Mauryan Empire: Disintegration of the Empire | History Optional for UPSC (Notes) PDF Download

The Factors Behind the Decline of the Mauryan Empire

Brahmanical Reaction:

• The rise of Buddhism and Ashoka's anti-sacrifice stance negatively impacted the Brahmanas, who depended on gifts from various sacrifices.
• Despite Ashoka's tolerant approach, the Brahmanas harbored resentment towards him, preferring policies that favored their interests and privileges.
• Many new kingdoms emerging from the Mauryan Empire's remnants were led by Brahmanas, such as the Sungas and Kanvas in Madhya Pradesh, and the Satavahanas in the Deccan and Andhra.
• These Brahmana dynasties revived Vedic sacrifices that Ashoka had abandoned.

Financial Crisis:

• The Mauryan Empire faced a financial crisis due to the high costs of maintaining a vast army and a large bureaucracy.
• Despite imposing heavy taxes, sustaining such a large administrative structure became challenging.
• Ashoka's significant donations to Buddhist monks depleted the royal treasury, forcing the Mauryas to melt down gold images to cover expenses.
• The expenses related to establishing settlements on newly cleared land also strained the treasury, especially since early settlers were exempt from taxes.

Oppressive Rule:

• The oppressive governance in provinces contributed to the empire's disintegration.
• During Bindusara's reign, the citizens of Taxila complained about the misrule of corrupt bureaucrats (Dushtamatyas). Their complaints led to Ashoka's appointment as the viceroy of Taxila.
• However, when Ashoka became emperor, similar complaints arose from Taxila.
• Ashoka's Kalinga edicts reveal his concern about provincial oppression, prompting him to instruct the Mahamatras not to mistreat townsfolk without cause.
• He also implemented the rotation of officers in places like Torali (in Kalinga), Ujjain, and Taxila.
• Despite these measures, oppression persisted in distant provinces, and after Ashoka's retirement, Taxila seized the chance to rebel against the empire.

The Partition of the Empire:

• Following Ashoka's death, the Mauryan Empire divided into western and eastern parts, weakening its structure.
• Kalhana, in his historical account Rajatarangini, notes that after Ashoka's demise, his son Jalauka ruled Kashmir independently.
• This division made the empire vulnerable to invasions from the northwest.

Highly Centralized Administration

• Historian Romila Thapar believes that the highly centralized administration established by the Mauryas became problematic under the later Mauryan kings, who lacked the administrative efficiency of their predecessors.
• Powerful rulers like Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka effectively managed the administration. However, weaker successors struggled to maintain control, leading to administrative decline and eventually the empire’s fragmentation.
• The vastness of the Mauryan Empire necessitated a strong central ruler to maintain coherence across its regions. A weakened central authority, coupled with communication challenges, contributed to the rise of independent kingdoms.

Weak Monarchs After Ashoka:

• The successors of Ashoka were weak kings who struggled to govern the vast empire he left behind. After Ashoka, only six kings managed to rule the kingdom for a brief 52 years. The last Maurya king,Brihadratha, was overthrown by his own army commander,Pushyamitra.
• The first three kings of the Mauryan Empire were exceptional leaders, but the later kings did not match the quality and capability of their illustrious ancestors.

Independence of the Provinces:
After Ashoka, the later kings saw a decline in central control over the vast empire, leading to the emergence of various independent kingdoms.

• Jalauka ruled over Kashmir independently.
• Kalinga gained independence.
• Virasena, according to Tibetan sources, ruled Gandhara independently.
• Vidarbha broke away from Magadha.
• A king named Subhagasena(Sophagasanus) began to rule over the north-western provinces independently, as per Greek sources.

Spread of New Material Knowledge in Outlying Areas

As the knowledge of iron tools and weapons spread to peripheral areas, Magadha lost its unique advantage. Based on the material culture acquired from Magadha, new kingdoms like the Shungas and Kanvas in central India, the Chetis in Kalinga, and the Satavahans in the Deccan were founded and developed.

• Internal Revolt: During the reign of Brihadratha, an internal revolt led by his army chief Pushyamitra Shunga occurred around 185 or 186 BCE. Bana, in his work Harshacharita, describes how Shunga killed Brihadratha during an army parade. This event marked the end of Mauryan rule over Magadha and the beginning of the Shunga dynasty.
• Foreign Invasions: During the reign of the first three Mauryan kings, no foreign power attempted to invade India from the north-west due to the fear of the powerful Mauryan army. However, after Ashoka’s death, the kingdom split into two, prompting the Greek king Antiochus to attack India unsuccessfully.

In time, foreign tribes invaded and established their kingdoms in India, notable among them were the Indo-Greeks, the Sakas, and the Kushanas.

Ashoka's Policies

• Some scholars argue that Ashoka's approach of non-violence and pacifism weakened the empire. By ceasing to wage wars, he inadvertently made the kingdom more vulnerable to foreign attacks. 
• Additionally, Ashoka placed significant emphasis and effort on promoting Buddhism, which some believe detracted from other crucial aspects of governance.

Neglect of the North-West Frontier:

• Unlike the Chinese ruler Shih Huang Ti, who built the Great Wall of China around 220 BCE to protect his empire from the Scythians, Ashoka did not take similar protective measures along India's northwestern frontier.
• The Scythians, a nomadic tribe from Central Asia, were often on the move, and their pressure led other groups like the Parthians, Shakas, and Greeks to migrate towards India. The Greeks were the first to invade India in 206 BCE, establishing their kingdom in northern Afghanistan, known as Bactria. This invasion marked the beginning of a series of incursions into India that continued until the start of the Christian era.