--> -->

The Maurya Empire

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

The founder of this dynasty was Chandragupta Maurya, who laid the foundation of a vast empire after liberating the country from foreign rule. His grandson Ashoka made his dynasty immortal by his parental treatment of his subjects as well as his public services.

In the history of India, the Maurya dynasty is the first historical dynasty about which definite historical evidence is available. For the first time, the Mauryan rulers gave the country unity and began to administer it systematically.

Pataliputra, modern Patna, the capital of Maurya Empire, was situated on the Ganges.The government of Pataliputra was in the hands of six boards each board consisting of five members. Different functions of the city were grouped into six main heads-industries, foreigners. Different commerce, finance and manufactured articles and each Board was to look after one particular head.

The land was measured and three-fourths of the produce was taken by the State. Roads were constructed and there were mile-stones showing the by paths and distances.

Theft was very rare, and this was probably because exemplary punishments were given for petty crimes. The King maintained an efficient system of spies. The military administration was in the hands of six Boards, each consisting of five members. These Boards looked after six different sections of the Arm, viz., Infantry, Elephants, Cavalry, Chariots, Navy and Transport.

Indian society was divided into seven castes. The philosophers, though their number was small, constituted the first and most important caste. The king and great men generally employed them for religious and educational purpose. They were very much respected. The next caste consisted of the husbandmen. It was the most numerous caste, and its main function was to till the land.

The husbandmen were exempted from military service. The third caste consisted of herdsmen and hunters. They kept cattle and cleared the forests. They received allowances from the King for these functions.

The fourth caste was that of merchants, traders and artisans who controlled the industries, trade and commerce of the country.

The fifth class consisted of soldiers who, when not engaged in fighting, spent time in drinking and other idle pursuits.

The sixth class comprised of minor officials who were controlling and supervising the local administration.

The seventh class consisted of the King’s councilors and assessors. They were the heads of the departments and were the confidential advisers of the King.

Except the philosophers, no one could marry out of his own caste or change one’s profession or trade for another.

They had no fixed hours for eating, and generally ate alone. Their common food was rice-porridge. They did not drink wine except at sacrifices.

Polygamy was very common among them, and chastity among women rare.

Slavery was not known to Indian people of those times.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Tags: amazon, asoka, chandragupta maurya, gold digging, greek, greek writers, indika, king, Maurya Empire, pataliputra, petty crimes, pursuit, spy

Impact of Invasion By Alexander

The conquest of Alexander in India wasshort-lived. The source of the Greek power was far away from India and it was not possible to keep Indian territories under permanent subjugation.

The death of Alexander, the division of his empire between his governors and their mutual conflicts, and the ambition of Indian Satraps left in charge of their old principalities to throw off even the nominal suzerainty of the of Greeks were other contributory causes.

Alexnder’s area of conquests in India remained limited to the north-western frontier and Punjab. Alexander did not fight against an equal match in India. If he had fought against the ruler of Magadha, probably, the result would have been different.

Therefore, Invasion of Alexander brought about no direct influence of any consequence on Indian politics and culture.

It left no mark on the literature, life or government of the people.

The place of Alexander in Indian history is similar to that of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, Temerlane and Nadir Shah whose invasions brought about untold sufferings to the people of India.

However, the invasion influenced India indirectly. It contributed to the growth of Indian unity and the extension of the Mauryan empire under Chandra Gupta Maurya by weakening North-West and the Punjab.

It opened up communication between the western world, including Greece, and India which led to extended trade relations between the two which helped in enhancing the economic prosperity of India; it also helped in the establishment of cultural relations between the two.

After the downfall of the Mauryan empire, the Greeks were again successful in capturing a part of north-west India which kept the Greeks and the Indian in contact with each other for quite a long time. These mutual contacts helped them both.

The Indians learned something about astronomy and coinage from the Greeks while the Greeks acquired knowledge of Indian religion and philosophy.

