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| Male Figure with waist band |
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| Male Dress |
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| Woman's dress |
This is a modest attempt to present a glimpse of the social conditions in Mauryan times from a layman's point of view. As human beings everyone is interested in knowing about the society in the past for the simple reason that our present has sprung from the past in many aspects such as habits, customs, religion, dress, language, culture etc. In Indian history the Mauryan rule occupies a vital phase as it was a period of synthesis and transition. Prior to this, India was divided into small kingdoms. Under the sovereign rule of Mauryas most parts of India came under one emperor's rule. The links of unity were forged by such things like uniform administration, uniform code of law and justice. Thus at the critical time of foreign invasions, a united India, the utmost need of the hour, was given by Mauryan rule. Most of the foreign influences were absorbed by India into her cultural fold to enrich her wide, catholic culture of diversity with underlying unity. The Mauryan kingdom was divided into five provinces or Janapadas : Eastern and central part with Pataliputra as capital; Eastern Province (Kalinga) with Tosali as center; northern province with Takshsila as center; and Southern province with Suvarnagiri as center. The eastern and central province was under the care of the king himself. The other provinces were looked after by provincial governors, generally by royal princes of the family called Kumaras.
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| Statuettes made of terracota |
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| Figurine of a Goddess |
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| Goddess (2) |
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| Yaksha |
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| Yaksha, Sanchi |
1) Akahalapadhyaksha ---- Accountant General
2 ) Sannidhata --- Head of Royal Treasury
3) Kostagaradhyaksha ---- Treasury Superintendent
4) Suvarnadhakysha - ---- Supdt. to look after Gold transactions
5) Akaaradhyaksha --- Supdt. for Mines Department
6) Pannyadhyaksha ----- Supdt. for Commerce
7) Kupyadhyaksha ---- Supdt. for Forest Dept.
8) Lavanadhyaksha - ---- Supdt. for Salt Dept.
9) Aayudhagaradhyaksha --- Supdt. for armoury dept.
10) Tulaamanadhyaksha ---- Supdt. for weights and Measures
11) Sutradhyaksha --- - Supdt. for textiles and spinning
12) Sitadhyaksha ----- Supdt. for agriculture
13) Suradhyaksha ---- Supdt. for excise
14) Navaadhyaksha ---- Supdt. for shipping and Maritime
15) Mudraadhyaksha ----- Supdt. for Govt. Archives and documents
16) Pattanadhyaksha ---- Supdt. for ports
17) Lakshanadhyaksha ----- Supdt. for mint and coinage
18) Samsthadhyaksha ----- Supdt. for trade routes
19) Samaaharta ------ Collector of general revenue
At District level there used to be three levels of officials. Pradesika was the senior officer under whom Rajuka (junior officer) and Yukta (clerk) worked. It is the duty of Pradesika to tour the whole district once in five years to collect the details of the administration. The district officers had to look after irrigation, industries, forests and roads. At town level there were town officials working under Municipal Board consisting of thirty members who were divided into six committees to look after navy, transport and supply, marketing, factories, sales tax, care of strangers, espionage, priests etc. In cities the Municipal administration was streamlined in a systematic manner. The city was divided into wards and each ward was under the care of one officer called Sthanika. Curfew was imposed in cities from 9.00 p.m. to 3.30 a.m. At village level the Gramika was elected by villagers to look after them. He was assisted by a group of village elders to take care of village in all aspects. The head of the ten villages is called Gopa and the head of a hundred villages is called Sthanaka. There was a separate department for roads whose duty was to maintain good roads with separate tracks for cattle, pedestrians, chariots and other modes of conveyances. Their duty was also to grow trees, to look after drinking water facility and to look after welfare of pilgrims in the wayside inns.To look after various military forces there was a war council with six sub-councils with five members in each sub-council to take care of the six divisions in the army-- infantry, cavalry, elephant force, chariots and navy. According to Megasthenes, the Mauryan army consisted of 6,00,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry and 9000 war elephants.
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| Punch Marked Coins |
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| punch marked Karshapana |
The land revenue collected by the state varied from 1/6 to 1/4 depending upon the location and nature of the soil. Mostly crops such as wheat, pulses,grain , mustard, sesamum and linseed were cultivated. Forest tax, water tax, excise duty, taxes from traders and craftsmen, and mines tax are some of the sources for state revenue. Some of the most popular industries in those days were pottery, drugs, perfumes and dyes. Private industries flourished under the control of trade guilds. Traders had to obtain licences from Panyadhyaksha. Food adulteration was punishabe by death. There used to be doctors (Bheshajas), nurses and midwives to treat the sick patients.Money-lenders were allowed to charge 15% interest on their loans.
As regards their dress, they continued wearing three pieces of unstitched cloth as seen in Vedic Age. The rich wore fine muslin and silk clothes embroidered in purple and gold. Others wore clothes made of cotton and jute fabric. " A length of cloth was wrapped around hips tightly to form a tubular skirt. A longer version was knee-length wrapped around the waist with pleats tucked in front and the shorter or second end drawn through legs to the back. A patka or a decorative length of fabric was worn round the waist and tucked into the antariya hanging at the front."
