In the
workshops
and the prisons (the latter periodically emptied !
Cambridge History of India - v1
297) ; but the time is otherwise unde-
termined. It is to Megasthenes that the classical peoples were indebted for
nearly all the precise information which they have transmitted concerning
the Indian peoples.
According to Justin (xv, 4) the rule of Chandragupta was oppressive;
but the judgment is not supported by details or by Indian evidence. The
consensus of Sanskrit writings on policy discountenances excessive leniency,
and insists upon the retributory function of the ruler, who in maintaining
order and protecting weakness should not shrink from severity ; while in
time of need he is entitled to call upon his people to bear 'like strong bulls'
a considerable burden of taxation? . The duration of the reign is stated
by the Purāņas, in agreement with the Buddhist books, at twenty-four
years. It would be uncritical, however, to regard these testimonies as from
the beginning independent, or to attach any special credence to the exact,
figure. Moreover, the initial date is uncertain, the Jains presenting a
date equivalent to 313 (312) B. C. , while the Buddhists of Ceylon give 321,
and the Brāhman writings withhold any reference to a fixed era. It would
1 See Chapter XVII, p. 387 That Seleucus made no great headway against
Chandragupta is proved at length by Schwanbeck, op. cit. pp. 11-19, where the
authorities are discussed. The surrender of the Kabul valley is also indicated by Strabo,
XV, I, 10 and 2, 9 : see also Lassen, De Pentapotamiu Indica (Bonn, 1827), p. 42.
2 Arrian, V,6. 1: Μεγαοθ'ευη8, δε ξυυηυμευ Σιβυρτιωτω Σατράπη της’ Αρακωσίας
πολλάλει δε λεγει αφιλεσθαι παρα Σαυδράkoττου του Ιυδων βασιλεα, «Megasthenese,
who lived indeed with Sibyrtius, the Satrap of Arachosia, but several times, us
he
states, arrived at the presence of Sandracottus, the king of the Indians. The view of
Schwanbeck (p. 33) and Lassen (ed. 1, p. 209, n. 3 ; but rejected in ed. 2, p. 219, n. 1),
who think this statement consistent with several interviews in the course of a single
mission, soems untenable : açıkécou could hardly bear that sense.
3 Mbh. XII, 87, 33, and ch. 121 ; cf. 130, 36 ; Hopkins, J. A. O. S , XIII, pp. 116,
1 35 6.
S
:
## p. 426 (#464) ############################################
426
(CH.
CHANDRAGUPTA
be idle to dwell further upon a matter of so much uncertainty. Our
defective knowledge of the chronology is in striking contrast to the trust-
worthy information which we possess concerning the country and its
administration.
The extent of the dominions of Chandragupta has already been
stated. But his authority cannot have been everywhere exercised in the
same manner or the same measure. Indian conquerors do not for the
most part displace the rulers whom they subdue, nor was the example of
Alexander in India to the contrary. Accordingly we may assume that the
empire of Chandragupta included feudatory kingdoms ; and even the
presence of his viceroys would not necessarily imply, for example in Taxila
or Ujjain, the extinction of the local dynasty. It has been acutely remarked
by Lassen' that in a number of cases Megasthenese states the military power
of particular provinces ; and he infers that these are instances of inde-
pendent rule. The inference may have been carried too far ; but it has an
undeniable validity as regards the kingdoms south of the Vindhya
mentioned by Megasthenes, namely the Andhras and Kalingas, as well as
their western neighbours the Bhojas, Petenikas, and Rishtikas, who all
down to the time of Chandragupta's grandson Açoka remained outside the
regular administration, The districts beyond the Indus, Gandhāra,
Arachosia, and Kābul were similarly frontier states.
1 Op. cit. II, pp. 219-20.
## p. 427 (#465) ############################################
CHAPTER XIX
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE
MAURYA EMPIRE
a
CONCERNING the condition and organisation of the vast Maurya
empire the Greeks have provided us with a considerable body of valuable
information : and, as the Arthaçāstra furnishes the means of describing the
coniplete polity existing at the time, its land system, its fiscal system, its
administrative system, its law, its social system, with some view of litera-
ture and religion, we shall not forgo the opportunity, so rare in Indian
history-we must wait for the time of Akbar and the Ā'in-i-Akbari-of
dwelling a little on the picture.
As regards the land itself, we may distinguish the forest, the pasture
or grazing ground, and the cultivated area. The forests must have been
much more extensive than at present, and they clearly comprised both
relatively inaccessible tracts inhabited by wild unsubdued tribes and others
which were within the reach of the administration, visited by trappers and
hunters, utilised for raw material, reserved for elephant-grounds, state
hunting-grounds, parks, and Brāhman settlements. The pasture must have
included both large spaces (vivita) occupied by the nomad, tent-dwelling?
ranchers, who were the direct descendants of the old Vedic tribes, and
also more restricted areas in the neighbourhood of the villages. The latter,
which then as now were the main feature of the country, had their definite
boundaries, their village halls, - no doubt representing the forts of ancient
times, -and their independent internal economy. Less, if at all, organised
were the stations (ghosha)", or hamlets which formed the headquarters of
the ranching class.
1 For references to the chapters or pages of the Arthaçāstra which deal with the
main topics discussed in this chapter, see the Sanskrit text.
2 Megasthenes, Ι, 47 : πολίυ μευη kωμης ούκ οίκουσί, σκηίτη δε βίω Χρωυται.
3 Hopkins, J. A. 0. 9. XIII, pp. 79-80, 82-3, The Four Castes, p. 15. In the
Arthaſa8'ra (p. 7) also the Vaiçva seems to be connected with cattle. So in Manu (eg.
VIII, 88 and 410) and Müh. (XII, 60, 25).