Popularity: 14% [?]

Tags: chaderaguta maurya, Effects, Eve of Alexander Invasion, gandhara, greek, Impact, India, magadha, north west

Invasion On India By Alexander

In North-Western India,  around the  time of Alexander’s invasion was no political unity. The territory between the Indus and the Beas was divided into a number of petty  engaged in destructive warfare.

There was not a single powerful ruler in that area to bring the different states together.

Beyond the Sutlej, there was the strong Nanda Empire of Magadha, but it did not bother itself about the politics and problems of the North-Western frontier states.

The hill territory of modern North-Western Frontier Province in the fourth century B.C. was governed by the Aspasians, Nysaeans and Assakenos.The Assakenos were the most powerful of all these tribes. Their capital was Massaga near the Malakand Pass. This tribe had a powerful army of 20,000 cavalry and more than 30,000 infantry. Near modern Peshawar there lay the kingdom of Pushkulvati which was then not very powerful.

In western Punjab two important States at that time were the kingdom of Taxila or Takshasila and the kingdom of Paurava near modern Jhelum. The kingdom of Taxila extended from the eastern bank of the Indus to the western bank of the Jhelum.

To the south-east of the kingdom of Taxila lay the kingdom of the Pauravas. It was governed by a powerful king Porus and had as many as 300 cities under its control.

The King of Taxila was very jealous of the strength of the Pauravas, and the former’s son, Ambhi, had sent envoys to Alexander in Bactria asking him to invade India and assuring him of his help against Porus. These dissensions between the Taxila prince and Porus had worsened the political situation.

The territory between the rivers Jhelum and the Beas was occupied by five independent tribes. These tribes did not have a monarchial type of government, but on the oter hand were controlled by aristocratic oligarchies.

The Mallois or Mallavas and Oxydrakai or Kshudrakas were some of the well known tribes in this region.

The Mallois ruled over the territory of modern Multan and their Kshudrakas were most probably occupying the modern Montgomery district of West Punjab.

Upper Sind, like the rest of north-western India, was equally parcelled out into a number of petty states, each governed by a small tribe. Mousikanos was a well-known ruler in that region. His capital was Alor (Shikarpur District).

The Battle and Outcomes

After a compaign in Bactria, the region on the borders of the modern Soviet Union and Afghanistan watered by the River Oxus, Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush and occupied the district of Kabul. Then, fiercely but unsuccessfully resisted by the hillmen, he descended the Kabul Valley and reached the Indus, which he crossed in the spring of 326 B.C. Omphis, king of Takshasila or Taxila, had already submitted, and the city offered no resistance.

Beyond the Jhelum, however, lay the territory of the most warlike king of the Punjab, Porus, for fear of whom Omphis had willingly thrown in his lot with Alexander. It was only with great difficulty, after a surprise crossing of the Jhelum, that the Macedonians succeeded in defeating the troops of Porus, who was captured. Porus was a very tall and handsome man, whose courage and proud bearings made a great impression on the Greeks.

When brought before his conqueror he was found to have received nine wounds, and he could barely stand; but when Alexander asked him how he wished to be treated he boldly replied: “As befits me-like a king!” Alexander was so impressed by his captive that he restored him to his kingdom as a vassal and, on the retreat of the Greek forces, left him in charge of the Punjab.

After the defeat of Porus Alexander continued his advance, subduing numerous tribes and petty kingdoms; but at the Beas he was forced to turn back, for his generals feared mutiny if his troops were made to advance further into unknown country. Alexander returned across the Punjab and fought his way down the Indus, often meeting stiff opposition from the martial tribes.

At the mouth of the Indus the army divided, part returning to Mesopotamia by sea, and part, led by Alexander himself, by land, following the coast through the desolate Makran. After much hardship both detachments reached the Euphrates, together with a smaller body which had been sent back earlier by way of Aracosia, modern Khandahar.

