society have also been delineated. Imperial Unificationand Wider Horizons, which forms the fourth chapter, discussesin detail as to how the Mauryan age ushers in a unique periodof unification and consolidation. The accomplishments of

the great soldier and founder of the empire Chandragupta,in the aftermath of the disruptive invasion of Alexander theGreat in 326 BC, placed India on the political map of the

world. The conscientious administrative system of theMauryas owes as much to him as to his renowned chancellorChakya or Kauilya. An important consequence of

Alexanders campaigns in India was that India and Greekworld were brought closer to each other than before and

the way was opened up for active contact between them,leading to the growth of trade and cultural intercourse. Thefifth chapter, entitled Benign Autocracy and Its Legacies,discusses the forty years of Aokas reign which forms a greatepoch not only in the history of India, but in the anals of

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PREFACE 11

Rise and Ramifications of Early Buddhist Sects, which is the

caption of the sixth chapter, traces the background,evolution and ramifications of the early Buddhist sects whichseem to have proliferated in the age of Aoka. The seventhchapter, entitled Critical Transition in Buddhist Ideas, presentsa broad cross-section of Buddhist thought in the age of theMauryas when some of the conflicts and obscurities latent inthe earlier doctrines emerged openly and when in the courseof their discussion ground was prepared for futuredevelopment. The PlitextKathvatthu, a leading documentof the age of Aoka, is a kind of magnum opus for areconstruction of early Buddhism and for understandingthe figurative transition from the earlier historical forms tothe later developed systems. Consolidation of other Ascetic Orders,forming the eighth chapter, underlines the developmentand importance of Jainism in the history of Indian thought.

The growth of the Jaina monastic order till the Mauryantimes, as gleaned from Jaina texts and inscriptions showsthe powerful support it received from its dedicated followers,both monks and lay disciples. It also enjoyed royal patronagein considerable measure. There is reason to believe that

Jainism, like Buddhism, began to flourish in the days of theMauryas. The concluding part of the chapter is devoted topiecing together the evidences with a view to projecting

another contemporary movement led by the famous asceticMakkhali Gola. The Pliand Ardhamgadhsources are inagreement in describing the jvikas as naked ascetics,professing rules of life quite distinct from the hermits of the

Vnaprastha order. The Buddhists and the Jainas mercilesslyi i i h f li i d f h j ik Th i h h


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thought-ferment manifested itself in the north-east of India

in an anti-Vedic movement, while in the north-west attemptwas made to reconcile the newer tendencies with orthodoxy.The tenth chapter is in the form of concluding remarksfollowed by a General Bibliography.

I am deeply indebted to the Governing Body of the IndianInstitute of Advanced Study, Simla for the award of afellowship to enable me to undertake this study. ProfessorG.C. Pande has always been the prime source of inspirationfor me in all my academic endeavours, and without hisencouragement it would have been difficult for me tocomplete this project. I am grateful for the support receivedfrom ex-Directors of the Institute Professor V.C. Srivastavaand Professor Bhuvan Chandel in whose tenure the project

was pursued. I must also acknowledge my deep sense ofgratitude to the present Director Professor Peter Ronald

deSouza for bearing with me the inordinately delayedpublication of this monograph. To my valued friend andformer colleague, Shri R.S. Mishra, I am grateful for his kindinterest in the progress of this work. I do not have adequate

words to express what I owe to mysahadharmiSmt. Geeta.The officers and staff of the Institute had always been verycooperative and helpful during my three years stay at theInstitute for which I am highly thankful to them.

S.N. DUBE


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I

INTRODUCTION

The establishment of the Mauryan empire marks a unique

event in the history of India. The empire was created andfounded by Chandragupta,1 who, according to the accountsof Plutarch and Justin, appeared before Alexander in thePunjab (32625 BC) as a stripling. A man of humble birththough, he was endowed by tradition with signs of an augustdestiny. Northern India was passing through a state offerment about that time. The Nanda dynasty of Magadha

was tottering under the burden of its avarice, extortion andunpopularity. In the north-west the people, divided, as they

were, smarted under the blows of Alexanders invasion. Thepolitical situation was, thus, ripe for a radical change. It didnot take long for a bold initiative to be taken byChandragupta, who aided by Chakya, conceived the granddesign of reversing the conditions. Both Indian and classicalsources agree that Chandragupta overthrew the last of the

Nandas and occupied the throne of Magadha.2

The classicalsources add that, soon after the retreat of Alexander,Chandragupta liberated the north-west by driving out theGreek garrisons. He made himself the master of the wholeof the ryvarta. The results of the formidable stature thath i d f l t h S l I th


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With the establishment of the Mauryan rule we come from

darkness to light and it is from this period that the history ofIndia finds a proper chronological setting, entering into aunique period of expansion and consolidation of Indianstatehood. Alexander the Great, Chandragupta, Chakya(Kauilya) and Aoka are the dominating figures who play apivotal role in shaping the contours of its history. Someenviable developments, which characterise the period, marka distinct break from the past and a turning point in Indianhistory. The age was preceded by momentous events, suchas the upsurge of non-Brahmanical or so-called heterodoxschools of thought, the rise of second urban revolution,introduction of coinage and the art of writing, the ascensionof Magadhan aggrandisement, etc. The interplay of thesefactors generated a tumult in Indian society and led todevelopments which gave a fillip to fundamental changes

in Indias history and culture. Fortunately, in a study of theMauryan period, there is a comparative abundance ofinformation from sources, either contemporary or later.

It is also true that of all the early periods of Indian historythe age of the Mauryas has evoked extreme curiosity andinterest of researchers and authors. From the beginning ofthe Indological studies to recent times different aspects ofits history and culture have continued to attract scholars.

Even a select list of publications on the Mauryas, pertainingto the last sixty years, would be quite voluminous and wouldshow that, on an average, more than one book has come outevery two years. A perusal of the studies, however,demonstrates that their focus generally has been on the

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INTRODUCTION 15

and Buddhist culture, as a secondary factor, characterises

early writings on Indology both Indian and Western. Whatseems to remain a desideratum, to some extent, is an analysisof the Buddhist and Jaina texts which have bearings on theperiod in so far as they contain data poorly elucidated in theinscriptions. Numerous scholarly studies on the sources ofMauryan history notwithstanding, some of the Buddhist and

Jaina works which do not seem to have been fully utilised orcross-checked areKathvatthu, Milindapaha, Dpavasaand Mahvasa(supposedly based on earlier texts), SinhaliAhakathand Uttaravihra Ahakatha), Mahvasatk(Vasatthappaksin), Mahbodhivasa, Tiloyapaati,Bhadrabhus Nijjuti on Bhatakalpasutra, vassayachui,Sukhabodh(Prkrit commentary on Uttarjjhayanasutta),chuis and commentaries on Dasavaiklika sutta andNiithasutta, vassayachui(as reflected in Pariiaparvan),

etc.The administrative system of the Mauryan empire, whichmay be said to be at the base of subsequent administrativedevelopment of India, may owe something to thepredecessors of the Mauryas, but one gets the strongimpression that much of it was due to the creative ability ofChandragupta himself and his famous chancellor Chakyaor Kauilya. If there was not much scope for the exercise of

civic liberties and rights, it has to be noted that conditionselsewhere were no better and that the despotic authority ofhis government was used largely for promoting the welfareof the people, as is clear from the testimony of both Kauilyaand Megasthenes. As the architect of the Mauryan empire

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arms the earth, harassed by barbarians, found a shelter and

who nearly succeeded in bringing about the unification ofJambudvpa. Fragments of the cycle of legends with himas the hero survive even in the works of classical writers.

The significance of the Mauryan rule lay not merely inthe conquest of its rulers, but in the fact that it was able to

weld the largely diverse elements of the sub-continent intoa well-knit empire by successfully reducing the tremendouscultural gaps between the farflung regions. It, thus, gave

expression to an imperial vision which was to dominatesucceeding centuries of Indian political and cultural life. Italso witnessed, among other things, the extension ofhumanistic and cultural activities of India much beyond herown physical boundaries, and the remarkable experimentin promoting international peace and harmony throughabandonment of the policies of violence and military

aggrandisement. The quiet tone in which the Mauryanemperor Aoka, one of the most interesting personalities inthe history of India, records the despatch of his missions topreach the dhamma in alien lands and provide for themedical treatment of men and animals speaks eloquently ofa practising dhrmika dharmarj. He was tireless in hisexertion and unflagging in his zeal, all directed to the welfareof not only his own subjects, whom he considered as his

children, but the entire world of living beings. Aoka isundoubtedly the brightest luminary in the firmament ofIndian history. By the dint of his high idealism, his nobleideal of his duties and responsibilities as emperor, hisunflinching determination for the service of the people andh bl h i f hi A k f


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INTRODUCTION 17

Aoka was equipped both by hi s endeavour and by

circumstances to understand the requirements of his time.He coupled with this characteristic an extraordinary degreeof idealism, and the courage with which he attempted toexpound and impose dhamma, particularly in the complexmilieu of the third century BC, is remarkable. The largenumbers of Aokan inscriptions located in various parts ofhis empire give us an idea not only of the personality of theemperor but also of the important events of his reign.

