Mauryas
By the sixth century BCE sixteen large territorial states included monarchies and gana-sangha republics, each supported by territory, people, government and sovereignty.
Topic article hub
12 bilingual articles
Sixteen Mahajanapadas and Forms of Government
By the sixth century BCE sixteen large territorial states included monarchies and gana-sangha republics, each supported by territory, people, government and sovereignty.
Open article →Magadha: Haryanka, Shishunaga and Nanda Succession
Magadha's resources and strategic position supported the succession from Bimbisara and Ajatashatru through the Shishunagas to the Nandas before Mauryan rule.
Open article →Chandragupta, Seleucus and Bindusara
Chandragupta founded the Mauryan Empire in 321 BCE, extended it to Gujarat, defeated Seleucus and began diplomatic links that Bindusara continued.
Open article →Ashoka: Kalinga War, Dhamma and Edicts
The suffering caused by Ashoka's Kalinga war changed his outlook; dhamma and multilingual rock and pillar edicts carried his ethical policy across the empire.
Open article →Ashoka's Buddhism, Welfare and Mauryan Decline
Ashoka supported Buddhism, religious coexistence, official tours and welfare measures; the later-Maurya sequence helps trace the empire's rapid decline.
Open article →Mauryan State: Sources and Centralisation
Ashoka's edicts, Megasthenes and the prescriptive Arthasastra together reveal a large bureaucracy that balanced uniform imperial rule with decentralised practice.
Open article →Mauryan Provincial, Local and Judicial Administration
Royal princes governed four major provinces, while district, town and village officers linked imperial authority to courts, policing and local elders.
Open article →Mauryan Agriculture, Taxation and State Revenue
Two-crop agriculture and surplus supported the Mauryan economy, while produce shares, taxes, tolls and state monopolies financed administration.
Open article →Mauryan Crafts, Guilds and Manufacturing
Cotton textiles, metalwork, polished stone and luxury goods were produced by hereditary specialists, royal workshops and guilds in Mauryan towns.
Open article →Mauryan Trade Routes, Merchants and Coins
Roads, rivers and sea routes linked internal and overseas trade; caravans, merchant leaders, tolls and silver pana coins supported exchange alongside barter.
Open article →Mauryan Urbanisation and Pataliputra
Agricultural surplus, craft specialization and markets expanded towns, while Pataliputra's walls, gates, towers, moat and civic body show Mauryan urban scale.
Open article →Mauryan Art, Literature and Cultural Life
Polished stone pillars and monuments, grammar and religious literature, music, theatre, jewellery, ivory and woodwork reveal varied Mauryan cultural life.
Open article →Article access
Preview freely, then unlock focused reading
Each permanent article page includes its summary, learning context and sources. Registration unlocks all complete bilingual articles for 24 hours; Annual All Access continues afterward for ₹1,499/year.