How justified are we in characterizing the postmauryan. Comprising the majority of south asia, the maurya empire was centralized by the conquest of the indogangetic plain, and its capital city was located at pataliputra modern patna. What are the main sources of history of the mauryas. He was the first historical ruler of ancient india. Long before the gupta period began, india was ruled by mauryan kings. Read this article to learn about the postmauryan period. That is why this period from the beginning of the ist century b.
Mauryan period seems to mark the beginning of buddhist construction in permanent materials. Social condition during mauryan empire international journal of. Maurya empire was the great empire to flourish in india. The national calendar based on the saka era, with chaitra as its first month and a normal year of 365 days was adopted from 22 march 1957 along with the gregorian calendar for the following official purposes. Foundation of mauryan empire opened a new era in the history of india. Sanskrit had emerged as a rich indian language by that time.
He was assisted by his political adviser, kautalya, who also set out the rules for the. Kauntilyas arthashastra gave a glimpse of this period. Politicosocial and administrative history of ancient india. He was guided by chanakya whose teachings are revered even today. In the south, the sangam period starts circa 300bc 300ad.
Both religions became popular as they opposed the varna and jati systems of the hindu religion. Urban centres, science, trade and commerce during postmauryan period. However, after decline of that civilisation, there is a long gap and it is only in the maurya period that monumental stone sculpture and architecture appeared on the scene again. The first imperial art presentation by group 8 1 2.
Society witnessed structural reorientation as significant groups of foreigners penetrated into india and chose to be identified with the rest of the community. This inscription makes a mention of pair of sudarshan lak of saurastra by rudradamans governor in saurastra suvisakha, the expense was borne by kings exchequer. Post mauryan period sunga satavahanas kushanas kas insights. Administration, economy, art, architecture, religion, literature, in every field, the mauryan empire distinguished itself from its predecessors. It was governed by a centralized form of government. An overview mauryan art encompasses the arts produced during the period of the mauryan empire 4th to 2nd century bce represented an important transition in indian art from use of wood to stone 2 the lion capital of ashoka from sarnath that is now the national emblem. Important historical monuments of india volume 12017 2. Drawing mainly on primary documents, the article explores, from a. Chandragupta maurya founded this dynasty with the help of his minister chanakya or kautilya. After invasion by alexander, the north western region in india faced various foreign attacks which caused unrest in these indian states.
Ashoka and the mauryan empire asia education foundation. The indian natural history in mauryan period saw the protection of animals to become a serious issue, for the first time. Political history of ancient india with a commentary by b. Mauryan empire was the largest empire in the whole of the ancient world.
For nearly 500 years, the various small kingdoms fought wars with each other. Mauryan empires development history mauryan empire founder. The lack of written records and other material certainly breaks the continuity at several points yet the practices of the ancient and the vedic periods exists till today as traditions. Examine the readings and documents below and answer the questions that follow. The period of the mauryan empire marks a new epoch in the history of india. How justified are we in characterizing the post mauryan five centuries as the dark period of indian history. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about the mauryans like never before. India was divided into small kingdoms and states until the rise of the great mauryan empire, which ruled most of the subcontinent the most famous mauryan emperor was ashoka the grea. Megasthenes was a noble in the court of selekus nikator, a general appointed by alexander to govern over his conquered provinces in the subcontinent after nikator was defeated but chandragupta, megasthenes came to chandraguptas court.
History of india from 4th century bc to 3rd century ad foundation of the mauryan empire chandragupta, asoka and his dhamma, mauryan administration, economy, art and architecture, disintegration of the mauryan empire. It started when king mahapadma of the nandas was overpowered by chandragupra maurya in magadha. Download kas study materials text books scert ncert pdf. All books are in clear copy here, and all files are secure so dont worry about it. Indian history before the seventh century was not dated. Kautalyas arthashastra, ashokas inscriptions, and megastheneses accounts collectively are the important sources of the information on various aspects of administration, economy, society, and religion of the people. You can expect 1 or 2 questions in the general awareness section of bank and government exams from this topic. The constituents of central government were the king, the council of ministers and the high officials.
Most of the information here is presented in a bulletpoint format. His policies of universal peace, nonviolence and religious harmony. The founder of this great dynasty is chandragupta maurya along with the help of his guru chanakya. Class 11 th arts the mauryan period mauryan or chandragupta mauryas administration 1. Iron age was the start of this great empire and covered the almost whole indian subcontinent geographically.
Pdf candragupta maurya and his importance for indian history. The mauryan empire was a pan indian empire founded by chandragupta maurya. The mauryan empire fell apart when the last of the mauryan kings was assassinated. The period from the late 7th to the late 5th century b. The compilation is based on the ncert textbook an introduction to indian art part 1. Which of the following are the sources of mauryan period. This culminated into the establishment of the mauryan empire in about 325 bc. Post mauryan period in northern and peninsular india.