Perhaps, the most momentous of these was his conversionto Buddhism, which took place after the victorious campaignof Kaliga.

In the hisotry of Buddhism, Aoka holds a place ofimportance, perhaps, second only to that of the founderhimself. From an Indian sect he made it a world religion.He did it by emphasising the elements of universality that ithad always contained. He realised and acted on the truththat true religion is personal and spiritual, not a matter ofceremonial or of ritual, but of conviction and conduct. The

world has considerably gained by the missionary activities ofAoka. Large part of the South-East Asia has assimilatedIndian ideas, especially Buddhism. The whole of the Far-East is in Indias debt, for it is Buddhism which has played acrucial role in shaping the distinctive civilisations of China,

Korea, Japan and Tibet. As regards the West the heterodoxJewish sects of the Therapeutae and Essenes, which probablyinfluenced early Christianity, followed monastic practices insome respects similar to those of Buddhism.5 Parallels mayalso be traced betweeen a few passages in the New Testament

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Achemenid palaces at Susa and Ecbatana. The most striking

monuments of Mauryan art are the Aokan pillars (dhamma-stabhas), with sculptured capitals of which both shaft andcapital strike the observer by their size and finish. Pli orAokan Prkrit in which dialect his inscriptions are couchedbecame almost the lingua franca of India. We also getinteresting glimpses of society as constituted in Aokas time.It comprised religious orders like Brhmaas, ramaas, andotherpsaas, among which the jvikas and the Nigahas

(Jainas) were the most prominent.6 Besides, there were thehouseholders (ghasthas) and, curiously, the inscriptionsmention all the four divisions, viz., Brhmaas; soldiers andtheir chiefs (bhaamya), corresponding to Kshatriyas; Ibhyasor Vaiyas; and slaves and servants (dsabhaaka), i.e. udras.7

The people were wont to perform many ceremonies to bringthem good luck and they had faith in the hereafter (paralokaor svarga).8 The rigidity and exclusiveness of the caste systemat the time of the foundation of the Mauryan empire asnoted by Megasthenes is likely to have dissipated considerablyowing to the religious propagation of Aoka in favour ofBuddhism which depricated caste prejudices, based on birth,and tended to strengthen the forces making for socialelasticity.

The age of the Mauryas, indeed, marks a distinctive

landmark in the history and culture of India, in so far as themomentous developments which characterise it facilitatedfundamental changes in the society and culture that hadtaken root in all parts of the area one could reasonablyhenceforth designate as India a distinctive land and people

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INTRODUCTION 19

evolving civilisation demonstrates, at the same time, strong

bias towards an elaboration of certain basic elements ofcivilisation, an elaboration of some earlier roots. The periodwas characterised by the blossoming of culture and arts, thegrowth of economy and brisk contacts with lands and peoplesbeyond its geographical frontiers. It was in this importanthistorical period that some of the basic features of Indiansocial system and major institutions of ancient Indian societyand state acquired their form. A number of new religious

and philosophical trends also developed, including Jainismand Buddhism, the latter undergoing great deal oftransformation, both internally and externally. It was, thus,an age marked by the efflorescence of a fine balancebetween both the religious and secular aspects of life.9 It isto this age to which the word classical is appropriatelyapplicable, and with good reason, in so far as it has servedIndia as an exemplar of political integration and moralregeneration.

The foundation of the first Indian empire was, in fact,only one of the two momentous events of this period. Theother was the rise of the ramaasects of which Jainism andBuddhism were the leading light. Their appearance waspreceded by the presence of a diversity of religious andphilosophical beliefs about the nature and destiny of man

in the universe. Probably, there may be hardly any majorreligious or philosophical view prevalent today or which hasevolved in the course of human thought in the East or Westthat was not reflected then by one or the other thinker.These new religious movements, thus, sprang from a

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Aokas contribution to Buddhism is well-known. Some of

his successors also were ardent supporters of unorthodoxsects. Tibetan author Trantha alludes to a variety ofreligious inclinations of the scions of the Mauryas. Thus, thehistorical period, roughly corresponding to the second halfof the first millennium BC, was characterised by momentousevents and developments, e.g. the rise of non-Brahmanicalor heterodox ascetic schools of thought, the second urbanrevolution, the emergence of a very influential mercantile

community organised in guilds, the introduction of art ofwriting10 and coinage11, the ascendance of the Magadhanempire, the influx of a series of foreigners of different racesand nationalities and so on. Establishment of close contacts

with western Asia, since the time of the Achaemenians, musthave provided yet another avenue for the flow of unorthodoxideas. It is, evidently, a period of expanding materialculture, with far wider trade relations than in the previousperiod and much greater amenities of life for the wealthy,although a town proletariat has arisen simultaneously whichis, perhaps, much poorer than their humbler predecessorsof the earlier times. In the Vedic texts cities are hardlyreferred to. Now, in the time of the Buddha and Mahvra,populous towns and cities exist in all parts of the Gangetic

valley. The Ganges, which was easily navigable, stimulated

mercantile traffic by water and this, probably, caused theshifting of the Magadhan capital from Rjagha toPaliputra. Plitexts furnish clear evidence of the growingimportance of shipping in this period.12 The growth of citiesand commerce and the organisation of trade and craft into

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INTRODUCTION 21

NOTES

1. It was Sir William Jones, the charismatic father of Oriental studies andpioneer of Indo-Aryan linguistics, who in a flash of inspiration rescuedthe name of Sandrokottos (Sandracottus in Latin) by identifying him

with Chandragupta Maurya. I cannot help mentioning a discoverywhich accident threw my way, he had told the members of the BengalAsiatic Society in his 1793 annual address; cf. Asiatic Researches, IV. p. 11.

2. Cf. Infra, pp. 87ff.3. K.A. Nilakanta Sastri, Age of the Nandas and Mauryas, p.133.4. H.G.Wells, A Short History of the World, p. 115.

5. Cf.Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. V, p. 401, XI, p. 318-9.6. Cf. Pillar Edict VII.7. Cf. Rock Edict V.8. Cf. Rock Edicts IX, XIII, Pillar Edicts, III, IV, VII etc.9. Romila Thapar, Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, p. 1; Cultural Past,

pp. 483 ff; Asoka and the Gupta Age in A Cultural History of India, ed.A.L. Basham, pp. 37-38.

10. The Pli Vinaya PiakaandJtakastake writing for granted. (For Plitexts refer to the Nland edition except, wherever, specified otherwise).

11. There are references to kahpaain the Pli Nikya, Vinaya Piakaand

Jtakas. The last two works also mention makaand kkaika. Nikkhaismentioned in the SayuttaNikya, III, p. 289, but may be referring to a

weight of gold as elsewhere in the Plitexts.12. Cf. Dgha Nikya(P.T.S.) I. p. 222, II p. 89; Thergth(P.T.S.) 530;

DpavasaIX. 10-28; Mahvasa, VI.


