The Mauryan Empire

Question 1

Who found the first empire of India?

Answer 1

The first empire of India, The Mauryan Empire, was found by Chandragupta Maurya.

Question 2

What was the extent of the empire?

Answer 2

The empire covered large part of India which included Bihar, Odisha, Bengal, Western and North Western India and parts of Deccan.

Question 3

In whose hands was the power of the empire given?

Answer 3

All the power was given in the hands of the emperor who rules from the capital Pataliputra.

Question 4

What are the sources of information about the Mauryans.

Answer 4

-The account of Megasthenes, gives us valuable information about the political, economic and social conditions of that time in his book name Indika.
-Arthashastra written by Kautilya or Chanakya tells us about the political, economic and military administration of that time.
-Inscriptions of Ashoka. Through these inscriptions, Ashoka used to communicate with his subjects.

Question 5

Who is Megasthenes?

Answer 5

Megasthenes was the Greek ambassador of Seleucus Nicator in the court of Chandragupta Maurya.

Question 6

Who was Chanakya

Answer 6

Kautilya or Chanakya was the chief advisor of Chandragupta Maurya

Question 7

When did Alexander attack India? Who was ruling India at that time?

Answer 7

Alexander attacked India 326 BC.
At that time, the Nandas were ruling India. Their rule had become unpopular; taking advantage of this, a young youth named Chandragupta Maurya succeeded in overthrowing the Nandas and found the Mauryan dynasty.

Question 8

Who was the mentor of Chandragupta Maurya?

Answer 8

His guide and mentor was a Brahmana named Kautilya.

Question 9

According to the Greek sources, how large was the army maintained by the Nandas?

Answer 9

According to the Greek sources, the Nandas maintained two lakh foot soldiers, sixty thousand horses and six thousand war elephants. The Greek forces got scared of such a huge army and refused to fight.

Question 10

Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by _________________ who was succeeded by _________________ in 273 BC, was the greatest of Mauryan rulers.

Answer 10

Bindusara, Ashoka

Question 11

What are capitals?

Answer 11

-The stone pillars of Ashoka were carved out of rock and polished like metal.
-They had beautifully carved animal figures on top called the Capital.

Question 12

Our National Emblem is the replica of the _____________________________. Its _______________ has become the national emblem of India.

Answer 12

Capital of Sarnath, lion

Question 13

Ashoka was the first Indian king and perhaps the first king in the world to speak directly to his subjects through _____________

Answer 13

inscriptions

Question 14

The inscriptions engraved on rocks and pillars were found all over his ______________

Answer 14

vast empire

Question 15

These inscriptions carry his _________

Answer 15

messages

Question 16

They were generally placed on _____________ so that people could read them.

Answer 16

highways

Question 17

In what languages were the inscriptions written in?

Answer 17

They were written in:
-Brahmi
-Kharosthi
-Aramaic
-Greek scripts

Question 18

What did the inscriptions indicate?

Answer 18

These inscriptions indicated that Ashoka was interested in reaching out to his subjects.

Question 19

What do the inscriptions tell about?

Answer 19

The inscriptions tell us about the policies of Ashoka.

Question 20

What are the titles given to Ashoka in his inscriptions?

Answer 20

Ashoka is known by the titles of Devanampriya or Piyadassi in his inscriptions.

Question 21

How many wars did Ashoka fight in his life?

Answer 21

Ashoka only fought one major war in his war, The Kalinga war.

Question 22

Why did historians give Ashoka the title-“Ashoka the Great”?

Answer 22

The heavy massacre and bloodshed that occurred during the Kalinga war brought great suffering to the people, which caused much grief and remorse to Ashoka. So he decided to give up war and spread the message of love, peace and brotherhood.’
He is the only king in history who had the moral courage to give up war. It is because of this that historians gave him the title of “Ashoka the great.”

Question 23

What was Ashoka’s Dhamma?

Answer 23

-After the Kalinga war, Ashoka embraced Buddhism.
-As a follower of Buddhism, he gave up war and adopted the policy of cultural conquest.
-This policy of peace and welfare is known as Dhamma.
-Dhamma is a Prakrit word which means Dharma in Sanskrit.
-Dhamma is not based on any particular religion.
-It is a code of conduct promoting social and moral values.
-Ashoka aimed to instill a spirit of peaceful co-existence.
-Dhamma thought eternal values like respect for elders, compassion towards animals, charity to the poor, ahimsa or non injury to all living beings.