There is no doubt, Alexander desired to keep Indian territories under his rule. Like his other conquered kingdoms, he divided his Indian territories as well into five satraps (provinces) each under a governor, Indian or Greek, and kept Greek contingents in various cities. But, his desire remained a dream.

After his death, the rivalry of different Greek governors weakened them and none of his successors could pay proper attention to his Indian territories. Most of the Greek commanders left India with their soldiers while their Indian counterparts declared independence. And, whatever remained even after that, was wiped out by Chandra Gupta Maurya.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Tags: alexander, Assakenos, Defeat of Porus, eve, Hill tribes, HTaxilla, india, North-Western India, Paurava Kingdoms, tribes Mallavas and Kshudrakas, upper sind

Indo-Iranian Relationship in Rigvedic Days

The Persians and the Indo-Aryans, from very ancient times, had intimate relations. Persians and the Indo-Aryans lived together uptil 1400 B.C. Even when the Indo-Aryans had left Persia and settled in the Sapt-Sandhu, they maintained good relations with the Persians; and their religion and culture therefore was very much akin to the Iranians.

Many words were common in both the Iranian language and the Rigvedic language. Just as ‘Soma was the favourite nectar of the early Aryans in India, “Haoma” of the Avesta was a popular drink of the old Iranians. The ‘Parthavas’ mentioned in the Rigveda refers to the Persians.

Conquest of Gandhara by Darius I

It was in the sixth century B.C. that once again India was brought nearer to Persia this time not by merchants and scholars but by soliders. Cyrus the Great, was one of the most powerful ruler of Achaemenian dynasty of Persia. He conquered Bacteria, Media, Babylonia and Assyria. He even advanced towards India through Gedrosia (Mekran), but was not successful in this expedition.

It was Darius I the third Achaemenian Emperior, who first conquered north-western India. He sent his admiral Skylay to explore the mouths of the Indus, and then after some time himself followed to pursue the conquest of Gandhara, as the north-west portion of India was then called.

He conquered the western Punjab up to the Salt Range n te Jhelum district. North-western India formed the “twentieth satrapy” of the Persain Empire and that this Indian province used to pay an annual tribute of three hundred and sixty “talents” of gold dust, which is one million pounds of modern currency.

Darius, maintained a special Indian force, which took prominent part in Perso-Greek wars. This Indian contigent consisted of infantry, cavalary and chariots, and was commanded by a Persian general, Pharnazathmes.

But we do not know how long the Persains ruled over this portion of India. The general belief is that it was a part of the Persian Empire for more that a century. In the forth century B.C., however, some of the Indian chiefs had asserted independence; and when Alexander invaded this country, North-West India was not a part of the Persian Empire.

Influence of Persian conquest on Indian trade culture

The Persian occupation of north-western India is not a mere episode in our history. It influenced Indian trade, thought and culture. Indian merchants carried their goods to the various parts of the vast Persian Empire, and in this way the commercial prosperity of our country greatly increased. Indian scholars and philosophers, too moved freely in the Persian Empire, and this led to closer relations with western countries, particularly with Greece.

The Persian occupation, also, influenced Indian art. It is said that most of the buildings of the Mauryan Emperors have a Persian touch.

The Mauryan Emperor, Chandragupta also followed many Persian ceremonies. He used to hold the meetings of the Council of Ministers in a room where sacred fire was kept burning. He also borrowed the hair-washing ceremony of Persian monarchs, and made it one of the important court ceremonies.

Besides, Persian noblemen were employed by the Mauryan rulers, and we find Tusbaspha, a Persian, occupying a very high position in the state, i.e., acting as Governor of Kathiawar in the reign of Chandragupta.

Popularity: 17% [?]

