- [Instructor] We're now going to talk about
the Maurya Empire, which is not just one
of the greatest empires in Indian history,
and really the first truly great empire.
It's also one of the great empires of world history.
And just for a little bit of context,
we can see where it fits in in the large arc
of ancient Indian history, and in particular
we see here the life of Buddha, and the actual dates
of Buddha's life are under some debate.
But we can see that his, his life and his teachings
were roughly 150 to 200 years before the establishment
of the Maurya Empire which lasts
for another 150 or so years.
And this is important to keep in mind,
because as we'll see, Buddhism has a strong influence
on the Maurya Empire, and maybe just as important,
the Maurya Empire has a very large influence
on spreading Buddhism in a very significant way.
So let's zoom in on what the Indian subcontinent
looked like near the end of the fourth century BCE.
So, in most of north India you have control
by the Nanda Empire, which had its capital at the city
Pataliputra, which was in the region, or the kingdom,
of Magada, which is this ancient region that has been
the seat of power in north India for some time.
You also have other kingdoms, like Kalinga.
You have several kingdoms in south India, as well.
There are counts of a kingdom potentially quite powerful
in Bengal named the Gangaridai.
You also might remember in our videos on Alexander the Great
that it was around this time, around 326, that Alexander
came and conquered much of modern day Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and was at the borders
of the Nanda Empire in India.
And you might also remember that that was about the time
that Alexander the Great and his soldiers decided to stop.
They were tired, some accounts are that they were fearful
of trying to conquer another empire,
especially that far from home.
So it was also around the time that Alexander the Great
decided to turn back, and leave the region under
the control of some of his governors and generals.
And it was in that context that the Maurya Empire emerges.
And the actual events of how it emerges
are still shrouded in history a little bit.
But what eventually happens is a conqueror by the name
of Chandragupta Maurya is able to conquer the Nanda Empire,
and then not just the Nanda Empire,
but as Alexander the Great retreats,
he is able to conquer some of the territory former,
formerly conquered by Alexander the Great.
And so this here is a statue of what Chandragupta Maurya
may have looked like, and you can see by within a decade
of establishing the empire, it had conquered most
of the Nanda Empire, and had even reclaimed a significant
amount of land from the Greeks from what would
eventually become the Seleucid Empire.
Remember, Seleucus was one of Alexander's generals,
who essentially sets up a dynasty in Persia,
the Middle East, after the death of Alexander.
And Chandragupta Maurya actually fights several battles
with Seleucus, and is victorious,
and he actually marries one of Seleucus' daughters.
But this is what essentially establishes the Maurya,
sometimes referred to or as, the Mauryan Empire.
Now Chandragupta Maurya in 297, or roughly in 297,
he, he decides to become a more devout Jain,
and in other videos we'll talk about Mahavira
and the Jain religion.
But he essentially becomes an ascetic
and leaves the kingdom, or the empire,
in the hands of his son Bindusara.
Now, Bindusara is able to conquer more of India,
in particular he starts growing the empire into the south.
But Bindusara is not able to conquer the kingdom of Kalinga.
Bindusara dies in around 273, or 272 BCE,
and then a civil war erupts for who should take charge,
and the civil war is essentially
amongst the sons of Bindusara.
But the son who is victorious ends up being Ashoka.
Now Ashoka is one of, if not, the most significant
historical character in the history of India.
So, Ashoka is able to take power roughly around 270 BCE,
after as legend has it, a fairly bloody civil war.
Early in his life he is viewed as a potentially
cruel figure, killing many of his brothers in order
to come to power, and he is set on conquering
the kingdom of Kalinga.
So, in 262, 261, he has a significant war,
and he is able to successfully conquer the kingdom
of Kalinga, which is this area right over here.
Now, that ends up, according to historical records
and really Ashoka's own accounts,
ends up becoming a significant turning point
in the life of Asoka, and potentially in the life of India
or the world, because here are his direct accounts
of his feelings about what happened in Kalinga.
And we get this account from what
are known as Ashoka edicts.
As the Maurya Empire expanded under Ashoka,
it had peace and prosperity.
He put his edicts throughout the empire
on what are often known as Ashoka pillars,
where he wrote what his beliefs and the things that he did.
He would also write them on rocks
and stone throughout the empire.
But this is the one where he talks about the conquering
of Kalinga, and it's pretty interesting.
Beloved of the Gods King Piyadasi, and he refers to himself
as beloved of the Gods King Piyadasi,
conquered the Kalingas eight years after his coronation.
And so you see he was coronated roughly in 270.
He conquers roughly in 262.
150,000 were deported, 100,000 were killed,
and many more died from other causes.
After the Kalingas had been conquered,
beloved of the Gods came to feel,
he's talking about himself, beloved of the Gods
came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dhamma.
So Dhamma is the same word that we use today, dharma.
And dharma you could ref, you can, you can view it
as the cosmic order of things.
It also, to a Buddhist, refers to the teachings of Buddha,
or the Buddhist religion.
So, beloved of the Gods came to feel a strong inclination
towards the Dhamma, a love for the Dhamma,
and for the instruction in Dhamma.
Now beloved of the Gods feels deep remorse
for having conquered the Kalingas.
So this is really interesting.
You don't have a lot of conquerors,
especially in ancient history,
after killing several hundred thousand,
or maybe being responsible for the death
of several hundred thousand,
for feeling remorse about it, and writing about it.
And so not only is this profound to be coming
from a conqueror, but also reminds us how bloody
some of these ancient wars were.
But this is a turning point for him.
He turns to Buddhism, and he really then becomes
anti violence, not just towards humans,
but even towards animals.
He becomes a devoted Buddhist,
and sponsors Buddhist temples throughout his empire.
He sends Buddhist missionaries throughout the world,
and is viewed as one of the main people
responsible for the spread of Buddhism
from Europe all the way to the far east.
We already talked about his edicts of Ashoka.
He started doing a bunch of public works projects,
digging of wells, hospitals, and public gardens,
education including for women.
During his reign you have the maximum extent
of any empire that ever ruled over India.
50% larger than modern,
than the modern day country of India.
There were roughly 50 million people
under the Mauryan Empire under his rule.
Now, eventually after his death,
the empire goes under weaker and weaker rulers,
and by about 184, 185 BCE, it falls to another
less significant dynasty in the whole scope of history.
But just to appreciate what a big deal Ashoka is
in the scope of history, here is a quote by H.G. Wells
from his Outline of History.
"Ashoka worked for the real needs of men.
Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs
that crowd the columns of history,
the name of Asoka, or Ashoka, shines,
and shines almost alone, a star.
From the Volga to Japan his name is still honored."
A lot because of his spread of Buddhism.
"More living men cherish his memory today
than have ever heard the name
of Constantine or Charlemagne."
And just to appreciate the impact of Ashoka,
even on modern day India, and this right over here
is called the Ashoka chakra, and if you look
at the flag of India, the Ashoka chakra sits
at the center of it, and this is actually part of the,
the modern day emblem of the republic of India,
because after his turn to becoming a more benevolent ruler,
he's considered as the model, ideal ruler in Indian history,
and by many historians in all of history.