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II

STUDY OF THE SOURCES

For a study of the Mauryan age, there is comparative

abundance of information from sources, eithercontemporary or later, which makes it potentially the bestdocumented period in the entire history of pre-MuslimIndia. These sources range from Kauilyas Arthastra to aseries of Aokas edicts inscribed on pillars, rocks and wall-facings. The latter constitute our first major source whoseauthenticity cannot be doubted. Megasthenes, Kauilya andthe Aokan inscriptions, when correctly interpreted, in fact,supplement one another to a remarkable extent. TheBuddhist and Jaina sources which throw significant light onthe socio-cultural life and movements in the sixth-fifthcenturies BC continue the broad trends into the Mauryanperiod.1 The variety of sources, available for the period, areof two types, viz., literary and archaeological. The literarysources include (1) the Buddhist, Jaina and Brhmaical

texts written in Pli, Ardhamgadh, Sanskrit etc., (2) secularworks like the Arthastraof Kauilya and the MahbhyaofPatajali, the Mudrrkasa of Vikhadatta and (3) theclassical accounts of Megasthenes and others and theitineraries of such Chinese pilgrims as Fa-hian, Yuan Chwang(Hi T ) d I t i i i it t


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scholars. We shall, therefore, confine ourselves to a brief

survey of the sources and highlight only those which areeither of our direct concern or have come to light recently.The historical material which can be extracted from the

mass of Buddhist and Jaina religious literature is mainly inthe form of similes, stories, statements, observations etc., andthe very incidental nature of this material increases its valueas a source of history. The early Buddhist and early Jainaliterature belongs to the early historical period of Indias

past and many events figuring in their texts are identifiableclearly with actual facts of the political and cultural history.The accounts furnished by the Buddhist and Jaina sourcesfor the sixth to fourth centuries BC, for example, areextremely valuable for the simple reason that epigraphicevidence has not yet come up. They are no less significantfor the Mauryan period proper, as they provide some usefulfresh data on socio-religious life of the period. Whilenarrating the life-story of the Buddha and his chief disciples,or elucidating Buddhas teachings onDhammaand Vinaya,principal rules (paatti), the amended rules (anupaatti)etc., the Buddhist authors not only mention the occasionand the individuals involved but also throw significant lighton the contemporary conditions and life of the people. Thus,the vast and rich materials available in Plirender invaluable

aid to the sudy of ancient India, especially for the secondhalf of the first millennium BC. Apart from the canonicalliterature, Pli commentaries and sub-commentaries alsofurnish us with valuable information regarding the religious,social, political, economic and architectural history. TheB ddhi h h l h f h l d


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STUDY OF THE SOURCES 25

supported by the Jaina sources, there being good deal of

agreement between them as regards the historical data. Inthe works of both these religious movements, great attentionhas been paid to the states and principalities of north-eastIndia which were the centre of activity of the Buddha andMahavira. It was only natural for these authors to take duenotice of the monarch, ruling chiefs and other people, suchas, merchants, bankers, important lay disciples etc., whopatronised and supported the new religions. The Buddhist

and Jaina texts have much to say, thus, about the dynastythey call Maurya. The texts are also very particular aboutthe geographical settings of the sayings, speeches andsojourns of the teachers and their key disciples. We findnumerous references to various capitals, cities, towns, marketplaces, ports and villages which they visited. It may beobserved, however, that both Pliand Ardhamgadhtextscontain historical, as well as, legendary material. There is,therefore, need for scientific treatment of the informationgleaned from these sources.

The Buddhist literature may broadly be divided, on thebasis of language, into three categories, viz., Pli, MixedSanskrit and Pure Sanskrit. There is another way of classifyingthe Buddhist literature, i.e. (a) the Plitexts of the southerntradition and (b) Sanskrit texts of the northern tradition.

The Buddhist canonical Pli literature is comprised of theTripiakawhich are collections of speeches and conversationsof the Buddha, songs of monks and nuns and the rules ofthe Buddhistsagha. A remark made earlier by H. Kern hasbeen endorsed by G.C. Pande that there is the possibility ofh i i f h Dh (S ) d Vi


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Buddhist council convened by Aoka under Moggaliputta

Tissa, was taken to Sri Lanka by Mahinda (Mahendra) andwas later recorded in writing, in its present form, in thereign of the first powerful Sinhalese king Vaagmai inthe first centuryBC.3 The more reliable evidence of Aokasown edicts, and the votive inscriptions on the stupasof Schand Bharhut would show that certain canonical texts whichare available in the Pli canon and which bear generalresemblance to it were already in existence in 3rd centuryBC at least. Some important sources may be illustrated toshow how they have helped the present study.

The Aguttara Nikya, as noted above, furnishes us thelist of Soasa Mahjanapadas, wherein K and Koala areshown as independent states. The Mahvagga informs usthat they were not only independent of each other but theformer was stronger and more prosperous of the two. It wasonly later that K became a part of the kingdom of Koala.Likewise, Magadha, which annexed the eastern kingdom of

Aga in the time of Bimbisra, enabling him to assume thetitle of Agarja, used to be a tax-payer to Aga earlier. TheBuddha is depicted as a great admirer of republics. In theMahparinibbna Suttahe advises monks to observe the samehabits as practised by the Licchavis.4 According to theJtakas,the leading members of the Licchavi republic were called

rj, and their number amounted to 7707.5

Raha, thePliform of the Sanskrit term rradenotes a kingdom orempire and, as at one place the order of mention goes tosuggest, it was the highest unit in the political division, theothers being, gma, nagar, nigamaand janapada.6Rahaor h d d d h d i d h


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ministers. The mahmttascould be promoted or demoted

depending on the success or failure of their advice.9

TheVinaya Piakanotices a number of state officials designatedas mahmttas, each having the name of the respectivedepartment prefixed with them to distinguish from others,such as sennyaka-mahmtta (army officer), vohrika-mahmtta (judicial officer) gaaka-mahmtta, upacraka-mahmtta(officer of the royal household) and so on. TheVinaya Piaka, especially the Mahvagga and Cullavagga

contain a mine of information and provide a rare glimpseinto the social and cultural life of India during sixth, fifthand fourth centuries BC.10 Beside narrating the deeds of theBuddha, since his enlightenment, these texts describe indetail the development of the saghaand its relations withthe society.

There are some significant references in the Buddhisttexts which have a direct bearing on the political and culturaldevelopment of the Mauryan period. Attention, for example,may be drawn to the Cakkavattshanda Suttaof the DghaNikya, where the ideal of the cakravartin(universal ruler)is elaborated. It is, probably, this ideal which Aoka tries toput into practice to become dhamma-cakkavatti (universalmoral ruler) by resorting to the principle of dhamma-vijaya.The Dgha Nikya also mentions the Kshatriya class known

as the Moriyas of Pippalivana.11

The Mahvasa adds thatChandragupta was born of a family of Kshatriyas calledMoriyas.12 The Mahbodhivasaadds that Prince (kumra)Chandragupta, born of a dynasty of kings (narinda-kula-sabhava), hailing from the city known as Moriyanagar,

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(Aokan cycle) of the southern tradition, which later turned

into SanskritAokvadna of the northern tradition, therewas an early cycle of ta les about Chandragupta also,Chakya-Chandragupta kathof which the most ancient

version survives in the Plichronicles of Sri Lanka and theircommentaries. They describe the last days of the Nanda ruleand the struggle launched by Chandragupta and Chakya.

Another, but quite similar version of this kathis preservedin the Jaina textPariiaparvan.15

Some Plicanonical texts and passages find a mention inthe Aokan edicts. He also lays down in the edicts regulationsabout schism in the sagha and inter-sectarian debates.These debates are recorded in detail in the Kathvatthu, atext belonging to the Abhidhamma Piakaof the Plicanonand traditionally placed in the reign of Aoka. TheJtakas,

which form the tenth book of the Khuddaka Nikyaof thePliSutta Piaka, contain the birth stories of the Buddha inprevious existence as Bodhisattvas. The Jtakas as prosenarratives, with the verses included in them, are unparalleledin the folk literature of the world in respect of their humour,

wit, information, human interest and scope. They throw aflood of light on the social, economical, political, culturaland religious life of the people of ancient India, during thesecond half of the first millennium BC.16 Apart from the

Jtakas, some other texts of the Khuddaka Nikyavaluablefor this period are Vimnavatthu, Itivuttaka. Petavatthu, Udna,Sutta-nipta, Theragth, Thergth, Khuddaka Pha and

Dhammapada.The history of the Mauryas is reflected in considerable

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Mahvasa-tkor Vasatthappaksin(8th-9th cen. AD)

provide useful material on the Mauryan dynasty. TheMahbodhivasa, composed by Upatissa in 9th-10th cen. ADand Mahvasa of Mogallna, also called extended orCambodian Mahvasa(10th-11th cen. AD), though late indate, provide more elaborate details. The authors of the SriLankan chronicles, while narrating the history of Buddhismin Sri Lanka, take particular interest in the reign of Aoka,

which led to the introduction of Buddhism in the island.

TheDpavasaaccount has been found to be of much helpin the reconstruction of Mauryan chronology.18 However, itshould be borne in mind that the Sri Lankan chronicles werecompiled over a long period of time by several Buddhistmonks, who sometimes distorted the text or introduced theirown corrections. Among non-canonical Pli textsMilindapahois also important for the early Mauryan history.

Mauryan emperor Aoka, being the greatest patron ofBuddhism, the chroniclers of its history had, since long, beendrawn to his personality. Aokvadna, a cycle of legendsabout him enjoyed popularity in India, Nepal, Tibet etc.