Tags: aryans, assyria, babylonia, gandhara by darius, india, Indo-Iranian Relationship, mauryan, parthavas, persia, persian emperor, philosophers, rigvedic age, sandhu, soliders

Economic and Social Changes in Magadha

Besides the establishment of big empires another important feature which we find in India in the 6th century B.C. was increased prosperity and growth of towns. Indian civilization was moving from village-life to town-life and by the 6th century B.C. had moved in this direction to a large extent. Therefore, we find growth of towns in every part of India.

Of course, the establishment of big empires was one reason of the growth of towns because several towns were built up as capital cities of empires while several others grew as centres of trade. Yet, the growing prosperity of India under changed economic circumstances was also responsible for the growth of towns and town-culture.

The one primary reason of increased prosperity of India was its growth of foreign trade with the countries of the North-West, Western countries and several countries of Asia. A big empire had established in Iran and the Iranians had captured a part of north-western frontier of India. It provided facilities of contacts particularly that of trade not only between Iran and India but also between India and several other countries of Asia and that of Europe.

There were several trade routes and roads connecting different parts of India in all directions. The one trade route was from Kosambi, through Gangetic plain, to Punjab and then Taxila joining the routes to Iran, Central Asia, European countries and several countries of Asia.

Another route started from Rajagriha and, passing through Kosambi and Ujjayini, was connected with the port of Baroach from where the trade was carried on with western countries through sea-route. One important route passed through the entire Gangetic plain and reached the boundary of Burma and, yet, anoter route connected northern plain with the sea-coast of south-east.

These routes developed because of increased trade and, in turn, helped in enhancing internal as well as external trade. External trade went in favour of India and that enhanced the prosperity of Indian leadings to the growth of towns. Among those towns of north India, Champa, Kosambi, Rajagriha Sravasti. Ujjayani, Vaisali Camboja, Kosala, Varanasi were the most important ones.

The increased prosperity of the Indians affected their social structure as well. Towns became not only the centres of trade but centres of industries as well. Various goods were produced on a large scale to feed the foreign trade and that could be possible only in towns or, vice versa, towns grew up where goods were produced on a large scale.

By that time, Indian rulers had started minting good coins of different metals. Coins of a large variety and of silver and other metals issued by rulers of that age have been discovered from different parts of India. It helped in the development of trade and growth of industries because coins proved to be a good medium of exchange and, thus, facilitated transaction concentrated themselves in towns.

We find existence of different guilds formed by traders and industrialists during this period. Besides, labour and craftsmen also gathered in towns in a large number. Different craftsmen formed their different groups and organizations which helped in making different professions hereditary. Besides, it created various organized and consciously awakened groups in towns which, finally, resulted in the formation of several sub-castes.

The changed economic conditions affected literary activity of the people as well as. By that time, Sanskrit had become the language of intellectuals and Purohits only and there was need of popular languages. It resulted in the formation of several regional languages though, of course, based on Sanskrit. One of them was Prakrit. The other popular ones were Pali and Magadhi. Mahatma Buddha gave his messages to the people mostly in Magadhi.

The changed economic and social circumstances influenced contemporary religious thought. The formation of awakened groups of traders, industrialists and labour resulted in putting a challenge to the supremacy of the Brahmanas. The formation of sub-castes also did the same. Several of these groups were rich as well which gave them an advantageous position in the society.

It led to religious awakening in the society which resulted in the formation of several religious sects. There is no doubt that the rise of Jainism and Buddhism during this age was a result of the changed economic and social circumstances also.

We also find that both of these religious sects got support from the neo-rich trading and industrial classes which were eager to get a better social status so far denied to them. The same way, both Jainism and Buddhism drew large converts from new sub-castes who were interested in getting equal status as well as getting the facility of having better social status for themselves.

Thus, it is quite clear that the 6th century B.C. proved important not because of political changes but also because of changes in the economic, social, religious conditions of the people which affected not only their own time but also the time to come.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Tags: buddha, champa, Economic and Social Changes, indian civilization, jain, kosambi, magadha, north india, rajagriha sravasti, town culture

Sisunaga and His Successors

(430-364 B.C.)