The mauryan empire saw the first real political unification of the indian subcontinent south asia. On the other hand, his invasion changed the course of indian history. Chapter 6 post mauryan period 200bc to 300ad civilsdaily. Ashoka and the mauryan empire the mauryan dynasty was founded by chandragupta maurya in 320 bc after defeating the incumbent nanda dynasty. The indian context 1 parul pandya dhar art and the interpretation of indias past 1 survey, documentation, archiving 1 establishing art historical constructs in colonial india 2 form, style, provenance, period 2 the search for origins and meaning 5 image, text, and the living tradition 7. The mauryan empire began to disintegrate almost immediately, showing that dhamma was insufficient to hold together so vast a territory. Ashoka is considered the most significant ruler of the empire. It was a period when politics, art, trade and commerce elevated india to a glorious height. Representing the acme of indian culture ashoka occupies a unique place in the history of india. Sources which gives an insight into the history of mauryas are as follwos. He succeeded in pushing back an invasion from ceylon. It is said that while chandragupta was still in the punjab. Mauryan empire is one of the most remarkable and earliest empires in the history of. The starting of mauryan empire is from accession of chandragupta maurya to the throne of magadha in 321 bc.
See more ideas about ancient india, iron age, ancient. The following are the sources of history which gave us information about the mauryan period. In the deccan, the satvahanas declare themselves as independent after the fall of the mauryan empire and emerge as a powerful force. Prehistory and protohistory man and environment grographical factors. The of the mauryan period, the text is lost and known maurya dynasty had a. Mauryan empire, in ancient india, a state centered at pataliputra later patna near the junction of the son and ganges rivers. Some incidents, said to have increased the number of epigraphic documents. Thus a natural frontier for india was secured by its first historical ruler. Mauryan art and architecture the origins of monumental stone sculpture and architecture in the indian subcontinent go back to the harappan civilisation. The mauryan period represents the third major period in the indian cultural history after the prehistoric times and indus valley period. The period from sixth to late fourth century bc witnessed the rise of territorial polities mahajanapadas in north india. The maurya empire was a geographically extensive iron age historical power based in magadha and founded by chandragupta maurya which dominated the indian subcontinent between 322 and 185 bce. Cholas karikala was the most important ruler of this kingdom. Vaishali, pataliputra, varanasi, kausambi, sravasti, hastinapur, mathura, indraprastha etc.
Read upsc and other states civil service question papers 2. In this post, we bring you the important aspects of the arts of the mauryan period. The mauryan political history is largely some observations that do not stand scrutiny. Ashoka stands out as a monarch who combined successful kingship with idealism and philosophy. Asoka and buddhism, asokas dhamma, mauryan art and architecture. Beginning of agriculture neolithic and chalcolithic. Mauryan empire in india history study materials exams daily. A comprehensive history of india, volume 2 the mauryas and the satavahanas, calcutta shastri, ajay mitraed 1999.
The following ebook contains a list of most important historical monuments of india. He was the fountainhead of all civil and military administration. Buddhism jainism 16 mahajanapadas rise of magadha haryankadynasty sisunaga dynasty nandas alexander invasions on india mauryan empire sungas kanvas indogreeks guptas harshavardhana satavahanas sangam age kushanskanishka. Indus valley civilization origin, date, extent, characteristics, decline, survival. The history of india is so vivid that it will be unfair to omit such small yet very important details about the developments that occurred before the establishment of the greatest empires in india, the mauryan empire. This one page reading plus one page of questions chronicles the establishment and decline of indias first empire the maurya empire. Many changes, apart from the political integration, took place during this period of the indian iron age. The history and legacy of ancient indias greatest empire looks at one of antiquitys most interesting empires. The maurya dynasty ruled india during the fourth and third centuries b. The period constitutes a very significant phase in the early history of india. The postmauryan five centuries pertains to the period between 200 b. They are exquisite in aesthetic quality and brilliant in their design and execution.
It is said to be a period when chronology becomes definite. This site is like a library, you could find million book here by using search box in the header. Do you recognize which modern nation the mauryan empire was located in. Separate files for electronic postings including separate fillable pdf files for student answers and esubmission. The mauryan period in the history of the indian subcontinent lasted between 323 b. There were pillars, sculptures, rockcut architecture, buildings like stupas, viharas and chaityas that served many purposes. The flourishing trade and crafts and growing use of money was an incentive to the growth of new towns.
Arts of the mauryan period indian culture series ncert. It was succeeded by the shunga dynasty, which ruled in central india for approximately a century. A history of south india from prehistoric times to the fall of vijayanagar, 4th edition, madras. The first among them were the bactrian greeks, known in earlier indian literature as yavanas. Archaeological sites and assemblages pertaining to the mauryan period. Start one subject read scert and ncert text books 3. Ashokas inscriptions, his dharma and nature of the mauryan state. In the history of india the mauryan dynasty is the first historical dynasty, about which some definite historical material is available. Pandya dynasty pdf the pandyan or pandiyan or pandian dynasty was an ancient tamil dynasty, one of the three tamil dynasties, the other two being the chola and the chera. Arts of the mauryan period sixth century bce marks the beginning of new religious and social movements in the gangetic valley in the form of buddhism and jainism which were part of the shraman tradition. Learn more about the mauryan empire in this article. A period of unification of the territories which lay as fragmented kingdoms.
He established the first territorial empire in ancient india, covering most of the indian subcontinent. Learn the following ebook and it might just get you brownie points in your. Whereas, the nandas who were ruling at that time were not popular due their severe taxation regimes imposed on agricultural by dhanananda. The different wings of the mauryan army were wellequipped with latest weapons. Puranas like vishnupurana, bhagawat purana, markandeya purana 2. A work of history on the pandyas who ruled southern tamilnadu until 16th century.
172 1105 297 1281 979 876 44 1520 1330 1321 934 808 1182 1555 205 55 689 1555 1273 970 638 1447 1241 1382 345 1446 1360 1278 600 619 606 1004 185 1437 901 117