{"id":3550,"date":"2026-01-04T10:56:23","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T05:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/?p=3550"},"modified":"2026-01-05T11:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T06:15:17","slug":"society-economy-religion-during-the-mauryan-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/society-economy-religion-during-the-mauryan-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Society, Economy &#038; Religion During the Mauryan Era"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>Society and Religion during Mauryans<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong><u>Megasthenes<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0and later Greek authors describe Indian society at the time of Mauryas as being divided into seven distinct groups \u2013\u00a0<strong>philosophers, cultivators, hunters and herders, artisans and traders, overseers (spies) and the king\u2019s counsellors.\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>These occupations were\u00a0<strong>hereditary\u00a0<\/strong>and<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Intermarriage<\/strong>\u00a0between groups was not allowed.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Strabo\u00a0<\/strong>further divided them into the\u00a0<strong>brachmanes\u00a0<\/strong>(Brahmanas) and\u00a0<strong>garmanes<\/strong>\u00a0(shramanas).\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>They were considered\u00a0<strong>public benefactors,<\/strong>\u00a0making prophecies and were exempted from paying taxes.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Religion:<\/strong>\u00a0Chandragupta took recourse to\u00a0<strong>Jainism<\/strong>\u00a0in his later years, and Bindusara favoured the\u00a0<strong><u>Ajivikas<\/u><\/strong>. Asoka adopted Buddhism in his personal life, though he never imposed Buddhism on his subjects.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>Agrarian society<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>The bulk of the population was engaged in agriculture. All accounts speak of the profusion and diversity of crops achieved due to the profitable combination of highly<strong>\u00a0fertile soil, rivers, and plentiful rainfall.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Non-agrarian activities such as<strong>\u00a0the herding of animals<\/strong>\u00a0were practised even within villages.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Kautilya<\/strong>\u00a0even listed animals among the items that were assessed and taxed.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Status of Women:<\/strong>\u00a0Women occupied a<strong>\u00a0high position<\/strong>\u00a0and freedom; and were employed as the King's personal bodyguards.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>They were permitted to\u00a0<strong>divorce or remarry.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Slavery<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>According to<strong>\u00a0Megasthenes,<\/strong>\u00a0there was no concept of slavery in India.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>But some other sources mentioned<strong>\u00a0situations that led to enslavement<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 a person could be a slave either by birth, by voluntarily selling themselves, by being captured in war, or as a result of<strong>\u00a0judicial<\/strong>\u00a0punishment.\u00a0<strong>Kautilya\u00a0<\/strong>also described different kinds of slaves.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Ashokan Major Rock Edict V:<\/strong>\u00a0Concerns about the policy towards<strong>\u00a0slaves.<\/strong>\u00a0He mentions in this rock edict, \"Every Human is my child\".<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Religion:<\/strong>\u00a0Chandragupta took recourse to\u00a0<strong>Jainism<\/strong>\u00a0in his later years, and Bindusara favoured the<strong>\u00a0Ajivikas<\/strong>. Asoka adopted Buddhism in his personal life, though he never imposed Buddhism on his subjects.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>Economy during Mauryans<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Agrarian Economy:<\/strong>\u00a0The settlement of permanent villages was recognised in the\u00a0<strong>Arthashastra\u00a0<\/strong>as a method for expanding the agrarian economy.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>These settlements ensured a sound and stable resource base for the State to extract taxes, and the land tax formed the bulk of it. This process of settlement was called<strong>\u00a0janapadanivesa.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>Agriculture in other areas of the Mauryan State, known as<strong>\u00a0janapada territories,\u00a0<\/strong>was, in all probability, carried on privately.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sita or crown lands:<\/strong>\u00a0In these areas, the King's and the State's rights of possession, cultivation, mortgage and sale were naturally superior.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sitadhyaksa,<\/strong>\u00a0or superintendent of agriculture, supervised the cultivation works here.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Land Revenue<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p>Mauryan rule constitutes a landmark in the history of the improvement of the system of taxation in ancient India.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Samaharta<\/strong>: Collector general of revenue for the Mauryan Empire. He had control over the expenditure part also.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sannidhata:<\/strong>\u00a0Officer-in-charge of the treasury and store.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Bhaga (land tax):<\/strong>\u00a01\/4th of the produce paid by the peasants.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The peasants paid a tax called\u00a0<strong>pindakara<\/strong>\u00a0paid by husbandsmen, which was assessed on groups of villages.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Other taxes were\u00a0<strong>Bali\u00a0<\/strong>and<strong>\u00a0Hiranaya<\/strong>\u00a0(paid in cash).<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Trade<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<p>The Jataka stories frequently refer to caravan traders carrying large quantities of goods to different parts of the country.