Sisunaga had gained respect under the weak successors of Ajatasatru and, probably, became the ruler of Magadha with the consent of the people.

He proved to be a capable ruler and extended the territories of Magadha. He defeated the neighbouring rival state of Avanti, Vatsa and Kosala annexed theri territories to Magadha.

Sisunaga was succeeded by his son Kalasoka or Kakavarna. He made Pataliputra the capital of Magadha.

Kalasoka was murdered because of a palace conspiracy and, probably, his murderer was the founder of Nanda dynasty.

The ten sons of Kalasoka ruled for ten years after him. The princes were allowed to rule nominally for these years to cover the guilt of the murder of their father. But, ultimately, all of them were killed and a new dynasty of kings started its rule over Magadha.

Regarding the first Nanda ruler, there is a difference of opinion. Puranas called him Mohapadma whereas the Mahabodhivamsa gives his name as Ugrasena. Jain-texts describe him as the son of a barber while Puranas say that the founder of the Nanda dynasty was a Sudra.

Mahapadma Nanda according to Puranas destroyed all Kshatriya rulers. The kingdoms of Aikshvakus, Panchalas, Kasis, Haihayas, Kalingas, Asmakas, Kurus, Maithilas, Sursenas etc., were defeated and their territories were annexed to Magadha. Nandas rules over the southern part of Bombay and north-western part of Mysore.

Nandas succeeded in establishing a great empire which covered the greater part of northern India and part of the South. The credit for it goes primarily to the first ruler of this dynasty.

Nine rulers of Nanda dynasty ruled over Magadha. Little is known about the history of Nandas after Mahapadma Nanda except the last ruler, nicknamed Dhana Nanda.

He was a contemporary of Alexander and his empire seems to have extended up to the frontiers of Punjab. He was a powerful king and kept a large army. But he was cruel and miserly. He accumulated fabulous wealth at the expense of his subjects by means of excessive taxation and extractions. Therefore, he was unpopular among his subjects.

Chandra Gupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan dynasty took advantage of his unpopularity and succeeded in killing him and captured the throne of Magadha.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Tags: ajatasatru, avanti, kakavarna, kosala, magadha, mohapadma, nanda dynasty, pataliputra, puranas, sisunaga, successors, vaisali, vatsa

Ajatasatru and His Successors

Ajatasatru(493-462 B.C.) continued his father’s policy of expansion through military conquests. First, a fierce struggle started between Magadha and Kosala. Prasenajit’s sister who was the wife of Bimbisara died of grief at the death of her husband. Prasenajit could not tolerate it and asked Ajatasatru to return Kasi which was given in dowry to Bimbisara.

Ajatasatru, refused and thus a protracted war began between Magadha and Kosala. The war remained indecisive for a long time but ultimately Prasenajit agreed to give Kasi to Ajatasatru and also gave his daughter Vajira in marriage to him, which proves that the outcome of war, finally, went in favour of Magadha.

The foundation of the political supremacy of Magadha was laid by Ajatasatru by defeating the strong confederacy of Vriji. The confederacy which dominated Eastern India included 36 republican states. The bone of contention between the two powers was a newfound jewel-mine.

The two powers had agreed to share equally the jewels of the mine but the Lichchhavi violated this agreement and so the war was declared by Magadha.

The real issue was that Magadha could not be the supreme power in Eastern India without defeating the powerful Lichchhavi confederacy. This was realized by both sides. That is why not only the Lichchhavi but the entire Vriji confederacy including the chiefs of Kasi and Kosala united themselves against Magadha.

The conflict between Magadha and the confederacy continued for sixteen years (484-468). Ajatasatru made all sorts of preparations for it. To be near the theatre of war, a new fort was built near the bank of the Ganges, which later grew to be the famous city of Pataliputra and future capital of Magadha.

Ajatasatru also realized that to gain victory against such a powerful confederacy its inner unity had to destroyed.