4 Hopkins, op. cit. p. 77.
>
427
## p. 428 (#466) ############################################
428
[CH,
THE MAURYA EMPIRE
8
Apart from the royal domains, which must have been considerable,
the ultimate property in the land appertained, in the sense which has since
prevailed, to the king! : that is to say, the king was entitled to his
revenues therefrom, and in default could replace the cultivator in his
holding. This does not preclude alienation or subdivision by the occupier,
the royal title persisting through each change. It was the king's business to
organise the agricultural productivity by encouraging the surplus popula-
tion to settle new or abandoned tracts. 3 Irrigation was an object of great
solicitude and naturally under the charge of the state, which regulated the
supply of water and derived revenue therefrom. *
The bulk of the population consisted of actual cultivators, and
Megasthenes remarks that their avocation was to such a degree defined (by
the rule of castel that they might be seen peacefully pursuing it in
the sight of contending armies. The higher classes in the country had not
a landowning, but an official, qualification, being entitled for their
maintenance to a defined portion of the revenue. This corresponds to the
jāgir system of Musalmān times. The assignment might be the revenue of
an estate, a village, a town, or according to circumstances. On a minor
scale the same principle was applied to the ranching class, which received
for maintenance a proportion of the stock. ?
Roads were constructed by the royal officers, and at intervals of
'ten stades' were sign-boards noting turnings and distances. The Greeks
make special mention of the royal route' from the N. W. frontier to
Pātaliputra. ' Communications were maintained by couriers, while in
the woods roamed trappers and forest-rangers10.
Towns were numerous, in so much that the Greeks report as many as
two thousand placed under the rule of Porus, and Megasthenes ascribes
some thirty to the Andhra country alone. 11 They ranged from the
market town (samgrahaņa), serving the uses of ten villages, through
the country towns (khārvațaka and droņamukha at a river's mouth) for 200
1 Megasthenes, 1, 46 : της δε χωρας μισθούς τελουσι τω βασιλει δια τσ πασαν
του Ιυδιλης βασιλιλιου ειναι ιδιωτη δε μηδευγηυεξείναι κεκτησθει κερις δε της
μισωσεως τετάρτην ε'ι8 το βασιλικόυ τελουσι; cf. Hopkins, J. A. O. S. ΧΙΙΙ. pp. 87-8.
2 Arth. 19 (p. 47); cf. W. Foy, Die konigliche Gewalt, pp. 58-9 ; Jolly, Recht und
Sitte, p. 93.
Çünyaniveçana (Hopkins, op. cit. p. 127 n. and A'th. 19 ad init).
4 Megasth. XXXIV, 1; see Chapter XVI, p. 375, and infra, p. 393.
5 Megasth. I, 14 : παρά δε τουτοις των γεωυργου Ιερων και ασυλου
εωμευωυ
οι πλησίου των τάξεων γεωργουυτες αυεπκίσθητοι των κινδύνων εί' σίυ; cf. 1,44, The
Mahābhārata (e. g. XII, 69, 38 sqq. ) qualifies this picture in practice ; see Hopkins,
op. cit. p. 185.
6 For details see Manu, VII, 118-9 ; Hopkins, op. cit. p. 84.
7 Arth. 46 : Mbh. XII, 60, 24 : Hopkins, op. cit. p. 83.
8 Megasth, XXXIV, 3. 9 lbid. IV, 3.
10 Arth. 52-3.
11 LVI, 10. In XXVI the towns are too numerous for counting.
:
3
## p. 429 (#467) ############################################
XIX]
THE LAND
429
As we
or 400 villages, the provincial capital (sthāniya or Thānā), the great
city (nagara, pura) or port (paļtana) to the royal capital (rājadhāni),
all provided with defences of varying solidity. There were also forts
on the frontiers or in special situations, such as in the middle of lakes or
swamps, hidden in forests, or perched on heights.
The art of fortification was well understood.
can learn
from the Greek and native descriptions, and as we can see depicted on the
monuments of Sānchi and Bhārhut, the great cities were provided
with ditches, ramparts, and walls of earth, wood or brick", having battle-
ments, towers, covered ways, salient angles, water-gates, and portcullises,
with a wide street running round the interior face. There were guard-
houses for troops (gulma) in the different quarters. In principle the towns
were of rectangular shape and divided into four regions, each under
a special official and composed of wards. The houses were generally
of wood, and of two three storeys, the more splendid ones including
several courts, one behind the other. There were royal palaces, workshops,
store-houses, arsenals, and prisons. The streets were provided with
watercourses draining the houses and issuing into the moat : against
misuse of them, or of the cemeteries outside ; by deposit of rubbish or dead
bodies, by loosing animals. by conveyances not under proper charge,
by funerals conducted through irregular ways or at unlawful hours,
penalties are laid down. The houses were forbidden to have windows over-
looking each other, except across the street. The precautions against fire
included the provision of vessels of water 'in thousands' in the street: every
householder must sleep in the forepart of his dwelling, and he is under the
obligation of rendering assistance in case of fire, while arson is punished by
burning alive. The trumpet sounds the beginning and end of the nocturnal
interval, during which, except on special occasions, none must stir
a broad. Approach to the guard-houses and palaces is prohibited, as also
is music at unseasonable times. The city chief reports all incidents, and
takes charge of lost and ownerless property.
The imperial capital Pātaliputra or Kusumapura, the Palibothra of
the Greeks, which was situated on the south side of the Ganges, to the
east of its confluence with the Son, is described by Megasthenes (v. sup.
Chapter xvi, p. 369). Its ruins lie for the most part under the modern
1 On these distinctions see Arth. p. 46 ; Manu, VII, 70-5 ; Moh. XII, 86, 5; and
Hopkins, op. cit. pp. 76-7.
2 Hopkins. op. cit. pp. 177-8 n.
3 Megasth. XXVI ; Hopkins op. cit. pp. 174 sqq.
4 See the platos in Maisey's Sanchi and Cunningham's Stupa of Barhut.
The Sanskrit terms are antah pura (or niçānta), karmānta (-āgāra), koshțhāgāra,
ayudhāgāra, bandhanāgāra.
6 Chărarātrī, 'nights of free movement (Arth. 26, p. 146).
3
## p. 430 (#468) ############################################
430
[ch.
THE MAURYA EMPIRE
city of Patna-Bankipore ; and part of its ancient rampart has been found
in situl.
The population, as we learn from Megasthenes? in agreement with
the indications of the Arthaçāstra, consisted of seven classes, which have
been already particularised; there was no transference from one class to
another (except that the philosophers, i. e. the Brāhmans, might in case of
adversity adopt any profession), nor was marriage between them allowed".