Among the Sanskrit works of the northern Buddhist traditionfound in the form of Avadnas, the most important is the

Divyvadnafound from Nepal. Composed in c. 3rd cen. ADby an unknown author, it is an important source for the

history of the Mauryas. Chapters 26 to 29 of theDivyvadnaform the significant textAokvadna. It is believed that theAokan Cycle was based on ancient chronicles which hadbegun to be composed during his own lifetime in Magadhaitself, describing his pilgrimage to the Buddhist sacred places

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Aokan Cycle the Aokvadnamade its way from Mathur

to north-west India in the first centuryAD and started AokanCycle of the northern tradition. The depiction of some ofthe legends in the sculptural remains of Sch show clearlythat these legends were widespread as early as the secondcentury BC.20 The ryamajurmulakalpa, another Sanskrit

work, also throws useful light, though from the Buddhistpoint of view, on the Mauryan age.21 The History of Buddhismby Trantha, a late medieval work (1608 AD)22 based on

some early sources like the Avadnasof Aoka and Kulaand some Hnayna works also provide importantinformation. The travelogues of Fa-hian, Yuan Chwang andI-tsing narrate legends about Aoka, which they heard inthe course of their journey in India. Fa-hian, for example,

who visited India in the fourth centuryAD, mentions about apillar at Sakis with a lion capital, and an inscribed pillarnear Paliputra, neither of which have been recovered so

far. Similarly, the 7th century Chinese traveller, YuanChwang, refers in his memoirs to the existence of Aokanpillars at Rjagha, rvast and other places, of which some

were of architectural importance and others carried thekings edict.23 Once again, these have not been found sofar. Looking to the nature of the edicts, meant primarily tospread the message and directive of Aoka in the differentparts of his empire, it is possible that apart from stone, theedicts were also written on some perishable material like

wood and similar other objects.24

The Jainas have used for their canon the language knownas Ardhamgadh. According to the vetmbara tradition,h J i l h i i i l h f ll i di d i


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according to regions and the spirit of the age, the Jaina

authors adopted various languages for their compositions,including Sanskrit. The Jaina sources are neither mean normeagre. They are, in fact, as extensive as the Buddhistsources, if not more. However, as compared to the Buddhistand Brhmaical sources the Jaina sources have been utilisedto a small extent. They provide useful record of dynasticchronologies of India for one thousand years or so after thedeath of Mahvra. These records have been preserved in

works, like Tiloyapaati, Harivaa Pura, vayakavtti,Titthogali-paiaand Mahpura and a number of later

works, li ke Trilokasra, Pariiaparvan, Trthoddhra-prakaraa, Prabandhacintmai etc.25

The Jaina sources in Ardhamgadhand Sanskrit, havinga bearing on the age of the Mauryas, present two streams oftradition relating to Chandragupta Maurya and Chakya.Of these traditions, one relates to the commentaries on the

Uttarjjhayanaand the vassayarespectively, the first andthe second mulasuttaof the vetmbara canon and the otherto the Jaina kath literature. However, they are bothsupposed to be rooted in the Nijjuttisor concise metricalexpositions of the canonical texts. It is surmised that theChandragupta tradition, as a written record, first occurs inthe Chui(Churi) on the vassaya Nijjuttiwhich formedthe basis for Haribhadra Suri of the Vidydhara gaccha to

write the elaborate story of Chandragupta and Chakyasomewhere between 740 and 770 AD , available in hisvayaka-sutraVtti, a Sanskrit commentary on the vassaya.

About three centuries later, Devendragain wrote the storyf h i P k i i hi h U jjh


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AD, as an appendix to his Triaialk-puruacharita. It is

based mainly on the vassayanarrative of Haribhadra.26

Theabove Jaina tradition has some interesting information tooffer about Chandragupta Maurya. For example, thePariiaparvanrelates the story that while the deposed Nandaking was allowed by Chakya to leave Paliputra with allthe luggage that could be loaded in a single chariot, he had

with him his two wives and one daughter who got infatuatedtowards Chandragupta at the first sight and was allowed by

her father Nanda to marry him.27 The above Jaina traditionis also unanimous in maintaining that in the later days of hisreign, Chandragupta was converted to Jainism, and thatMagadha faced a severe famine lasting twelve years

whereupon he abdicated in favour of his son Sihasena(probably Bindusra) and retired to ravaa Belgol inpresent Karnataka with the saint (ruta-kevalin) Bhadrabhu,

where he starved himself to death in accordance with the

Jaina tradition.28 This tradition about his conversion toJainism and his migration to the south has been recordedwith some variations in a number of documents, both literaryand inscriptional.

The second stream of the ChandraguptaChakya storyis found in the Jaina kath-literature, such as, Bhatkathkoaof Hariea, the rdhansatkathprabandhaof Prabha-chandra, the rdhankathkoaof Hariena and theKathkoa of richandra. The earliest Kathkoa is that ofHariea (931 AD) and the latest that of Nemidatta (1530AD), while the other two belong to the intervening period.It is interesting to note that whereas the Kathkoas ofH i d N id d i i l S k i


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itself seems to have its genesis in earlier traditions and the

basic kernel of the Chakya-Chandragupta kath is foundembedded in the literary stratum of the Paias(miscellany),which are included in the canon of the vetmbaras and inthe Agabhyaliterature of the Digambaras. Out of a totalof ten Paias, the two, which are taken to reflect theoriginal form, are Bhattapaiaand the Sathra, and it isin them that the original story of Chakya as a Jaina monkhas been found to occur, wherein he is depicted as observing

certain religious practices as prescribed by Mahvra. Thedate of the Paias is believed to be not later than 100 BCand it is, probably, this tradition which is the source of the

Jaina version of the history of Chandragupta Maurya.29

Among the Brhmaical texts, Purasare the principalsource for the study of the Mauryas. These works refer toChakya and the Mauryas, giving details of their dynasticlist and the duration of the reign of individual rulers. They

also provide information on social relations and politicalorganisation. As a result of frequent transcriptions andinterpolations, however, the chronological scheme of rulershas sometimes become confused.30 The Sutra and straliterature (c. 800400 BC) of ancient India also throws

valuable light on the religion, philosophy, science, politicaland social ideas and institutions of the second half of thefirst millennium BC. The other Brhmaical sources includethe Arthastraof Kauilya, the Mudrrkasaof Vikhadattaand partly works like the Kathsaritsgaraof Somadeva andBhatkathmajarof Kshemendra. The discovery of the textofArthastraof Kauilya was indeed an epoch making eventi h d f I d l E i h f hi


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by some scholars to be as late as AD 300, its primary kernel is

still believed to belong to the Mauryan period.31

It throws aflood of light on the changed political and socio-economicorder. The drama Mudrrkasaof Vikhadatta is based onthe theme of the overthrow of the Nanda rule by a combinedeffort of Chakya and Chandragupta. Another stream ofthe Brhmaical tradition about Chakya andChandragupta is found in the Kathsaritsgaraof Somadevaand is believed to be based on the cycle of legends given in

the Bhatkath. The Chandragupta-Chakya kathcontinued to be elaborated in the later Brhmaical texts,such as, the commentaries written on the MudrrkasabyDhuhirja (Mudrrkasa Vykhy), Mahadeva(Mudrrkasakath), Ravi Nartaka (Chakyakath) and

Anantakavi (Rkasapurvakath) and on the Viu Puraby Ratnagarbha. In the process new legends were added tothe original story. The Rjataragi of Kalhaa also gives

some useful, though at times confused, account of theMauryas. For example, at one place it says that Aoka built atemple of iva named Aokevara and at another Aoka issaid to have embraced the doctrine of Jina.