Therefore, he sent his minister, Vassakara, to sow of dissension amongst the members of the confederacy. Vassakara remained there for three years and proved successful in his mission. The political and social unity of the Vrijis was broken. Moreover Magadha was able to produce two new weapons of war.

One was the Mahasilakantaka which was used to throw heavy pieces of stone on the enemy from a distance.

The other was the Rathamusala, a chariot with knives and cutting edges fixed on to it and a place under cover for the charioteer.

Thus after preparing himself diplomatically and militarily, Ajatasatru attacked the Vrijis and finally won. Magadha became an unchallenged supreme power in east India.

The success of Ajatasatru aroused the hostility of king Chanda Pradyota of Avanti who started making preparations to attack Magadha. But it was Ajatasatru who strengthened his fortifications and took various other measures to defend his boundaries and succeeded. Pradyota could not attack Magadha. Ajatasatru was successful in further extending the boundaries of his kingdom and in laying the foundations of the greatness of Magadha.

Ajatasatru was of liberal religious opinions. Ajatasatru, probably, was first inclined to Jainism but later on he became a devotee of the Buddha. The first General Council of the Buddhists was held under his patronage near Rajagriha. He built several Buddhist Chaityas.

Ajatasatru died in 461 B.C. Five kings succeeded him.All of them ascended the throne after killing their fathers.

Ajatasatru was succeeded by his son Udayabhadra. The rivalry between Magadha and Avanti continued during his time but Udayabhadra succeeded in defeating Palaka, the then ruler of Avanti several times. It is believed that Palaka then engaged a hired assassin to kill Udayabhadra who murdered him when he was listening to the discourse of a religious teacher. Udayabhadra was a Jain. He built a town called Kusumapura and a Jain Chaityagriha inside it.

Udayabhadra was succeeded by Anurudha, Munda and Nagadasaka respectively. None of them proved himself capable of ruling and ach of them was a parricide. It created dissatisfaction among their subjects and, therefore, one of the ministers of the last king, Sisunaga succeeded in overthrowing his rule and established the rule of a new dynasty.

Popularity: 19% [?]

Tags: ajatasatru, avanti, bimbisara, eastern india, kingdom, kosala, kusumapura, magadha, palaka, pradyota prasenajit, rajagriha, sisunaga, udayabhadra

The Factors That Led To Rise of Magadha

The kingdom of Magadha rose to pre-eminence during the period the period of Bimbisara and became the first great empire in India by the time of the Nandas.

Apart from ambitious and powerful rulers, other geographical, economic and cultural factors also contributed to its rise. There were certain permanent factors also which enabled it to rise to to the zenith of political greatness.

Magadha occupied a strategic position of geographical importance. The river Ganges and its tributaries Son, Gandak and Gagra served as means for defence, communication and trade. The older, capital Rajagriha was protected by seven hills and the later one Pataliputra being at the junction of the Ganges and the Son had natural means of defence.

The natural facilities of communication and trade helped it in its economic prosperity.

The land of Magadha was also fertile which yielded rich harvests. Land taxes could be kept high which proved to be regular and substantial sources of income to the state without which the maintenance of a big army could not be possible and the empire could neither be built up nor consolidated.

Besides, while neighbouring forests provided timber for building and elephants for the army, its own iron ore deposits made profitable the manufacture of better implements and weapons and a profitable trade in iron. Thus Magadha became an economically prosperous and militarily strong state.

Magadha, being in the East, was a place where a balanced synthesis between the Aryan and the non-Aryan cultures took place. The Brahmanic culture could not claim dominance in Magadha because by the time it reached there it had lost much of its strength and, therefore, liberal traditions in religion and society could be maintained in Magadha, Jainism and Buddhism which took their birth within the territories of Magadha were, probably, the results of liberal traditions and they participated in further enhancing these traditions.

Liberal traditions also contributed to the building of a strong empire in Magadha.