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Trade routes:<\/strong>\u00a0The main trade routes in northern India were along the Ganges River and the Himalayan foothills.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Megasthenes also talks of a land route connecting the<strong>\u00a0North West\u00a0<\/strong>with Pataliputra.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>In the south, it was connected to Central India and in the South-east to\u00a0<strong>Kalinga.<\/strong>\u00a0This eastern route turned southwards to reach Andhra and Karnataka finally<strong>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\t<li>The overland route to countries of the West went via\u00a0<strong><u>Taxila\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><strong>(near Islamabad).<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Internal trade<\/strong>\u00a0was considerably beneficial because river transport improved once the forests around the Valleys had been cleared under State initiative.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The artisans during the Mauryan period were organised along<strong>\u00a0guidelines.<\/strong>\u00a0The well-known guilds were\u00a0<strong>metallurgists, carpenters, potters, leatherworkers, painters, textile workers<\/strong>\u00a0etc.\r\n\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>The State employed some artisans like armourers, shipbuilders, and stone builders. They were exempt from payment of taxes because they rendered\u00a0<strong>compulsory labour services to the State.\u00a0<\/strong>Other artisans who worked for the State were taxed, like spinners, weavers, miners, etc.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The State's policy, particularly under\u00a0<strong><u>Bindusara<\/u><\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0<strong>Ashoka<\/strong><strong>,<\/strong>\u00a0to have peaceful and friendly relations with the Greeks also gave a fillip to foreign trade.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Panyadhyaksha<\/strong>: Superintendent of commerce whose duty was to fix prices of goods.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Samsthadhyaksa:<\/strong>\u00a0look after the markets and check the unfair practices of the traders.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Pautavadbyaksa<\/strong>: superintendent of weights and measures<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Navadhyaksha:<\/strong>\u00a0facilitated state boats for transport and helped regulate river transport and collect ferry charges.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Sulkadhyaksa:\u00a0<\/strong>superintendent of tolls.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Rajapanya:<\/strong>\u00a0different goods produced by states.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Akaradhyaksa:<\/strong>\u00a0Superintendent of mines<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h2><strong>Reasons for the decline of the Mauryan Empire<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<p>The imperial authority of the Mauryas began to weaken with the death of\u00a0<strong>Ashoka (232 BCE)\u00a0<\/strong>and finally collapsed in 180 BCE.<\/p>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Successors of Ashoka:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>After Ashoka, the empire got\u00a0<strong>fragmented,<\/strong>\u00a0and there was a quick\u00a0<strong>succession of rulers<\/strong>. This weakened the imperial control over the administration.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The quick succession of kings made this difficult, as none of the rulers needed help to settle down and control things.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>These rulers ruled only for a\u00a0<strong>short period<\/strong>\u00a0and, therefore, could not formulate either new governance policies or maintain the old ones.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Other Political factors for disintegration:\u00a0<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li><strong>Dhamma-mahamattas<\/strong>\u00a0(large body of officials of State) had become very powerful and oppressive during the latter half of Ashoka\u2019s reign.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Once the<strong>\u00a0centre became weak,<\/strong>\u00a0the provinces, too, started breaking away.<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Weak rulers for a short duration resulted<\/strong>\u00a0in an overwhelming number of new\u00a0<strong>officials\u00a0<\/strong>constantly emerging and owing only personal loyalty to their respective kings rather than to the State.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>The\u00a0<strong>complex system of spies<\/strong>\u00a0under the later Mauryas collapsed, which led to\u00a0<strong>corruption.<\/strong><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n\t<li><strong>Economic factors:<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n\t<li>Gradually, the<strong>\u00a0State monopoly of metals was<\/strong><strong>being lost.\u00a0<\/strong>The demands on iron, so crucial for the expanding\u00a0<strong>agrarian economy,<\/strong>\u00a0could no longer be met by\u00a0<strong>Magadha<\/strong>\u00a0alone.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>Expansion in cultivation, extensive use of forest wood and deforestation, in general, may have led to\u00a0<strong>floods and famines.<\/strong>\u00a0There is, in fact, evidence of a big famine in north<strong>\u00a0Bengal<\/strong>\u00a0during the Mauryan period.<\/li>\r\n\t<li>In a<strong>\u00a0centralised administrative system<\/strong>, the problem of not having enough revenues created many other acute difficulties. To enhance the revenues, the\u00a0<strong>Arthashastra<\/strong>\u00a0suggested that taxes should be imposed even on actors, prostitutes and so on.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mauryan Era is characterised by agrarian economy where the society was divided into seven distinct groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":15100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[173],"tags":[683,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-3550","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-quest-level-3","8":"tag-mauryan-era","9":"tag-quest"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3550"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22071,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3550\/revisions\/22071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}