The classical accounts are considered as the mostimportant literary sources for the early history of the Mauryas,for the reason that, firstly, they are earliest in time, andnearest to the time of Chandragupta and secondly, they arebased on contemporary Indian reports, stories and traditionsgathered by the Greek authors at the first hand. Althoughseveral of the companions of Alexander wrote of their travels,and other contemporaries and near-contemporaries

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at Paaliputra for sometime and wrote a detailed account of

his observations. The lost accounts of Alexanders historiansand Megasthenes still current in Roman times were used byauthors, such as, Diodorus, Strabo, Curtius, Pliny, Plutarch,

Arrian, Justin, Ptolemy, Aelian and Clemens Alexandrinus,belonging to the period from the first centuryBC to secondcenturyAD in compiling their own works. Though these worksdo survive, but they do not always agree, for the reason thatscraps of information gleaned from other later sources are

included indiscriminately and when describing India, theyoften dwell on fantastic hearsay. To the gold-digging ants ofHerodotus were now added strange figures of gargoyle men

with elephant ears in which they wrapped themselves atnight, with one foot big enough to serve as an umbrella, or

with one eye, with no mouth and so on. It is interesting tonote that the classical authors themselves accuse each otherof falsehood and exaggeration. Their value is also diminished

by the fact that we have clear evidence of the texts beingtampered with in later times. Allowing for less obviousdistortions, these accounts still provide vital clues to the rise,after Alexanders retreat, of a new powerful dynasty in northIndia. The evidence based on the accounts of Megasthenesshows that the Seleucid ambassador gathered from localinformants details of customs, traditions and culture of thehost country. The surviving fragments of his work evince hisfamiliarity with some of the religious and philosophical trendsand ideas of the time. As noted above, along with authenticfacts the Indicaalso contained many fictitious and sometimesaltogether fantastic stories. Obviously, Megasthenes accepted

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and philosophical ideas which were current in the society.32

The importance of epigraphy in the study of the Mauryascan hardly be over-emphasised. It ranks foremost among thearchaeological sources of the period. It has been estimatedby epigraphists like D.C. Sircar that something like 80percent of our knowledge of the history of India, beforeaboutAD 1000, is derived from inscriptions. This isparticularly true about the reign of the Mauryan emperor

Aoka in whose ca se we have, apart from li terary ,

monumental and numismatic sources, a large number ofedicts of the king himself, written on rocks, pillars, slabs andcave-walls. These edicts have been found from different partsof India, as also, from present day Pakistan and Afganistan.These are the earliest Indian epigraphs, which can be dated

with certainty. The edicts of Aoka are dated in his regnalyear, ranging from the eighth (Rock Edict XIII) to thetwenty-seventh (Pillar Edict VII). The regnal dates can be

corelated to absolute years, and in accordance with thechronology followed in the present study, the dates wouldbe c. 267248 BC, derived from various external sources. The

Aokan inscriptions are written in various dialects collectivelyreferred to as Aokan Prkrit. With the exception of north-

western Rock Edicts, and those in non-Indian languages,i.e., Greek and Aramaic, all other Aokan edicts are writtenin the earliest attested form of the Brhm script. Only theShhbzgarh and Mnsehr Rock Edicts are in Kharoh.

On the basis of the material used, the inscriptions of Aokacan be classified into two main groups, Rock Edicts and PillarEdicts. The former group is further subdivided into MajorR k Edi (i l di h S R k Edi ) Mi


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set of fourteen proclamations inscribed on rocks at the

following places: (i) Shhbzgarh (Peshawar, Pakistan), (ii)Mnsehr (Hazara, Pakistan), (iii) Kls (Dehradun, U.P.),(iv) Girnr (Junagarh, Gujarat), (v) Bombay-Sopr (Thana,Maharashtra) and (vi) Erragudi (Karnool, A.P). In the RockEdicts, Aoka sets forth the principles ofdharma (dhamma)

which he wishes to inculcate on his officials and on the peopleover whom they were set to rule, and the steps he took tosecure the observance of these principles within his empire

and to propagate them in foreign lands. These edicts throwinteresting light on his ideas and actions on such matters as(a) the protection of animal life by decreasing the numberof creatures killed in the royal kitchen, (b) the provisions ofpublic welfare, such as, medical clinics, planting of herbsand trees etc. (c) the propagation of dhamma (d) respectfor rival sects and so on. The Rock Edict XIII unravels thetransformation of Aoka when he expresses his deep sense

of anguish over the enormous loss of life and other sufferingsinflicted on people, as a result of his conquest of Kaliga.Two further sets of Rock Edicts from that particular region

viz., (vii) Jaugaa (Ganjam, Orissa) and (viii) Dhaul (Puri,Orissa) contain edicts I to X and XIV, but in place of XI-XIIIhave two Separate Rock Edicts highlighting Aokasexhortations to the royal officers (mahmttas) at Smapand Tosal, respectively, to honour and enforce his wishes.These edicts contain the rules made by Aoka for thepacification of the territory annexed after the sanguinary

war. In the recent time some of his new edicts have come tolight. A recently discovered (1989) stone slab containingf f h ll d K li Edi XII d XIV d


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territories annexed by Aoka and brought within his empire

and, thus, the stationing of a viceroy and the issue of a set of(Major) Rock Edicts, including Separate Kalinga Edicts wasdeemed to be necessary.

The Minor Rock Edicts are now known from seventeenplaces: (i) New Delhi (also referred to as Amar Colony orBahapur, (ii) Bair (Jaipur, Rajasthan) (iii) Gujarr (Datia,M.P.), (iv) Sahasrm (Rohatas, Bihar) (v) Ahraur(Mirzapur, U.P.), (vi) Rupnth (Jabalpur, M.P.) (vii)

Pangurari (Sehore, M.P.), (viii) Msk (Raichur, Karnataka)(ix) Govimah (Raichur, Karnataka) (x) Plakiguu(Raichur, Karnataka) (xi) Niur (Bellari, Karnataka) (xii)Udegolam (Bellary, Karnataka), (xiii) Rjula Maagiri(Karnool, A.P.) (xiv) Erragui (Karnool, A.P.) (xv)Brahmagiri (Chitradurga, Karnataka), (xvi) Siddapura(Chitradurga, Karnataka), (xvii) Jatiga-Ramevara(Chitradurga, Karnataka). The Minor Rock Edicts recovered

from the first ten of the above sites contain the text of MinorRock Edict I only, which focusses on Aokas increasedreligious enthusiasm and exhorts his subjects to follow theexample. The remaining specimens contain also the MinorRock Edict II, recommending respectful behaviour towardsparents, elders, teachers, etc. Some of the above-mentionedMinor Rock Edicts have come to light recently, such as,

Ahraur (1961), New Delhi (1966), Pangurari (1976), andNiur and Udegolam (1977). Another rock edict, availableonly in one copy was found near the Buddhist remains ofBair and is now preserved in the Indian Museum,Calcutta.35 In this edict Aoka makes a candid declaration ofhi f B ddhi hi f i h i h B ddh


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one in the 20th regnal year.

As regards the Pillar Edicts of Aoka, these comprise abasic set of six edicts engraved on Aokan sandstone plillarsand have been recovered from six different palces (i) Delhi-Topr (ii) Delhi Meerut, (iii) Lauri-Ararj (EastChamparan, Bihar), (iv) Lauri Nandangarh (WestChamparan, Bihar), (v) Rmapurv (West Champaran,Bihar), (vi) Allahabad-Kosam. These so-called Major PillarEdicts are believed to have been inscribed in the 25th -26th

year after Aokas coronation.36

The Pillar Edicts wereinstalled in important cities and along roads within theempire. Three of the pillars are located on the road fromPaliputra to the Buddhist holy places at the foot of theHimlayas. Whereas all other pillars have a set of six edicts,it is only the Delhi-Topr Pillar which has, in addition, aseventh text. The additional text on the Delhi-Topr columnmostly summarises and restates the contents of other Pillar

Edicts, and to an extent, those of the Major Rock Edictsalso. On the whole, the Pillar Edicts are mainly concerned

with the elucidation and promulgation of dhamma, theinculcation of which is supposed to result into control of sinand passion, regulation of feasts and animal slaughter andspread of morality and justice. The Pillar Edicts underline

Aokas concern for his subjects well-being. The Allahabad-Kosam (Kaumb, U.P.) Pillar contains, in addition, to sixbasic edicts two brief additional inscriptions. The first ofthese is known as the Queens Edict since it refers to thegift of the kings second queen (dutiye deviye). The secondone is the so-called Schism Edict, addressed to the

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the banishment of schismatic monks or nuns. The Sch

Minor Pillar Edict adds a note on the kings desire that thesagha may remain whole and united and may endureforever. Two other Minor Pillar Edicts at (iii) Nigal Sgarand (iv) Rumminde are both located in Bhairw (Nepal).The Nigal Sgar Minor Pillar Inscription, installed near alarge tank, commemorates Aokas visit and expansion ofthe stupaof the Buddha Konkamana, who is counted amongthe former Buddhas. Of particular interest is the inscribed

pillar which was installed by Aoka to commemorate his visitto the birth-place of the Buddha. It was discovered in 1896at Rumminde in the Nepalese Tarai. The modern name ofthe place still continues to represent the Lumbini grove ofthe ancient tradition of Buddhas birth. A fragment of yetanother Pillar Inscription, ascribed to Aoka has beendiscovered recently at the stupa of (v) Amarvat (Guntur,