These distinctions of function correspond only partially to those of easte,
which in fact must have been already much more complicated ; and they
take no note of special cases, such as riverine and maritime populations.
In the country, except where undertakings such as mines and other
works created exceptional conditions, the second and third classes, the
husbandmen and the neatherds and shepherds, must have predominated ;
the village servants such as the potter, the blacksmith, the carpenter, the
barber, would belong to the third. In the towns we hear of labourers,
craftsmen, traders, inspectors, and officialsø. The crafts are numerous? ,
especially those dealing with the precious metals and with the textiles. The
professions include the doctor, the actor, singer and rhapsodist, the dancer,
and the soothsayer. The traders are partly state officials in charge of
royal merchandise, or in superintendence of matters connected with prices
and sales, partly actual shopkeepers or travelling merchants ; and not rare
among both classes was the rich creshthin, or seth, who was an important
social factor, and, if a leader in his guild, received official recognition'.
In the workshops and the prisons (the latter periodically emptied ! ) artisans
were engaged on contract or in penal tasks ; and there is a 'spinning house'
for the labour of widows and other helpless or unfortunate women'l.
1 Waddell, Report on the Excavations at Pataliputra (Calcutta, 1903), Spooner,
Ann. Rep. of the Arch. Sur. of India, 1912-3, pp. 55 61.
I, 40-53 ; cf. Arrian, Indica XI-XII.
3 See Chapter XVI, pp. 367-69. The equivalent terms in Greek and Sanskrit are :
(1) Qil. copor, copigai = Brahmaņa çramaņa, (2) yeoproi=karshaka, (3) Boukóros,
TOTUEUES, VouEES, Onpeutai=gopala çragaņin, vāgurika, mārgāyuka, (4) ,
TI02euictai=bhaſa, (5) oul Boval, ouvedpol=mantrin,amātya,mahāmātra, (6)soopoi,
erickotol=partivedaka, adhyaksha, sattrin, (7) texuítai, druioupyoi, kathtoi-käru,
cilpin, raidehaka.
4 Megasth. I, 53 : ουκ εξεστι δε γαμείο εξ άλλου μερους, η προαιρεσεις ή
τεκυας μετακειζεσθαι, οίου στρατίτωηυ όυτα γεωργείε, η τεκυίτης όυτα φιγοσοφείς
*5 Grāmabhrilaka (Arth. pp. 46 and 246).
6 The terms are kāru, çil pin, vaidehaka, adhyaksha, and yukta.
7 Megasth, writes (I, 7) : είναι δ' αύτούς συμβαίνει και πρός τάς τεκυας
επoίτημοηυας.
8 Chikitsaka, knçilava, gāyana and vādaka, nața, or nartaka, and ganaka ; also
vāyjirin, 'crier' (? ).
Creņimukhya (Hopkins, op. cit. , pp. 81-2 ; Fick, Die Sociale Gliederung,
pp. 166–8).
10 Arth. p. 146.
11 Arth. 40 (sūträdhyaksha).
9
## p. 431 (#469) ############################################
XIX]
TRADE
431
Permanent associations in civil life include trader and merchant
guilds (creņi) and clubs (pūga)' ; but there were also temporary combina-
tions of workmen and others engaged under corporate responsibility for
the execution of contracts. Collective obstruction was known and
ponalised.
Trade was active, various, and minutely regulated. The precious
wares comprise many species of gold, silver, spices, and cosmetics from
all parts of India ; jewels, including pearls from Southern India, Ceylon,
and beyond the sea ; skins from Central Asia and China ; muslin, cotton,
and silk from China and Further India. The best horses, came, as now,
from the Indus countries and beyond. The merchant was mulcted in dues
at the frontier, by road-taxes and tolls, and by octroi at the gates of the
cities, where the royal officials maintained a douane and watch-house ;
he was required to be armed with a passport”, and severe penalties were
attached to malpractices in connexion therewith. The officials record in
writing 'who the merchants are, whence they come, with what merchandise,
and where it has been vise'd. ' The country produce also was subject to
octroi upon entry, and, to ensure that nothing might escape, there were
prohibitions of purchase in part or in bulk at the place of origin in farms,
orchards, and gardense. The amount and price of all goods was declared,
and the sale was by auction, any enhancement accruing to the treasury.
Combinations to affect prices were punishable'; an army of spies was
engaged on the routes in order to detect false declarations. The prices
of ordinary goods were fixed and proclaimed daily by the officials'l.
Similarly all weights and measures were subject to inspection12. There were
export, as well as import duties and octrois, and certain classes of goods
were forbidden to be introduced or sent abroad respectively. The king
himself was a great trader, disposing of the output of his factories, work-
shops, and prisons, and the produce of his lands, forests, and mines, for
which he maintained store-houses (koshthāgāra) through the country13. In
particular he reserved the right of coining and other work in silver and
1 A pūge is defined as ‘an association of different castes and unspecified
profession for purposes of business or pleasure. ' On çreņi see Hopkins, op. cit.
pp. 81– 2 ; acc. to Foy, op. cit. p. 14. n. , it was a subdivision of a caste.
Arth. 66 (Sambhūyasamuthāna) ; cf. also 76-7 ; Manu, VIII, 211.
3 Ibid. p. 204.
For various kinds of merchandise, see Hopkins, op. cit. p. 91 n.
One fifth of the value acc. to Arth. 40.
çulkasthana, ghaţikashthāna (ibid. p. 110).
mudra (ibid. 52).
$ Ibid. 40.
Ibid. p. 204.
Ibid. pp. 111. 2.
11 Hopkins, op. cit. p. 130 n. Every five days or every fortnight acc. to Manu,
VIII, 401-2
12 Arth. 37 (Tulamana potava).
13 Manu, VIII, 399; Kohler, Altindisches Prozessrechi, p. 54 ; Foy, op. 6
pp. 51. 2, 61 ; Jolly, op. cit. , pp. 110-1. The king's trade. agent is rājavaidehaka.
2
4
5
6
7
9
10
## p. 432 (#470) ############################################
432
[ch.
THE MAURYA EMPIRE
>
gold, which was executed by his officials on behalf of those who brought
their raw metall.