Question 24

Based on Dhamma, what role did Ashoka adopt to his subjects?

Answer 24

Based on Dhamma, Ashoka adopted the role of a father to his subjects.

Question 25

What steps did Ashoka take to spread Dhamma?

Answer 25

-He appointed special officers named Dhamma Mahamatras to spread the message of Dhamma.
-He inscribed the principals of Dhamma on rocks and pillars.
-He sent messengers to countries like Syria, Egypt, Greece and Sri Lanka.

Question 26

Ashoka’s personal religion was Buddhism, yet he did not try to impose Buddhism on his
_______________.

Answer 26

subjects

Question 27

What welfare activities did Ashoka promote?

Answer 27

Ashoka promoted welfare activities like building roads, digging wells and building rest houses. He also arranged medical treatment for both animals and human beings.

Question 28

What was Ashoka’s place in History

Answer 28

-Ashoka was certainly one of the greatest rulers in History.
-He was one of the very few rulers who gave up war and adopted the way of cultural conquest or Dhamma-Vijaya.
-He sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra to Sri Lanka to preach Buddhism.
-Although he maintained a large army, he did not wage any war after the battle of Kalinga.

Question 29

What were the guidelines laid down by Chandragupta Maurya for administration?

Answer 29

-The emperor was the final decision maker but he was also assisted by a committee of ministers.
-The empire was divide into smaller provinces; each placed under a member of the royal family who could be trusted.
-Pataliputra, Kaushambi. Ujjain and Taxila were the important cities of the Mauryan Empire.
-The cities were managed by six committees that looked after sanitation, care of foreigners, registration of births and deaths etc.

Question 30

What is the most striking feature of Chandragupta Mauryan’s administration?

Answer 30

The most striking feature about Chandragupta Maurya’s administration was maintenance of a huge army. The army comprised of elephants, infantry and cavalry. According to the account of the Roman writer Pliny, He maintained six lakh infantry thirty thousand cavalry and 9 thousand elephants. It seems that they also maintained a navy.

Question 31

How did Chandragupta afford the expenses

Answer 31

-The state controlled all its economic activities.
-Taxes were collected from agriculture, trade, and commerce.
-They had control over mining, sale of liquor, manufacture of arms etc.
-Thus, a lot of money came into the royal treasury.

Question 32

How did the Mauryans control such a vast empire?

Answer 32

-Pataliputra- their capital was situated at the confluence of Ganga, Gangdak, and Son rivers and the king’s agents could sail in all 4 directions.
-Moreover, Pataliputra was well connected with all the parts of the empire by roads.
-They also had an efficient spy system to keep an eye upon all activities.

Question 33

Since Ashoka’s personal religion was Buddhism, many __________ and ____________ were built.

Answer 33

stupas, viharas

Question 34

_____________were made into viharas during the Mauryan period.

Answer 34

rock-cut caves

Question 35

The best known viharas are at __________ and ___________ near Gaya in Bihar

Answer 35

Barabar, Nagarjuna

Question 36

Another unique contribution of the Mauryans were the highly polished _________________

Answer 36

Ashokan Pillars

Question 37

Pillars were usually made of _____________ which was shaped and polished.

Answer 37

single stones

Question 38

The head of the pillar called the ____________ was crowned with figure of __________ and ____________

Answer 38

capital, bulls, lions

Question 39

Explain the Decline of Mauryan Empire.

Answer 39

-Within 50 years of Ashoka’s death in 232 BC, the Mauryan Empire disintegrated.
-The successors of Ashoka were not capable and could not control the vast empire.
-Gradually, the distant provinces started breaking away.
-Enough taxes could no longer be collected to maintain such a large army.
-The last Mauryan ruler, Brihadratha was killed by his commander in chief Pushyamitra Shunga in 185 BC and the empire came to an end.
-A final blow to the weakening empire was given by a series of foreign invasions from the north-west led by Indo Greeks, Shakas, Parthians and Kushanas.