A.P.).37

Beside the aforesaid inscriptions of Aoka, there are someother38Brhm inscriptions, which may be attributed to theMauryan period. There are, for example, three NgrjunHill Cave Inscriptions of Daaratha, the grandson of Aoka

which like the Aokas Barbar Cave Inscriptions, record thedonation to jvika monks of caves for residence during therainy season. The Mahsthn stone plaque (Bogra, Bengal)and the Sohgaur (Gorakhpur, U.P.) bronze plaqueinscriptions are also assigned to the Mauryan period onpalaeographic grounds. Both these records containinstruction for the storage of surplus grain and otherproducts as a precaution against famine. Taking into accounth J i hi h f f i i h i


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fresh data on the political and cultural history of the period

and elucidate a number of controversial questions. Theythrow a flood of light on the career, religious policy andadministration of Aoka and give us a comprehensive ideaof his dhamma. They present a remarkably sharp picture ofthe man who issued them and the empire he ruled. Theedicts, however, are not without limitations. For example,these are completely indifferent, not only to the early lifeand early career of Aoka, but also to his father Bindusra

and illustrious grandfather Chandragupta.Other archaeological sources for the Mauryan periodconsist mainly of coins, pottery and monuments. The earliestcoins of India, known as Punch Marked Coins of which alarge number of silver and a much smaller number of copperspecimens have been found, are supposed to have beenissued in pre-Mauryan, Mauryan and post-Mauryan periods.39

They bear only incised (punched) symbols, and are devoid

of any legends or dates. However, on the basis of theirprovenance and typology, the more numerous series isascribed to the imperial Mauryas. Some uninscribed castcopper coins have also been found in certain hoards of silverPunch Marked Coins. The similarity of symbols on two

varieties of ancient Indian coins suggests that they belongalmost to the same period and, probably, supplemented eachother. The pottery attributed to the Mauryan periodcomprises a variety of wares. However, the most characteristicpottery represented in the Mauryan levels is believed to beNorthern Black Polished Ware, a highly evolved pottery type,made of finely levigated clay and marked by a peculiar lustre,b illi d lli d 40 S f h f


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their corroboration through excavations at the site of theold city by Weddel41 and Spooner.42 The art remains of thetime of Asoka are of great value as source material for thesocial and cultural history of the period. The most important

Aokan monuments are the Aokan pillars and the beautifullycarved capitals placed on the top of the pillars. The popularart of the Mauryan period is exemplified by the Yak ofBesnagar, the Yaka of Parkham and the chaur-bearinggoddess from Ddrganj. Terracotta objects of various sizes

form another category of examples of popular art. Thus, ascompared to earlier periods of Indian history, for the studyof this period, we are fortunate in having a sudden flood ofsource material of different kinds.

NOTES

1. Cf. B.C.Law, India as Described in the Early Texts of Buddhism and Jainism,pp.195ff; Jagdish Chandra Jain, Life in Ancient India as Depicted in JainCanons, pp.21ff.

2. G.C. Pande, Bauddha Dharma Ke Viksa K Itihsa, pp. 15557; Cf.E.Frauwallner, The Earliest Vinaya and the Beginnings of Buddhist Literature,pp. IX, 135; cf. Sacred Books of the EastVol. XI, p. x, XIII, p. xxiii.

3. M.Winternitz, A History of Indian Literature, Vol. II.p. 8.4. Dgha Nikya, Mahparinibbna Sutta.5. Ekapanna Jtaka, Introduction, Vol. I. No. 149, p. 316; Catukkanipta

Jtaka, Introduction, Vol. III. No. 301, p. 1.6. Prjika, p. 301.

7. Rattha Vilupamnana tesa pi hoti sagati, Mahvagga, p. 380.8. Prjika, p. 57.9. Mahvagga, p. 291.

10. G.S.P. Misra, The Age of Vinaya, pp. 35 ff.11. Dgha Nikya, Mahparinibbna Sutta.12 Moriyana khattiyana vasa jte


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34. I.K.Sarma, J.Varaprasada Rao,Early Brahmi Inscriptions from Sannati, p.25.

35. The edict is also referred to by other names, e.g., Second-Bairat,Calcutta-Bair, Bhbru Edict, Rock Edict III etc.

36. Cf. C.I.I.Vol.I, Inscriptions of Aoka, Alexander Cunningham, p. 3.37. Richard Saloman, op.cit., p. 140.38. Attention has been drawn to two other inscriptions, written in Aramaic,

(a) Priyadar Inscription embedded in the wall of a house at Sirkap(Takail, Pakistan) and (b) a fragmentary inscription found atLampaka or Laghman (on the northern bank of the Kabul river near

Jallbd), Romila Thapar, Aoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, pp. 7,

239 ff.39. Durga Prasad, a pioneer Indian numismatist, holds that apart frompeacock, the figure of Hill-with-Crescent is a specific Mauryan symbol

which appears on most silver Punch Marked Coins found all over thecountry and also on known Mauryan monuments, cf. NumismaticSupplement, pp. 40 ff; cf. John Allan, Catalogue of the Coins of Ancient India(British Museum), Vol.I, p. lxxiv.

40. Cf. Mortimer Wheeler,Early India and Pakistan, pp. 3031; Ancient India,I, p. 55.

41. L.A. Weddel, Report on Excavations at Pataliputra, pp. 2226.

42. D.B. Spooner,Archaeological Survey Report, 1912-13, pp. 73 ff; ArchaeologicalSurvey Report, Eastern Circle, 1915-16, pp. 2728; McCrindle, AncientIndia as Described in Classical Literature, p. 42.


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III

INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIALBACKGROUND

The intellectual and cultural life of India, between theseventh and fifth centuries BC. was undergoing a state ofgreat ferment.1 Probably, no other period of Indias history

witnessed as much activity as during this period. Scholarshave often referred to this period as the Axis Age2 marking,indeed, a turning point in the intellectual and spiritualdevelopment of the whole world because of great andinfluential figures of world history, such as, Buddha andMahvra in India, Pythagoros in Greece, Zoraster in Persia,Confucius and Lao Tze in China as also the Old Testamentprophets who were all, more or less, contemporaries. Mostof these religious and spiritual teachers of the so-called Axis

Age tried to rouse their respective people to higher andnobler duties of life. But a more specific aspect of what wascrucial about it, and of greater relevance for us, is that it is

the period during which religious and intellectual life inIndia developed several new features. It is these new featureswhich take a strong hold of Indian mind and thought tocharacterise the conceptual framework of Indias world-viewin the times to come. In India this crucial period in the


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background of spiritual unrest and intellectual ferment thatJainism and Buddhism arose, the most successful of a largenumber of heterodox ascetic systems, each based on adistinctive set of doctrines and each laying down distinctiverules of conduct for winning salvation. In the Pli texts ofthe Buddhists,4 as also, the Ardhamgadhtexts of the Jainas5

a variety of systems are enumerated. While some of them,e.g. jvikas were atheistic and still believed in the doctrineofniyati(destiny) and transmigration, which was unalterable

through action, there were others, like Ajita Keakambalin,who advocated complete materialism and rejected allimmaterial categories. To understand the stirring of thoughtin post-Vedic India, which forms the background ofintellectual and cultural developments in the age of theMauryas, one must look into pre-Vedic or non-Vedic, as wellas, Vedic elements of Indian culture. One might have toaffirm that the Dravidian and other migrations which had

preceded the Aryan ones had left their deep imprints onthe culture of this land.The ramaic movement played an important role in

shaping the course of Indian history and culture. Many issues,however, such as, its genesis, antiquity, nature, philosophyetc. are still shrouded under controversies. The term ramaaitself has been understood differently by scholars. Derivingit from the rootrama, i.e. to exert or to labour, the term

ramaahas been explained by some as a toiler or a personwho exerts or labours hard in the search of Truth.6 Others,taking a cue from the Greek telosand the Vedic charaa, as

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INTELLECTUAL AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND 47

to believe that the primitive ramaa tradition was a pre-Rgvedic Aryan tradition and the primitive ramaas were

wandering ascetics of the Aryan stock who migrated to Indiain the pre-Vedic period. Unlike the other Indo-Europeantradition of wanderers, i.e. charaaand telos, it was associatedneither with gods nor with any rite. Nor had it any sacredliterature. Positively speaking, it was characterised bybrahmacarya and asceticism. The ramaa sagha consistedof the preceptor and his students who, like sophists, constantly

debated the problems of reality, begged alms and movedfrom place to place. In contrast to the theo-centric telosandcharaa the ramaa organisations revolved round thepreceptor called Arhatand Trthakara.7