The state of society corresponding to his activity of trade, to the
traffic on high roads (rāja patha 'routes royales') and by-roads (baạik patha
'merchant roads'), the bustle at frontiers, ferries , tolls, and city-gates, and
to the minute regulation of all these, must have been one of considerable
complexity. Nor do we lack the means, literary or illustrative, of becom-
ing in part acquainted with it. Besides the statements of the Greek
writers, we may gather abundant material from the Päli books of the
Buddhist canon? , from the Arthaçāstra and the code of Manu, from
Patañjali's commentary upon the grammar of Pāṇini, and from the
Rāmāyana and Māhābhārata ; while the Buddhist stupas of Sānchi and
Bhārhut supply ocular demonstrations of much that is recorded in the
literature. But from this material large deductions must be made : the
Sanskrit Epics, and in a less degree the books of the Pāli canon, reflect
the circumstances of an earlier period—irrespective of the actual dates of
composition and we run the risk of confusing conditions as widely
-
different as those of the Homeric, the Solonian, and the Periclean age in
Greece. If we seek to elicit the special features of the Maurya epoch, we
shall mark first of all the growth of luxury consequent upon the rise of
the great Magadha empire in the east : in the Punjab, no doubt, in spite
of the effeminacy which the Greeks observed in the court of Porus, the
old tribal system was still prevalent. There the actual cultivator would
still be a man of the three upper classes, while in the east he was generally
a Çūdra. It is to this period, no doubt, that we must ascribe the great
complexity of the caste system, and the beginning of the association of
caste with craft. It seems not doubtful that a number of castes did arise,
according to the Brāhman theory, by intermixtures of the old four
divisions, which still formed the basis : a process natural in itself, when
intermarriage between the different classes was still licit, and certain to
be specifically noted, while it is evidenced not only by the testimony of
theological works, but also by so worldly a treatise as the Art haçāstra.
But it is only in a few cases that we find a particular occupation assigned
to a particular castes.
In another respect the old system of caste had received a shock.
To the contemporaries of Buddha and Mahavira the conception of a king
who was not of the Kshatriya order would have seemed preposterous. But
the Mauryas were of low extraction, as were the Nandas whom they
succeeded. Henceforth the spectacle of the low-born man in power was
never a rarity in India ; and soon it was the foreigner. The vast empire,
1 Arth. 31-2.
2 See Chapter VIII, and Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, III. VI.
3 Arth. 60.
## p. 433 (#471) ############################################
XIX)
DOMESTIC LIFE
433
with its army of official and spies, introduced a bureaucratic rule in
place of the old quasifeudal system.
Foreign influences also begin to assert themselves. In the stone
architecture, which replaces wood in public monuments, as also in the
style of the edicts of Açoka we have clear evidence of intercourse with
Persia, which must necessarily have begun well before the fourth century.
and this advance in art affected religion also by its encouragement of
image-worship.
As regards daily life, we find the public side of it sufficiently gay.
The people were frugal in their diet, and sober, except on occasion of
festivals. The chief display of luxury was in dress? . The inus, hostelries,
eating-houses, serais, and gaming-houses are evidently numerous ; sects
and crafts have perhaps their meeting places and the latter their public
dinners. The business of entertainment provides a livelihood for various
classes of dancers, singers, and actors. Even the villages are visited by
them, and the author of the Arthaçāstra is inclined to discourage the
existence of a common hall used for their shows as too great a distraction
from the life of the home and the fields. At the same time there are
penalties for refusal to assist in organising public entertainment. The
king provides in amphitheatres constructed for the occasion dramatic,
boxing, and other contests of men and animals, and also spectacles with
displays of pictured objects of curiosity? - no doubt the private showman
with his pictures of Hades, etc. , was also active -; and not seldom
the streets were lighted up for festivals and it was not penal to stir abroad.
Then there were also the royal processions, when His Majesty went forth
to view his city or to hunt.
In domestic life the joint family system prevails : but it can be
dissolved. Boy and girl attain their majority at the age of sixteen and of
twelve respectively. ' Adoption -- legitimated by the king-is common.
There are the four regular and four irregular forms of marriage, which is
dissoluble by mutual consent or prolonged absence. 10 The wife has
1 See Chapters XIV, pp. 294, 305 ; XXVI ; Fergusson, Hist. of Indian and
Eastern Architecture, index, 8. v. Persepolitan Capitals; Vincent Smith, History of
Fine Art in India and Ceylon, pp. 58 sqq. ; Grunwedel Buddhistische Kunst in Indian,
pp. 16 sqq. and Ch. II.
2 Konow. Ind. Ant. , 1909, pp. 145. 9.
3 Megasth. XXVII, 8-9.
4 Arth. 56.
5 Hopkins, op. cit. pr. 118, 176.
6 Arth, 19 (p. 48).
7 See Hardy in Album Kern, pp. 61. 6, and AÇoka's Rock Edict, IV; also Minu,
IX, 84 and 223, and Hopkins, op. cit. pp, 124-5.
8 Megasth. ΧΧVΙΙ, 16. 7 : έτερα δ' εοίτυη επί τας θυσίας 'έξοδος" τρίτη δ'
επί θηραυ βαλκι'η τις Cf. Hopkins, op. cit. pp. 119-20.
9 Arth. p. 154.
10 Concerning marriage seo Arth. 59. Manu, IX, 76 (absence); IX, 97 (bride-gift).
## p. 434 (#472) ############################################
434
[сн.
THE MAURYA EMPIRE
a
>
her dowry and her ornaments, sometimes also her bride-gift, which are her
private property and to a certain extent at her disposal in case of widow-
hood. Ill- usage on either side is punishable. Upon failure of male
issue the husband may after a certain period take other wives (of any class);
but he is required to render justice to all ; on the other hand, a widow is at
liberty to marry again. Orphans are under the guardianship of their
relatives'. The poor and helpless old, and in particular the families
of soldiers and workmen dying during their employment, are regarded
as deserving the king's care? . Concerning the gaạikās or public women,
who were the king's servants, and whose practice and rights were subject to
minute regulation, the Greek writers have told us enough? Offences
against women of all kinds are severely visited, including the actions
of officials in charge of workshops and prisons ; and their various impru-
dences and lapses are subject to a gradation of fines and penalties'.
