The Maurya Empire..

I am reading 'india's Ancient Past' by Professor R S Sharma, founder chairman of the Indian council of historical research. 

He writes - 'The Arthashastra of Kautilya leaves no doubt that Indians could run the administration of a large empire and tackle the problems of a complex society. India produced a great ruler in Ashoka who, in spite of his victory over Kalinga, adopted a policy of peace and non-aggression. Ashoka and several other Indian kings practised religious tolerance and stressed that the wishes of the followers of other religions should be respected. Also, besides Greece, India was the only other country to experiment with some form of democracy.'

My notes / comments.. 

1. Kautilya - or Chanakya as he is more widely known, wrote Arthashastra in   the 4th century BC. 

2. Ashok ruled in the 3rd century BC. 

3. City states which practiced varying forms of republics - rule via a Senate comprising of nobles and some representatives of common people too - but no women, existed for a few hundred years around 5th-6th century BC, in India, Greece and Rome. After that, kingships resumed..

4. Almost the whole of South Asia was united in a single realm under Ashok barring the deep south, the north east and burma, and Sri lanka. After him, only the later Mughal Emperors succeeded in having a single polity over this area before the British. During India's independence struggle, Ashoka was therefore a great inspiration in the face of the western view that India would break up without the unifying force of the British.

Image on Left : It is thought that the bull symbol is not related to the bull Nandi of Hinduism, as Ashoka was quite eclectic in his choice of animals for his pillars anyway: lions, elephants, camels, geese, and horses are known.

5. Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka's grandfather, was equally a great ruler. He emerged from humble beginnings and trained under Chanakya at Takshashila University in all disciplines. He overthrew the corrupt nanda king and fought off Greek expansion into India after unifying several realms. The extent of  his political boundaries seems similar to Ashoka's other than Kalinga (the area corresponding to present day Orissa). Chandragupta renounced kingship in favour of his son and became a jain monk. Ultimately he fasted to death at sarvanbelgola in the jain tradition called sanlekhana.

The image above : Chandragupta basadi on the Chandragiri Hill in Sravanabelagola. Minute sculptures here show scenes from the lives of Chandragupta Maurya.and his Jain teacher Bhadrabahu; Attribution: Dineshkannambadi at English Wikipedia