On the contrary, there is the other view, according towhich, the ramaic religion and philosophy, not only hadnothing in common with Brhmaic polytheism,sacrificialism and the idea of world-affirmation, it was a

tradition quite independent of the Aryans, that is, the Vedic-Brhmaical tradition. G.C. Pande has observed that theramaic spiritual quest was in sharp contrast to the Vedicone in its attitude towards action and social obligation.Mendicancy implied an irreversible and final rejection of allsocial claims and obligations and of the efficacy of natural orritual action in the context of spiritual seeking.8 It may beadded that some of the earliest Jaina canonical works, e.g.,

Sutraktgaand Ribhitaclearly distinguish the preachingsof the Upaniadic, Buddhist, Jaina and other ramaic sects.9

In the course of the development of Indian thought thereare two distinct currents clearly discernible, one having its

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tradition, whereas the last, viz. the path of asceticism standsout as the chief characteristic of all the heterodox schools,collectively called the ramaas.10 Thus, an stikawas one

who accepted the authority of the Vedaand a nstikawasone who rejected it. stika, nstika and daiikahave beendistinguished in a famous sutraof Pini.11 Patajali explainsthat these words should be understood, respectively, as one

who believes that it exists, and one who believes that itdoes not exist and one who believes that it is fated. As

explained in the Pradpaand Kikthe subject of existencehere is the other world or life after death. It seems that thereal issue on which the stikas, nstikasand daiikasweredivided was the issue of karman. The doctrine ofkarmanconstituted the essential doctrine of the ramaasand itsimpact created an unprecedented ferment in the thought-

world in the sixth centuryBC. Later on, the two traditionsstikaand nstikahave been distinguished aspravtti-dharma

and nivtti-dharma,12 which may, respectively, be taken as life-affirming tradition of the Brhmaas and life-negatingtradition of the ramaas.

While the phenomenal thought-ferment in India of theage of Buddha and Mahvra has been noted by severalscholars, its genesis and significance have been explained indifferent ways.13 As to the relationship between Buddhismand Brhmaism, for example, scholarly opinions vary widely.

One popular view is to regard Buddhism as a social orphilosophical reform movement, while another view holdsthat Buddhism attempted to restore the purity of theancient way. Classical Brhmaical tradition, as also many

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of the schools of recluse and Brhmaa wanderers have notcome down to us, but we have sound reason to believe thatthe views of these schools can still be found in one or otherof the later Upaniads, in the vast accumulation ofMahbhrata and the Puras.19 According to R.G.Bhandarkar, the thought-ferment manifested itself in thenorth-east of India in an anti-Vedic movement, while in thenorth-west an attempt was made to reconcile the newertendencies with orthodoxy. Buddhist and Jaina literatures

evince the former whereas the Gtexemplifies the latter.20

S.K. Belvalkar and R.D. Ranade hold the view that thisthought-ferment is clearly discernible in the Upaniadicliterature which provides evidence of heterodox thinkers

who did not accept the Vedic tradition.21 It has also beensuggested that the Brhmaical ascetic was the model ofthe Jainas and the Buddhists. In support of this theory, Jacobihas enumerated resemblances between the Jainist and

Buddhist rules of discipline, on the one hand, and theBrhmaical rules of discipline for mendicants, on the other.In the opinion of Jacobi, the germs of dissenting sects likethose of the Buddhists and Jainas were contained in theinstitute of the fourth rama.22 Several scholars have,however, shown that the fourth ramadates much later asan institution of the Aryan Brhmaical society and that inthe beginning the latter was hostile to it.23

Much has been written, indeed, since 1881, on therelations between the Upaniadsand the ramaamovementand a number of scholars are inclined to believe thatBuddhism and other contemporary ramaic systems are

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on the relations between the Upaniads and ancientBuddhism arbitrary judgements were given. An intermediateposition, between the two extremes, has been taken by someother scholars. The bibliography on this topic is rather largeand a critical appraisal of even some of the most importantpublications would require a lot of space. Vedic origins forthe ramaic movement were generally advocated by 19thcentury scholars who were constrained by the paucity ofmaterials, especially archaeological, required for any

objective understanding of the Indian situation. Oldenberg,for example, believed that the Buddhists had, probably, notknown the Brhmaical texts, nevertheless, he did nothesitate to state that Buddhism has not only inherited fromBrhmaism many of its important dogmas, but also themood of religious thought and sentiments.25

The untenability of Brhmaical origins for the ramaicthought notwithstanding, one notices some echoes of

ramaic ideas in the old Upaniads, which tend to differfrom the older Vedic texts on fundamental doctrinal points.The thrust of the Vedic thought as developed in theUpaniads, is still one of positive and robust outlook on life

which does not deny life as unreal or reject it as evil, butinstead seeks to affirm that there is a higher reality behind

what we see and which gives ultimate value to human lifeand quest. There is also no doubt, that the Upaniads are

not unacquainted with the ideas ofkarmaand transmigration.It is, however, equally clear that they do not wholly breakaway from the positive and life-affirming ethos of the earlier

Vedic tradition, and although they transmute the idea ofh d h d d h i i i f i A


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of view is, thus, a development of Vedicism and a half-turntowards ramaism, or rather, a position where furtherinteraction between Brhmaism and ramaism could takeplace, an interaction which did take place in the subsequentages and had profoundest effects on the origin anddevelopment of Buddhism, Skhya and Vednta.26 Thus,

we see in the Upaniadsa great change of ideas in so far astheir central quest comes to be to gain emancipation fromthe cycle of existence. The heterogeneity of Upaniadic

speculations, contrasted with the Vedas and the Brhmaasclearly shows infusion of extraneous elements andintimations of certain new ideas. The doctrines oftransmigration (puna rjanma), action (karma) andemancipation (moka) do not seem to follow from the Vedictradition. The Upaniadic doctrines, though generallyrepresent a continuation of the Vedic religion but whenthey enumerate the ideas of transmigration, karmaand moka

they seem to be subscribing to the ramaic values ofasceticism, tapas, brahmacarya, etc. Scholars like S.K. Chatterjiand R.P.Chanda have attributed pravtti-dharma and nivtti-dharma, respectively, to two different ethnic traditions, i.e.,

Aryans and non-Aryans . However, even in the Induscivilisation one can discern both these tendencies pravtti-dharma in the worship of Mother-Goddess and fertility cultand nivtti-dharma in the worship of Paupati and Yog.27

Some scholars are inclined to the theory that social andreligious changes are not wholly unconnected. They wouldattribute the rise of the ascetic movements in India to thesocial and economic changes implicit in the break-up of the

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friend of Marx and Engels, and the latter, in establishingthe principles of dialectical materialism in Buddhist ideas,used Koppens understanding of Buddhism as his onlysource. Koppen was severely criticised by his contemporariesand subsequent Buddhologists for relegating the highlyspiritual contents of Buddhas teaching to the gross mortalhuman level. Despite the major trend of thinking of the19th century idealistic philosophers of Europe, whichsubscribed to the Mahynic concept of suffering as caused

by the non-understanding of the world as a void entity, strayreflections that the concept of suffering must have a materialbasis were also formulated intermittently. Oldenberg, in hisBuddha, characterised the essence of Buddhism as pessimismand came out with an amusing theory that this was due tothe weak physiological constitution of the inhabitants ofeastern India.29 T.W. Rhys Davids Buddhist Indiacontainsaccounts of the growth of social classes, urbanism, etc.

Contributing a chapter in the Cambridge History of Indiahehas described the pre-Buddhist conditions and their impacton Buddhist ideas with special reference to the tribal life,social system, etc.30

The great German Sociologist Max Weber, who hasattempted a systematic study of the connection betweenreligion and society, in the second volume of his collectedessays on the Sociology of Religion and his principal work

WirtschaftundGasellschafthas also approached the study ofBuddhism in the above manner.