Refractory wives may be beaten (Manu, VIII, 229).
termined. It is to Megasthenes that the classical peoples were indebted for
nearly all the precise information which they have transmitted concerning
the Indian peoples.
According to Justin (xv, 4) the rule of Chandragupta was oppressive;
but the judgment is not supported by details or by Indian evidence. The
consensus of Sanskrit writings on policy discountenances excessive leniency,
and insists upon the retributory function of the ruler, who in maintaining
order and protecting weakness should not shrink from severity ; while in
time of need he is entitled to call upon his people to bear 'like strong bulls'
a considerable burden of taxation? . The duration of the reign is stated
by the Purāņas, in agreement with the Buddhist books, at twenty-four
years. It would be uncritical, however, to regard these testimonies as from
the beginning independent, or to attach any special credence to the exact,
figure. Moreover, the initial date is uncertain, the Jains presenting a
date equivalent to 313 (312) B. C. , while the Buddhists of Ceylon give 321,
and the Brāhman writings withhold any reference to a fixed era. It would
1 See Chapter XVII, p. 387 That Seleucus made no great headway against
Chandragupta is proved at length by Schwanbeck, op. cit. pp. 11-19, where the
authorities are discussed. The surrender of the Kabul valley is also indicated by Strabo,
XV, I, 10 and 2, 9 : see also Lassen, De Pentapotamiu Indica (Bonn, 1827), p. 42.
2 Arrian, V,6. 1: Μεγαοθ'ευη8, δε ξυυηυμευ Σιβυρτιωτω Σατράπη της’ Αρακωσίας
πολλάλει δε λεγει αφιλεσθαι παρα Σαυδράkoττου του Ιυδων βασιλεα, «Megasthenese,
who lived indeed with Sibyrtius, the Satrap of Arachosia, but several times, us
he
states, arrived at the presence of Sandracottus, the king of the Indians. The view of
Schwanbeck (p. 33) and Lassen (ed. 1, p. 209, n. 3 ; but rejected in ed. 2, p. 219, n. 1),
who think this statement consistent with several interviews in the course of a single
mission, soems untenable : açıkécou could hardly bear that sense.
3 Mbh. XII, 87, 33, and ch. 121 ; cf. 130, 36 ; Hopkins, J. A. O. S , XIII, pp. 116,
1 35 6.
S
:
## p. 426 (#464) ############################################
426
(CH.
CHANDRAGUPTA
be idle to dwell further upon a matter of so much uncertainty. Our
defective knowledge of the chronology is in striking contrast to the trust-
worthy information which we possess concerning the country and its
administration.
The extent of the dominions of Chandragupta has already been
stated. But his authority cannot have been everywhere exercised in the
same manner or the same measure. Indian conquerors do not for the
most part displace the rulers whom they subdue, nor was the example of
Alexander in India to the contrary. Accordingly we may assume that the
empire of Chandragupta included feudatory kingdoms ; and even the
presence of his viceroys would not necessarily imply, for example in Taxila
or Ujjain, the extinction of the local dynasty. It has been acutely remarked
by Lassen' that in a number of cases Megasthenese states the military power
of particular provinces ; and he infers that these are instances of inde-
pendent rule. The inference may have been carried too far ; but it has an
undeniable validity as regards the kingdoms south of the Vindhya
mentioned by Megasthenes, namely the Andhras and Kalingas, as well as
their western neighbours the Bhojas, Petenikas, and Rishtikas, who all
down to the time of Chandragupta's grandson Açoka remained outside the
regular administration, The districts beyond the Indus, Gandhāra,
Arachosia, and Kābul were similarly frontier states.
1 Op. cit. II, pp. 219-20.
## p. 427 (#465) ############################################
CHAPTER XIX
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ORGANISATION OF THE
MAURYA EMPIRE
a
CONCERNING the condition and organisation of the vast Maurya
empire the Greeks have provided us with a considerable body of valuable
information : and, as the Arthaçāstra furnishes the means of describing the
coniplete polity existing at the time, its land system, its fiscal system, its
administrative system, its law, its social system, with some view of litera-
ture and religion, we shall not forgo the opportunity, so rare in Indian
history-we must wait for the time of Akbar and the Ā'in-i-Akbari-of
dwelling a little on the picture.
As regards the land itself, we may distinguish the forest, the pasture
or grazing ground, and the cultivated area. The forests must have been
much more extensive than at present, and they clearly comprised both
relatively inaccessible tracts inhabited by wild unsubdued tribes and others
which were within the reach of the administration, visited by trappers and
hunters, utilised for raw material, reserved for elephant-grounds, state
hunting-grounds, parks, and Brāhman settlements. The pasture must have
included both large spaces (vivita) occupied by the nomad, tent-dwelling?
ranchers, who were the direct descendants of the old Vedic tribes, and
also more restricted areas in the neighbourhood of the villages. The latter,
which then as now were the main feature of the country, had their definite
boundaries, their village halls, - no doubt representing the forts of ancient
times, -and their independent internal economy. Less, if at all, organised
were the stations (ghosha)", or hamlets which formed the headquarters of
the ranching class.
1 For references to the chapters or pages of the Arthaçāstra which deal with the
main topics discussed in this chapter, see the Sanskrit text.
2 Megasthenes, Ι, 47 : πολίυ μευη kωμης ούκ οίκουσί, σκηίτη δε βίω Χρωυται.
3 Hopkins, J. A. 0. 9. XIII, pp. 79-80, 82-3, The Four Castes, p. 15. In the
Arthaſa8'ra (p. 7) also the Vaiçva seems to be connected with cattle. So in Manu (eg.
VIII, 88 and 410) and Müh. (XII, 60, 25).
