తోట, బావి

Maurya Empire (మౌర్య సామ్రాజ్యం)

— first major pan-Indian empire 322-184 BCE; covered most of subcontinent + Afghanistan + parts of Iran. Founder: Chandragupta Maurya (322-298 BCE) — orphan; trained by Chanakya/Kautilya (mentor-political philosopher; Arthashastra treatise on statecraft + economics 4th c. BCE; Indian Machiavelli 2000 years before); overthrew Nanda dynasty Magadha age ~20; defeated Alexander's general Seleucus 305 BCE — got 4 satrapies + elephants in exchange for 500 war elephants. Religion: late life Jain monk under Bhadrabahu; fasted to death Sallekhana Shravanabelagola Karnataka. Bindusara (298-273 BCE) — son; Father of Asoka; expanded south to Mysore-Karnataka; "Amitraghata" (slayer of foes). Asoka the Great (273-232 BCE) — most famous Maurya emperor; Kalinga War 261 BCE — killed 100,000+ soldiers + 150,000 deportees Odisha; horror transformed him; converted to Buddhism; non-violence + spread Dharma mission; built 84,000 stupas + Asokan Edicts carved on rocks-pillars throughout subcontinent. Asokan Pillars = Lion Capital Sarnath = National Emblem of India since 1950! Asoka's edicts in Brahmi script decoded by James Prinsep 1837. Spread Buddhism to Sri Lanka (son Mahinda), Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Afghanistan via missionary monks. Kautilya/Chanakya = master strategist; "Arthashastra" 15-book treatise; covered politics, economics, military, espionage, agriculture, taxation; modern Indian foreign policy textbook. Decline: Asoka's descendants weak; Brihadratha last emperor killed 184 BCE by his commander Pushyamitra Sunga who founded Sunga dynasty. Maurya capital Pataliputra (modern Patna Bihar) — once world's largest city; described by Greek ambassador Megasthenes in book Indica. Modern legacy: Indian flag's Asoka Chakra (24-spoke wheel) = Asoka's Dharma Wheel; Sarnath Lion Capital national emblem; "Satyameva Jayate" national motto from Mundaka Upanishad too. Cinema: Asoka 2001 Shah Rukh Khan; Chandragupta Maurya TV serials.