D.D. Kosambi articulated the issue of material basis andsuggested that the Vedic ritual was the formulation of a

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and Jaina emphasis on ahis, non-killing were caused byeconomic reasons and so were the other similar values

such as truth, justice, non-encroachment upon thepossessions of others, conceived to serve the new conceptof private individual property.31 According to DebiprasadChattopadhyay, the Buddha was overwhelmed by thestupendous social transformation and wholesale bloodshedof his time. The Buddha responded to this crisis by askingthe people to join his order, modelled on the pattern of a

tribal democracy and meant to be the ideal substitute for avanished way of life.32 In the opinion of R.S. Sharma theprimary factor that revolutionised the material life of thepeople around 700 BC in eastern U.P. and Bihar, the birthplace of Buddhism, was the use of iron which initiatedagriculture with iron ploughshares, and consequentlycreated a new social set-up, a class society marked by the riseof state power, in which cattle, in the form of private wealth,

to be increased by commercial activities, gained muchimportance, and their senseless destruction for the purposeof non-vegetarian food and Brhmaical sacrificial cultscame to be discouraged. The protest was raised by the tradingclass which received theoretical and moral support at thehands of the Buddha and his contemporaries.33 RomilaThapar also holds the view that the Hindu and the Buddhisttraditions arose out of two disparate socio-economic

backgrounds. The Hindu law was formulated in a tribalsociety and the Buddhist tradition originated at a time whentribal loyality was changing into territorial loyality. In her view,the element of social protest in Buddhism was limited to

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in social being.35 However, a considerable amount of newmaterial, which has come to light in the course of recent

archaeological excavations, has contributed much to a betterunderstanding of the period beginning with the eclipse ofthe proto-historic Harappan culture and that of the birthand rise of Buddhism in large parts of India. Attention may,for example, be drawn towards new archaeological findssuggesting a very early antiquity of iron in the south-easternUttar Pradesh.36 These finds have come mainly from suchancient sites as Rj Nal-k-tl in district Sonbhadra andMalhr in district Chandauli, both being located in theKaramns valley well within the plateau area of the north

Vindhyas. Jhus, near Allahabad, has also yielded earlyevidence of iron. The radiocarbon dates of Rj Nala-k-tl, Malhr and Jhus show that, out of eight dates availablefor the evidence of early iron in the region, three (two fromRj Nala-k-tl and one from Jhus) are around 1000-1100

B.C. and two from Rj Nala-k-tl record around 1200 BC,while one date from Malhr goes further back to about 1600BC. The associated ceramic industries were represented bythe black-and-red ware, black slipped ware and red ware,

which were once supposed to be character ist icrepresentative of the Chalcolithic period. Thus, on the basisof stratigraphy, types and shapes of the pottery and theradiocarbon dates the antiquity of iron may be placed before

1500 BC in south-eastern Uttar Pradesh, an area, which isnot far from the cradle of Buddhism and Jainism. It may beadded, that this is not the only area which has yielded earlydates for iron. Some other important sites which may be

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period and became more widespread during the N.B.P.phase. Whereas the earliest iron objects found from south-

eastern Uttar Pradesh include tools, such as, nails,arrowheads, knife, chisel and slag, the N.B.P. levelassemblage of iron objects in the Gag basin comprisedchisels, arrowheads, spearheads, daggers, nails, knives, hooks,barbs, crobars, spikes, handles, sickles and smiths anvil. Whatis important to note is that iron-axe, plain or socketed, ironhammer and iron ploughshare are conspicuous by theirabsence in the finds of these sites. Thus, no iron implementthat could have been used for large-scale forest clearance,as well as, reclamation of arable land and extensiveagricultural activity have been discovered so far for theperiod up to c. 500 BC. Instead, iron was being used primarilyfor manufacturing the weapons of war.37 Dilip Chakrabartihas also shown that earlier Chalcolithic elements continueto occur in a significant quantity at all the sites even after

the beginning of the use of iron and, therefore, norevolutionary role can be attributed to iron in the socialchanges preceding the sixth centuryBC.38

In fact, the whole question of a rural-agricultural impetusto the rise of Buddhism has been challenged in the light ofsome recent evidences, which show that the originalteachings of the Buddha are to be seen as an urbanresponse to suffering and that the Buddha was not

addressing a rural audience but the urban classes who weredivorced from the farmers world.39 B.G. Gokhale hasanalysed the evidence of the Plitexts Theragth, Thergthand Paramatthadpan and has shown that the composition

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territorial states (mahjanapadas) in the sixth centuryBC. Thatthe subsequent rise of Magadha to a pre-eminent position

in the succeeding centuries was, probably, due to its ironwealth may explain the position more cogently. Rise of thecapitals of all these mahjanapadas, as centres of politicalpower and socio-cultural activities, heralded the secondurbanisation in India. It is also argued that the essential urbanconnection of Buddhism can be better understood if wekeep in mind the fact that it became a popular religion onlyduring the Mauryan period when towns had become adominant factor in the society.40 This supposed relationshipbetween Buddhism and urbanism in ancient India, however,needs to be investigated further. An attempt to comparethe rise of Jainism and Buddhism in India with the Protestantmovement in the medieval Christian Church,41 does notseem to carry conviction. Contrary to Protestantism, the Jainaand Buddhist movements were ascetic and monastic in

character, without any tendency towards secularisation.42

Similarly, although, theoretically, Buddhism was opposedto the caste system, and its practice was not allowed in thesagha, still Buddhism as a social force did not strive to abolishthis system through which Indian class society functionedthroughout the ages. In the Mahpadna Suttait is said, theBuddhas could be born only in two higher castes, Brhmaasand Katriyas. In some dialogues the Buddha even takes pride

as a Katriya. All this does not appear consistent with thetheory that the Buddha was a crusader against caste andBuddhism was a casteless religion. People and classes indistress sometimes tend to welcome a new religious message

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inflicted on them in the ordinary course of life. Social,economic and political factors, probably served as suitable

occasions and not as causes for the widespread ramaamovements.

These movements are, sometimes, taken to symbolise akind of Katriya challenge to the spiritual leadership of theBrhmaas.44Again, there is not much to commend acontrived opposition of the Brhmaas by the Katriyas.Buddha and Mahvra, the foremost thinkers of the age were,no doubt, Katriyas but they had been preceded by anillustrious list of royal philosophers, such as, Pravhaa Jaivaliof Pacla,45Ajtaatru of K,46 Avapati of Kekaya,47 Janakaof Videha48et. al., some of whom acted even as teachers ofthe Brhmaas. There is mention ofKatriya-vidy49 and Yogatradition communicated from one generation to anotheramong the rjaris(royal sages).50 The frequent mention ofthe first two varas in an inverted order in the Buddhist

literature is rather off set by such references in the sametexts where we see Brhmaas inviting ramaas orthemselves joining the ascetic sects. The ramaa sectsattracted both Brhmaas, as well as Katriyas. While theremay be some truth in many of the views discussed above, it

would be appropriate to regard ramaism as an autonomousexpression of religious thought and experience which mustbe viewed in and through itself and its own principles and

standards. It would be hard to deny that there must havebeen genuine seekers and ascetics. The seeds of asceticism

were already present in the intellectual and spiritual soilwaiting for a suitable opportunity to sprout which was

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were filled with a certain sense of wonder and awe at thesight of miracle performing munis.59

Quite like the strange and awe-inspiring figure ofmunis,the Vedic literature also takes notice ofyatis who again,perhaps, belonged to the non-Vedic ascetic tradition. ThePacavia(X. 14.4) and Aitareya Brhmaas(VII 8) mentionthe killing ofyatis by Indra. Syaa explains the term

yatias people opposed to the sacrifices (yajavirodh-jann)and endowed with rules contrary to the Vedas(vedaviruddhaniyamopetn). P.V. Kane, however, opines thatmunis, practising meditation and mortification, weremendicants of the Aryan descent while yatiswere theircounterparts of the non-Aryan descent.60 Attention may alsobe drawn towards a tradition of the vrtyas existing in theearliest phases of Indian life and thought. In the Vedicliterature the ritual practices of the vrtyasare described asanya-vrata.61 Their earliest reference occurs in the

Atharvaveda, wherein the vrtyais exalted to the position ofthe Supreme Being, Mahdeva.62 According to Syaa, theword stands for the fallen. He wanders here and there incompany with a harlot and a mgadha(a bard from Magadha,the cradle oframaaculture) and arrives in the courts ofkings as an atithi. He is described as a vidvn(learned) andhis hosts are warned against reviling him. pastaba

Dharmasutra derives it from the root vrata and explains

the term vrtyaas a rotriya or religious mendicant who haslearnt one recension of the Veda- a faithful following of hisvows.63 For Baudhayana, a vrtyais a son of an uninitiatedman.64 According to Manusmtiand Viudharma Pura,h d f h h l h


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scholars are a divided lot. While generally agreeing thatetymologicallyvrtya should be derived from vrta, i.e.

tribe, some scholars take them to be a non-Aryan tribe,whereas others advocate their Aryan descent.68 Nevertheless,the early beginnings of Monotheism, the doctrines ofkarmaand rebirth,yoga, bhakti and asceticism have been traced tothe vrtya tradition. The vrtyas, who, probably, weredissident or renegade Aryans, along with the yat is,mentioned above, appear to be the forerunners of the laterramaas.

Thus, the ideal of asceticism should be taken to have comedown to the Jainas and Buddhists not from the Brhmaasbut from previously existing

Documents

Ideas and Movements in the Age of Mauryas