4 Hopkins, op. cit. p. 77.
>
427
## p. 428 (#466) ############################################
428
[CH,
THE MAURYA EMPIRE
8
Apart from the royal domains, which must have been considerable,
the ultimate property in the land appertained, in the sense which has since
prevailed, to the king! : that is to say, the king was entitled to his
revenues therefrom, and in default could replace the cultivator in his
holding. This does not preclude alienation or subdivision by the occupier,
the royal title persisting through each change. It was the king's business to
organise the agricultural productivity by encouraging the surplus popula-
tion to settle new or abandoned tracts. 3 Irrigation was an object of great
solicitude and naturally under the charge of the state, which regulated the
supply of water and derived revenue therefrom. *
The bulk of the population consisted of actual cultivators, and
Megasthenes remarks that their avocation was to such a degree defined (by
the rule of castel that they might be seen peacefully pursuing it in
the sight of contending armies. The higher classes in the country had not
a landowning, but an official, qualification, being entitled for their
maintenance to a defined portion of the revenue. This corresponds to the
jāgir system of Musalmān times. The assignment might be the revenue of
an estate, a village, a town, or according to circumstances. On a minor
scale the same principle was applied to the ranching class, which received
for maintenance a proportion of the stock. ?
Roads were constructed by the royal officers, and at intervals of
'ten stades' were sign-boards noting turnings and distances. The Greeks
make special mention of the royal route' from the N. W. frontier to
Pātaliputra. ' Communications were maintained by couriers, while in
the woods roamed trappers and forest-rangers10.
Towns were numerous, in so much that the Greeks report as many as
two thousand placed under the rule of Porus, and Megasthenes ascribes
some thirty to the Andhra country alone. 11 They ranged from the
market town (samgrahaņa), serving the uses of ten villages, through
the country towns (khārvațaka and droņamukha at a river's mouth) for 200
1 Megasthenes, 1, 46 : της δε χωρας μισθούς τελουσι τω βασιλει δια τσ πασαν
του Ιυδιλης βασιλιλιου ειναι ιδιωτη δε μηδευγηυεξείναι κεκτησθει κερις δε της
μισωσεως τετάρτην ε'ι8 το βασιλικόυ τελουσι; cf. Hopkins, J. A. O. S. ΧΙΙΙ. pp. 87-8.
2 Arth. 19 (p. 47); cf. W. Foy, Die konigliche Gewalt, pp. 58-9 ; Jolly, Recht und
Sitte, p. 93.
Çünyaniveçana (Hopkins, op. cit. p. 127 n. and A'th. 19 ad init).
4 Megasth. XXXIV, 1; see Chapter XVI, p. 375, and infra, p. 393.
5 Megasth. I, 14 : παρά δε τουτοις των γεωυργου Ιερων και ασυλου
εωμευωυ
οι πλησίου των τάξεων γεωργουυτες αυεπκίσθητοι των κινδύνων εί' σίυ; cf. 1,44, The
Mahābhārata (e. g. XII, 69, 38 sqq. ) qualifies this picture in practice ; see Hopkins,
op. cit. p. 185.
6 For details see Manu, VII, 118-9 ; Hopkins, op. cit. p. 84.
7 Arth. 46 : Mbh. XII, 60, 24 : Hopkins, op. cit. p. 83.
8 Megasth, XXXIV, 3. 9 lbid. IV, 3.
10 Arth. 52-3.
11 LVI, 10. In XXVI the towns are too numerous for counting.
:
3
## p. 429 (#467) ############################################
XIX]
THE LAND
429
As we
or 400 villages, the provincial capital (sthāniya or Thānā), the great
city (nagara, pura) or port (paļtana) to the royal capital (rājadhāni),
all provided with defences of varying solidity. There were also forts
on the frontiers or in special situations, such as in the middle of lakes or
swamps, hidden in forests, or perched on heights.
The art of fortification was well understood.
can learn
from the Greek and native descriptions, and as we can see depicted on the
monuments of Sānchi and Bhārhut, the great cities were provided
with ditches, ramparts, and walls of earth, wood or brick", having battle-
ments, towers, covered ways, salient angles, water-gates, and portcullises,
with a wide street running round the interior face. There were guard-
houses for troops (gulma) in the different quarters. In principle the towns
were of rectangular shape and divided into four regions, each under
a special official and composed of wards. The houses were generally
of wood, and of two three storeys, the more splendid ones including
several courts, one behind the other. There were royal palaces, workshops,
store-houses, arsenals, and prisons. The streets were provided with
watercourses draining the houses and issuing into the moat : against
misuse of them, or of the cemeteries outside ; by deposit of rubbish or dead
bodies, by loosing animals. by conveyances not under proper charge,
by funerals conducted through irregular ways or at unlawful hours,
penalties are laid down. The houses were forbidden to have windows over-
looking each other, except across the street. The precautions against fire
included the provision of vessels of water 'in thousands' in the street: every
householder must sleep in the forepart of his dwelling, and he is under the
obligation of rendering assistance in case of fire, while arson is punished by
burning alive. The trumpet sounds the beginning and end of the nocturnal
interval, during which, except on special occasions, none must stir
a broad. Approach to the guard-houses and palaces is prohibited, as also
is music at unseasonable times. The city chief reports all incidents, and
takes charge of lost and ownerless property.
The imperial capital Pātaliputra or Kusumapura, the Palibothra of
the Greeks, which was situated on the south side of the Ganges, to the
east of its confluence with the Son, is described by Megasthenes (v. sup.
Chapter xvi, p. 369). Its ruins lie for the most part under the modern
1 On these distinctions see Arth. p. 46 ; Manu, VII, 70-5 ; Moh. XII, 86, 5; and
Hopkins, op. cit. pp. 76-7.
2 Hopkins. op. cit. pp. 177-8 n.
3 Megasth. XXVI ; Hopkins op. cit. pp. 174 sqq.
4 See the platos in Maisey's Sanchi and Cunningham's Stupa of Barhut.
The Sanskrit terms are antah pura (or niçānta), karmānta (-āgāra), koshțhāgāra,
ayudhāgāra, bandhanāgāra.
6 Chărarātrī, 'nights of free movement (Arth. 26, p. 146).
3
## p. 430 (#468) ############################################
430
[ch.
THE MAURYA EMPIRE
city of Patna-Bankipore ; and part of its ancient rampart has been found
in situl.
The population, as we learn from Megasthenes? in agreement with
the indications of the Arthaçāstra, consisted of seven classes, which have
been already particularised; there was no transference from one class to
another (except that the philosophers, i. e. the Brāhmans, might in case of
adversity adopt any profession), nor was marriage between them allowed".
These distinctions of function correspond only partially to those of easte,
which in fact must have been already much more complicated ; and they
take no note of special cases, such as riverine and maritime populations.