The administrative system of Magadha, wherein the state was ruled by a hereditary monarch who had the opportunity to enhance his financial and military resource, was also one of the causes of its rise.

The foundation of the Magadha empire was laid by Bimbisara and Ajatastru. Both were ambitious rulers and extended the boundaries of Magadha both by war and diplomacy.

After Ajatasatru, Sisunaga pursued the policy of empire-building and then came the Nandas who finally succeeded in establishing the first great empire in India.They created an extensive empire in India and left it to their successors, the Mauryas in a state when it was extremely prosperous and militarily strong so that the Mauryas became powerful enough to turn the foreigners, the Greeks out of India and also succeeded in completing the task began by Bimbisara and Ajatasatru of consolidating Indian into a big empire.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Tags: ajatastru, bimbisara, cause of rise, nandas, pataliputra, rajagriha, rise of magadha, sisunaga

Rise of Magadha

Magadha was a very ancient kingdom but for quite a long time it remained only a small state. It came into the limelight under Brihadratha, a Chedi prince. The famours Jarasandha who once defeated Krishna in the Mahabharata times was probably a son of Brihadratha.

The descendants of Brihadratha were overthrown in 600 B.C. by Sisunaga who founded the Sisunaga dynasty. The first well-known ruler of this kingdom was Bimbisara. Bimbisara ruled for forty-nine years. He made Rajagriha his capital. A man of determination and political foresight he realized the importance of a large kingdom decided to make Magadha such a state. He pursued his ambition both by wars and a policy of matrimonial alliances.

Bimbisara had five hundred wives. He entered into dynastic relations based n marriage with several important royal families of his time which helped him much in his political career. His first wife was a sister of Prasenjait, the king of Kosala, who gave him a part of the kingdom of Kasi in dowry.

His second wife Chellana was the daughter of the Lichchhavi king, Chetaka, one the most important feudatory chief of the republican state of the Vrijis with its capital at Vaisali. His third wife was Vasavi, princes of the kingdom of Vaideh and Khema was the daughter of the king of Madra of Central Punjab.

These marriage alliances of definitely enhanced his prestige besides helping in the extension of his territories.

Bimbisara conquered the state of Anga. The conquest marked the beginning of the greatness of Magadha. Bimbisara’s father had been defeated by Brahadatta, king of Anga. Probably, it was to avenge this defeat that Bimbisara attacked Anga and succeeded in conquering it.

Bimbisara, for the first time, laid down the foundation of an efficient administration in Magadha. He constructed several canals and roads, appointed several new officers for administrative purposes and arranged for the regular collection of revenue. It helped him in increasing his financial resources and military strength.

Bimbisara proved to be an able ruler who recognized the necessity of an officient administration. There were several ministers who helped the king in administration. They were chosen on merit and their advice was generally not ignored. Besides, there were different officers who were divided into different categories according to the nature of their work. The executive or administrative officers were called Sabbatthakas, the judicial officers Voharikas and the military officers Senanayakas.

However, the basic units of administration were the villages. Each village was under the jurisdiction of a headman who was responsible for the collection of taxes and handing them over to the other officials of the state. Theoretically, the land belonged to the king though nobody was displaced from the land till he paid 1/6th of the produce, which was regarded the king’s share.

Mostly Sudras worked as cultivators though they were not masters of the land. They were engaged as labourers. This had lowered their status. Therefore, a new class of Sudras, that is untouchables, came to be recognized during this period.

Bimbisara was very tolerant in religious affairs. He revered both Jainism and Buddhism equally. Therefore, both the Jains and Buddhists claimed Bimbisara as their follower.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Tags: ajasatru, ancient india, bimbisara, brihadratha, jarasandha, of magdha, sisunaga

Sixth Pay Commission Implemented

On eve of 61st independence day govt has implemented sixth pay commission. The new pay structure would be effective retrospectively from 1 January 2006.

Read full report here

Popularity: 31% [?]

none

Next Page »