During Mauryan times the popular currency was Karshapana or Pana, a silver punch-marked coin weighing between 3.19 gms to 3.43 gms. They were generally round , square or elliptical in shape. Each coin has nearly five punches with overlapping symbols of the sun, six-armed symbol, geometrical , floral figures, birds, animals and human figures etched on it. According to kautilya's Arthsastra, there are coins like Arthapana, Padapana (I/4 of Karshapana) and Astabhaga (1/8 of Pana). In Pre-Mauryan period also since 600 B.C. there used to be punch-marked coins. These symbols might be the indicators of the locality and the ruler. These punch-marked coins were in use till 1st century A.D. and up to 3 rd century A.D. in the south of India. The earlier coins were flatter and thin in size.
As wood was mostly used in construction of houses, vessels filled with water were kept in all public places as a precautionary measure against fire accidents. Washermen were allowed to wash clothes at one place only to maintain cleanliness in the city. Dowry system (kanya sulka that is paying some price to get a bride) existed in those times also. Widows were allowed to marry the relatives of their husbands, especially when the bride was a virgin. Divorce was permitted by mutual consent of the couple, or when the husband's conduct was immoral or when the husband was too ill to share family life. Post-puberty marriages were allowed. Pratiloma marriages (higher caste people can marry lower caste ladies) were admissible. Poygamous marriages were allowed especially among aristocratic sections of the society. There was no custom of Sati. There were separate courts to look after civil and criminal cases namely Dharmasthya (civil) and kantakasodhana (Criminal). The punishments were very rigid such as mutilation of limbs and beheading etc. The prisons had factories which extracted penal labor from the prisoners. The city morals were protected by an officer called the "Ganikadhyaksha"who also looked after the welfare of the concubines or Veshyas.
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| Yakshini |
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| Yakshini under an Asoka Tree |
According to Megasthenes, there were seven types of castes or groups in the Mauryan society such as farmers, soldiers, craftsmen, herdsmen, traders, magistrates and Scholars or Brahmins. This grouping is based on profession and not on birth factor. The caste system was not rigid in those days. The servants or Dasas formed the lowest caste and Grihapatis corresponds to Vaisya Caste. There was no slavery system. Some people became Dasas (servants) of their own accord to earn their livelihood. Learned brahmins were respected everywhere. Most of them acted as priests, philosophers, doctors, and diviners. They used to grow long hair which was twisted up and covered with a turban. The dress in Mauryan times consisted of a garment covering the body up to shins, one cloth thrown over shoulders and a turban. People wore earrings and used high-heeled shoes of white leather. Brahmins acted not only as priests but also actively participated in wars. They practised the Vedic religion of sacrifice or Yagna. In Buddhist and Jaina Sanghas women also actively participated in religious work. People worshipped Durga, Vishnu, Shiva, Subrahmanaya, Indra, Vaiswanara, Aditi, Savita, Soma, Krishna, Balarama and Paulomi. Image worship was not prevalent. Common people used to worship the goddess of fertility and wealth known as Yakshini who was shown amidst foliage surrounded by trees. The images of these folk gods and goddesses were made of terracotta and found in large numbers during excavations in Vidisha, Mathura and and Patna. There were no temples during Mauryan period. These images might have been kept in huts or in the niches of the houses.
From Kautilya's writings it is clear that religion resembled the Vedic Atharvanaveda times rather than the later classical Hindu age. Pali was the language spoken by people and Brahmi script was widely used in writing. During the ascent of Buddhism the Mauryan king Ashoka used Pali language to propagate his ideals of Dharma and Buddhist principles. Religious tolerance was shown towards all religions. Ashoka, honored brahmins though he favored Buddhist faith. King Bindusara declared himself as a devotee of brahmins or Brahmanabhakta. In matters of food, there was a marked shift towards vegetarianism due to the influence of Jainism and Buddhism both of which forbade animal sacrifices and preached the principle of Ahimsa towards all living creatures. The meat of certain animals and birds such as parrots, geese, chakravakas, sarikas, tortoises, porcupine and rhinoceros were prohibited. The kings relished the meat of pea-cocks and deer. In His Rock Edict No.I and IV Ashoka prohibited killing of animals during ceremonies and functions and declared certain days on which animal food should not be consumed. He himself gradually gave up non-vegetarianism. Ashoka created the new post of an officer called "Dhamma Mahamatra " in the thirteenth year of his rule to act as custodians of the legal and spiritual matters in the society. The Persian and Greek influences are seen in the sculptures and construction of stupas and rock-edicts and in minting of coins. The Mauryan kings has trade relations with countries like Ceylon, Persia, Afghanistan, Egypt, Arabia and Macedonia.
Thus a brief review of the conditions of the Indian society in Mauryan times reveals a free society with a liberal outlook adjusting itself to outside influences without alienating itself from its original roots. As Ashoka declared on his rock edicts, Samyamana (Self-control) and Bhavasuddhi (Purity of thought) formed the basis of the Mauryan kingdom which conquered the whole world not with sword but through its universal message of peace, non-violence and tolerance.
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9th August, 2016 Somaseshu Gutala
Sir- An excellent depiction of BC times. Got a lot of info on those times. Nicely written. Thank you.
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