In the country, except where undertakings such as mines and other
works created exceptional conditions, the second and third classes, the
husbandmen and the neatherds and shepherds, must have predominated ;
the village servants such as the potter, the blacksmith, the carpenter, the
barber, would belong to the third. In the towns we hear of labourers,
craftsmen, traders, inspectors, and officialsø. The crafts are numerous? ,
especially those dealing with the precious metals and with the textiles. The
professions include the doctor, the actor, singer and rhapsodist, the dancer,
and the soothsayer. The traders are partly state officials in charge of
royal merchandise, or in superintendence of matters connected with prices
and sales, partly actual shopkeepers or travelling merchants ; and not rare
among both classes was the rich creshthin, or seth, who was an important
social factor, and, if a leader in his guild, received official recognition'.
In the workshops and the prisons (the latter periodically emptied ! ) artisans
were engaged on contract or in penal tasks ; and there is a 'spinning house'
for the labour of widows and other helpless or unfortunate women'l.
1 Waddell, Report on the Excavations at Pataliputra (Calcutta, 1903), Spooner,
Ann. Rep. of the Arch. Sur. of India, 1912-3, pp. 55 61.
I, 40-53 ; cf. Arrian, Indica XI-XII.
3 See Chapter XVI, pp. 367-69. The equivalent terms in Greek and Sanskrit are :
(1) Qil. copor, copigai = Brahmaņa çramaņa, (2) yeoproi=karshaka, (3) Boukóros,
TOTUEUES, VouEES, Onpeutai=gopala çragaņin, vāgurika, mārgāyuka, (4) ,
TI02euictai=bhaſa, (5) oul Boval, ouvedpol=mantrin,amātya,mahāmātra, (6)soopoi,
erickotol=partivedaka, adhyaksha, sattrin, (7) texuítai, druioupyoi, kathtoi-käru,
cilpin, raidehaka.
4 Megasth. I, 53 : ουκ εξεστι δε γαμείο εξ άλλου μερους, η προαιρεσεις ή
τεκυας μετακειζεσθαι, οίου στρατίτωηυ όυτα γεωργείε, η τεκυίτης όυτα φιγοσοφείς
*5 Grāmabhrilaka (Arth. pp. 46 and 246).
6 The terms are kāru, çil pin, vaidehaka, adhyaksha, and yukta.
7 Megasth, writes (I, 7) : είναι δ' αύτούς συμβαίνει και πρός τάς τεκυας
επoίτημοηυας.
8 Chikitsaka, knçilava, gāyana and vādaka, nața, or nartaka, and ganaka ; also
vāyjirin, 'crier' (? ).
Creņimukhya (Hopkins, op. cit. , pp. 81-2 ; Fick, Die Sociale Gliederung,
pp. 166–8).
10 Arth. p. 146.
11 Arth. 40 (sūträdhyaksha).
9
## p. 431 (#469) ############################################
XIX]
TRADE
431
Permanent associations in civil life include trader and merchant
guilds (creņi) and clubs (pūga)' ; but there were also temporary combina-
tions of workmen and others engaged under corporate responsibility for
the execution of contracts. Collective obstruction was known and
ponalised.
Trade was active, various, and minutely regulated. The precious
wares comprise many species of gold, silver, spices, and cosmetics from
all parts of India ; jewels, including pearls from Southern India, Ceylon,
and beyond the sea ; skins from Central Asia and China ; muslin, cotton,
and silk from China and Further India. The best horses, came, as now,
from the Indus countries and beyond. The merchant was mulcted in dues
at the frontier, by road-taxes and tolls, and by octroi at the gates of the
cities, where the royal officials maintained a douane and watch-house ;
he was required to be armed with a passport”, and severe penalties were
attached to malpractices in connexion therewith. The officials record in
writing 'who the merchants are, whence they come, with what merchandise,
and where it has been vise'd. ' The country produce also was subject to
octroi upon entry, and, to ensure that nothing might escape, there were
prohibitions of purchase in part or in bulk at the place of origin in farms,
orchards, and gardense. The amount and price of all goods was declared,
and the sale was by auction, any enhancement accruing to the treasury.
Combinations to affect prices were punishable'; an army of spies was
engaged on the routes in order to detect false declarations. The prices
of ordinary goods were fixed and proclaimed daily by the officials'l.
Similarly all weights and measures were subject to inspection12. There were
export, as well as import duties and octrois, and certain classes of goods
were forbidden to be introduced or sent abroad respectively. The king
himself was a great trader, disposing of the output of his factories, work-
shops, and prisons, and the produce of his lands, forests, and mines, for
which he maintained store-houses (koshthāgāra) through the country13. In
particular he reserved the right of coining and other work in silver and
1 A pūge is defined as ‘an association of different castes and unspecified
profession for purposes of business or pleasure. ' On çreņi see Hopkins, op. cit.
pp. 81– 2 ; acc. to Foy, op. cit. p. 14. n. , it was a subdivision of a caste.
Arth. 66 (Sambhūyasamuthāna) ; cf. also 76-7 ; Manu, VIII, 211.
3 Ibid. p. 204.
For various kinds of merchandise, see Hopkins, op. cit. p. 91 n.
One fifth of the value acc. to Arth. 40.
çulkasthana, ghaţikashthāna (ibid. p. 110).
mudra (ibid. 52).
$ Ibid. 40.
Ibid. p. 204.
Ibid. pp. 111. 2.
11 Hopkins, op. cit. p. 130 n. Every five days or every fortnight acc. to Manu,
VIII, 401-2
12 Arth. 37 (Tulamana potava).
13 Manu, VIII, 399; Kohler, Altindisches Prozessrechi, p. 54 ; Foy, op. 6
pp. 51. 2, 61 ; Jolly, op. cit. , pp. 110-1. The king's trade. agent is rājavaidehaka.
2
4
5
6
7
9
10
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432
[ch.
THE MAURYA EMPIRE
>
gold, which was executed by his officials on behalf of those who brought
their raw metall.
