Textbook: India during the Maurya Period | History and Civics Class 6 (Maharashtra Board) PDF Download

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7.1  The Greek Emperor Alexander’s  
 invasion
7.2  The Maurya Empire
326 BCE. Crossing the Indus (Sindhu)
river, he reached Takshashila. On the 
way, he met with forceful opposition 
from the local Indian kings. He defeated 
them all and successfully reached the 
Punjab. However, in this invasion, his 
army had to suffer severe hardships. The 
soldiers were eager to go back home. 
They rebelled against Alexander and he 
was forced to turn back. He, therefore, 
appointed Greek officers to administer 
the conquered territories. They were 
called satraps. He started his return 
journey but died on the way back in  
323 BCE at Babylon. Today, Babylon  
is in Iraq.
Alexander’s campaign led to an 
increase in the trade between India and 
the western world. The historians who 
accompanied Alexander introduced India 
to the western world through their 
writings. Greek sculpture influenced 
Indian art, giving rise to the Gandhara 
school of art. The Greek kings minted 
characteristic coins. On one side, the 
coin had a picture of the king who had 
minted the coin and on the other side, a 
picture of a Greek god. The name of the 
king was also written on the coin. 
Alexander’s coins were of the same type. 
7.1 The Greek Emperor Alexander’s  
invasion
Alexander, the Greek emperor, 
invaded India’s northwestern frontier in 
In the 6th century BCE, a king 
named Cyrus had established a vast 
empire in Iran. This empire extended 
from Northwest India to Rome and to 
Egypt in Africa. Around 518 BCE, an 
Iranian Emperor named Daryush had 
conquered the region to the northwest 
of India up to Punjab. Daryush had 
recruited some soldiers from this area 
into his army. We learn about this 
from the writings of Greek historians. 
Political relations between India and 
Iran were established during the reign 
of Emperor Daryush. This led to 
greater exchanges in the fields of 
trade and art. Emperor Daryush had 
introduced a uniform currency called 
‘Darik’ in all parts of his empire. This 
made trading easier. The capital city 
of Persepolis was built during his 
reign. Persepolis is in Iran.
Emperor Alexander
Darik
7. India during the Maurya Period
30
Do you know ?
Page 2


30 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7.1  The Greek Emperor Alexander’s  
 invasion
7.2  The Maurya Empire
326 BCE. Crossing the Indus (Sindhu)
river, he reached Takshashila. On the 
way, he met with forceful opposition 
from the local Indian kings. He defeated 
them all and successfully reached the 
Punjab. However, in this invasion, his 
army had to suffer severe hardships. The 
soldiers were eager to go back home. 
They rebelled against Alexander and he 
was forced to turn back. He, therefore, 
appointed Greek officers to administer 
the conquered territories. They were 
called satraps. He started his return 
journey but died on the way back in  
323 BCE at Babylon. Today, Babylon  
is in Iraq.
Alexander’s campaign led to an 
increase in the trade between India and 
the western world. The historians who 
accompanied Alexander introduced India 
to the western world through their 
writings. Greek sculpture influenced 
Indian art, giving rise to the Gandhara 
school of art. The Greek kings minted 
characteristic coins. On one side, the 
coin had a picture of the king who had 
minted the coin and on the other side, a 
picture of a Greek god. The name of the 
king was also written on the coin. 
Alexander’s coins were of the same type. 
7.1 The Greek Emperor Alexander’s  
invasion
Alexander, the Greek emperor, 
invaded India’s northwestern frontier in 
In the 6th century BCE, a king 
named Cyrus had established a vast 
empire in Iran. This empire extended 
from Northwest India to Rome and to 
Egypt in Africa. Around 518 BCE, an 
Iranian Emperor named Daryush had 
conquered the region to the northwest 
of India up to Punjab. Daryush had 
recruited some soldiers from this area 
into his army. We learn about this 
from the writings of Greek historians. 
Political relations between India and 
Iran were established during the reign 
of Emperor Daryush. This led to 
greater exchanges in the fields of 
trade and art. Emperor Daryush had 
introduced a uniform currency called 
‘Darik’ in all parts of his empire. This 
made trading easier. The capital city 
of Persepolis was built during his 
reign. Persepolis is in Iran.
Emperor Alexander
Darik
7. India during the Maurya Period
30
Do you know ?
31
Later, Indian kings also started minting 
similar coins.
7.2 The Maurya Empire
Chandragupta Maurya : 
Chandragupta Maurya founded the 
Maurya Empire. People were tired of the 
tyrannical rule of the Nanda king of 
Magadha, Dhanananda. Chandragupta 
Maurya brought it to an end  and 
established his own rule in Magadha 
around 325 BCE. He won Avanti and 
Saurashtra and began to extend the 
boundaries of his empire. After 
Alexander’s death, a struggle for power 
began among the satraps he had 
appointed. Seleucus Nicator was 
Alexander’s General. He became the 
King of Babylon after Alexander’s death. 
He invaded the northwest frontier region 
of India and the Punjab. Chandragupta 
Maurya successfully resisted his 
aggression. The defeat of Seleucus 
Nicator led to the inclusion of the 
northwest region of Kabul, Kandahar 
and Herat in the Maurya Empire.
Vishakhadatta, the Sanskrit 
playwright, wrote a play called 
‘Mudrarakshasa’. It relates how 
Chandragupta Maurya defeated 
Dhanananda and established an 
independent power. The plot gives 
special importance to the contribution of 
Arya Chanakya, also known as Kautilya.
Megasthenes, Seleucus  Nicator’s 
ambassador stayed back at Chandragupta 
Maurya’s court. His book ‘Indica’ is an 
important source for the study of India 
during the Maurya period.
There is an inscription stating that 
Emperor Chandragupta Maurya had built 
a dam called ‘Sudarshan’ near Junagadh 
in Gujarat State. 
Alexander’s silver coin - both sides
Emperor Ashoka : After 
Chandragupta renounced the throne, he 
was succeeded by his son Bindusara. 
After Bindusara’s death, his son, Ashoka 
succeeded to the throne in 273 BCE. 
Ashoka had been appointed the Governor 
of Takshashila and Ujjain before  
he came to the throne. As the Governor, 
he had successfully crushed the revolt at 
Takshashila. After becoming the Emperor 
of Magadha, he launched a campaign 
against the State of Kalinga. Kalinga 
occupied the region of today’s Odisha 
State. Emperor Ashoka conquered 
Kalinga. 
Ashoka’s empire extended from 
Afghanistan in the northwest and Nepal 
in the north to Karnataka and Andhra 
Pradesh in the south, and from Bengal 
in the east to Saurashtra in the west.
The Kalinga War : Ashoka was 
deeply moved by the bloodshed of the 
Kalinga war. He decided never to wage 
Do you know ?
According to the Jain tradition, it 
is believed that Chandragupta Maurya 
had accepted the Jain religion. Towards 
the end of his life, he abdicated the 
throne and spent his remaining years 
at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka. 
That was where he breathed his last.
Do you know ?