The state of society corresponding to his activity of trade, to the
traffic on high roads (rāja patha 'routes royales') and by-roads (baạik patha
'merchant roads'), the bustle at frontiers, ferries , tolls, and city-gates, and
to the minute regulation of all these, must have been one of considerable
complexity. Nor do we lack the means, literary or illustrative, of becom-
ing in part acquainted with it. Besides the statements of the Greek
writers, we may gather abundant material from the Päli books of the
Buddhist canon? , from the Arthaçāstra and the code of Manu, from
Patañjali's commentary upon the grammar of Pāṇini, and from the
Rāmāyana and Māhābhārata ; while the Buddhist stupas of Sānchi and
Bhārhut supply ocular demonstrations of much that is recorded in the
literature. But from this material large deductions must be made : the
Sanskrit Epics, and in a less degree the books of the Pāli canon, reflect
the circumstances of an earlier period—irrespective of the actual dates of
composition and we run the risk of confusing conditions as widely
-
different as those of the Homeric, the Solonian, and the Periclean age in
Greece. If we seek to elicit the special features of the Maurya epoch, we
shall mark first of all the growth of luxury consequent upon the rise of
the great Magadha empire in the east : in the Punjab, no doubt, in spite
of the effeminacy which the Greeks observed in the court of Porus, the
old tribal system was still prevalent. There the actual cultivator would
still be a man of the three upper classes, while in the east he was generally
a Çūdra. It is to this period, no doubt, that we must ascribe the great
complexity of the caste system, and the beginning of the association of
caste with craft. It seems not doubtful that a number of castes did arise,
according to the Brāhman theory, by intermixtures of the old four
divisions, which still formed the basis : a process natural in itself, when
intermarriage between the different classes was still licit, and certain to
be specifically noted, while it is evidenced not only by the testimony of
theological works, but also by so worldly a treatise as the Art haçāstra.
But it is only in a few cases that we find a particular occupation assigned
to a particular castes.
In another respect the old system of caste had received a shock.
To the contemporaries of Buddha and Mahavira the conception of a king
who was not of the Kshatriya order would have seemed preposterous. But
the Mauryas were of low extraction, as were the Nandas whom they
succeeded. Henceforth the spectacle of the low-born man in power was
never a rarity in India ; and soon it was the foreigner. The vast empire,
1 Arth. 31-2.
2 See Chapter VIII, and Rhys Davids, Buddhist India, III. VI.
3 Arth. 60.
## p. 433 (#471) ############################################
XIX)
DOMESTIC LIFE
433
with its army of official and spies, introduced a bureaucratic rule in
place of the old quasifeudal system.
Foreign influences also begin to assert themselves. In the stone
architecture, which replaces wood in public monuments, as also in the
style of the edicts of Açoka we have clear evidence of intercourse with
Persia, which must necessarily have begun well before the fourth century.
and this advance in art affected religion also by its encouragement of
image-worship.
As regards daily life, we find the public side of it sufficiently gay.
The people were frugal in their diet, and sober, except on occasion of
festivals. The chief display of luxury was in dress? . The inus, hostelries,
eating-houses, serais, and gaming-houses are evidently numerous ; sects
and crafts have perhaps their meeting places and the latter their public
dinners. The business of entertainment provides a livelihood for various
classes of dancers, singers, and actors. Even the villages are visited by
them, and the author of the Arthaçāstra is inclined to discourage the
existence of a common hall used for their shows as too great a distraction
from the life of the home and the fields. At the same time there are
penalties for refusal to assist in organising public entertainment. The
king provides in amphitheatres constructed for the occasion dramatic,
boxing, and other contests of men and animals, and also spectacles with
displays of pictured objects of curiosity? - no doubt the private showman
with his pictures of Hades, etc. , was also active -; and not seldom
the streets were lighted up for festivals and it was not penal to stir abroad.
Then there were also the royal processions, when His Majesty went forth
to view his city or to hunt.
In domestic life the joint family system prevails : but it can be
dissolved. Boy and girl attain their majority at the age of sixteen and of
twelve respectively. ' Adoption -- legitimated by the king-is common.
There are the four regular and four irregular forms of marriage, which is
dissoluble by mutual consent or prolonged absence. 10 The wife has
1 See Chapters XIV, pp. 294, 305 ; XXVI ; Fergusson, Hist. of Indian and
Eastern Architecture, index, 8. v. Persepolitan Capitals; Vincent Smith, History of
Fine Art in India and Ceylon, pp. 58 sqq. ; Grunwedel Buddhistische Kunst in Indian,
pp. 16 sqq. and Ch. II.
2 Konow. Ind. Ant. , 1909, pp. 145. 9.
3 Megasth. XXVII, 8-9.
4 Arth. 56.
5 Hopkins, op. cit. pr. 118, 176.
6 Arth, 19 (p. 48).
7 See Hardy in Album Kern, pp. 61. 6, and AÇoka's Rock Edict, IV; also Minu,
IX, 84 and 223, and Hopkins, op. cit. pp, 124-5.
8 Megasth. ΧΧVΙΙ, 16. 7 : έτερα δ' εοίτυη επί τας θυσίας 'έξοδος" τρίτη δ'
επί θηραυ βαλκι'η τις Cf. Hopkins, op. cit. pp. 119-20.
9 Arth. p. 154.
10 Concerning marriage seo Arth. 59. Manu, IX, 76 (absence); IX, 97 (bride-gift).
## p. 434 (#472) ############################################
434
[сн.
THE MAURYA EMPIRE
a
>
her dowry and her ornaments, sometimes also her bride-gift, which are her
private property and to a certain extent at her disposal in case of widow-
hood. Ill- usage on either side is punishable. Upon failure of male
issue the husband may after a certain period take other wives (of any class);
but he is required to render justice to all ; on the other hand, a widow is at
liberty to marry again. Orphans are under the guardianship of their
relatives'. The poor and helpless old, and in particular the families
of soldiers and workmen dying during their employment, are regarded
as deserving the king's care? . Concerning the gaạikās or public women,
who were the king's servants, and whose practice and rights were subject to
minute regulation, the Greek writers have told us enough? Offences
against women of all kinds are severely visited, including the actions
of officials in charge of workshops and prisons ; and their various impru-
dences and lapses are subject to a gradation of fines and penalties'.
Refractory wives may be beaten (Manu, VIII, 229).
