The Post-Mauryan Age (185 BC – 300 AD)

Conceptual Clarity — Why the Post-Mauryan Age Matters

Key terms to internalise: Yavana (Greeks), Shaka (Scythians), Pahlava (Parthians), Kushana / Yuechi, Satrap / Kshatrapa, Mahakshatrapa, Devaputra ("son of god" — Kushana title borrowed from Chinese T'ien-tzu), Bodhisattva, Triratna, Trikaya, Mahayana ("Great Vehicle"), Hinayana ("Lesser Vehicle"), Stupa, Vihara, Chaitya, Saka Era (78 AD), Vikram Samvat (57 BC).

1. The Foreign Dynasties in Ancient India

Four major foreign dynasties ruled north-western India in sequence between c. 200 BC and AD 300. They came via the Hindu Kush, settled in waves and gradually Indianised.

1.1 The Indo-Greek / Bactrian Greek Dynasty

• Origin: Descendants of Greeks settled in Bactria (north of Hindu Kush) by Alexander. When the Seleucid empire weakened, the Bactrian governor Diodotus I (c. 250 BC) declared independence. After c. 200 BC, his successors crossed the Hindu Kush into India.
• Demetrius I (c. 200–180 BC) — son of Bactrian king Euthydemus; the first Indo-Greek king to invade India in force; took advantage of Mauryan decline; conquered Gandhara, Punjab and parts of Sindh; came to be called "the King of the Indians".
• Menander (Milinda, c. 165–130 BC) — greatest Indo-Greek king; capital at Sakala (Sialkot, Pakistani Punjab); ruled the largest Indo-Greek territory (Punjab to Mathura, into the Yamuna-Ganga doab).
  • Famous for his conversion to Buddhism after a philosophical dialogue with the monk Nagasena — preserved in the Pali text Milindapanho ("The Questions of Milinda").
  • His coins bear the legend "Maharajasa Tratarasa Menandrasa" (King-Saviour Menander) in Greek and Kharoshthi (bilingual).
  • Plutarch records that Menander's ashes were distributed among Indian cities as Buddha-relics — testifying to his Indianisation.
• Other Indo-Greek rulers: Antialcidas (sent ambassador Heliodorus to Vidisha, who erected the famous Heliodorus pillar/Garuda-dhwaja at Besnagar in honour of Vasudeva — earliest evidence of foreign acceptance of Vaishnavism, c. 110 BC), Strato I, Apollodotus.
• Contributions of Indo-Greeks:
  • Coinage: First rulers in India to issue coins with king's portrait and name; introduced gold coinage; bilingual coins (Greek + Kharoshthi).
  • Astronomy & Astrology: Yavanas introduced Greek astronomy — Yavanajataka (c. AD 269) is the first Sanskrit translation of a Greek astrology text.
  • Hellenistic art: Forerunner of the Gandhara school.
  • Theatre curtain — Yavanika: The Sanskrit word for stage curtain is yavanika, derived from Yavana (Greek).

1.2 The Saka / Scythian Dynasty

• Origin: Central Asian nomads (Scythians/Sakai) pushed southward c. 130 BC by the Yuechi. They displaced the Indo-Greeks and established five branches across India.
• Five Saka Satrapies (branches):
  1. Afghanistan
  2. Punjab (Taxila as capital)
  3. Mathura
  4. Western India (Saurashtra-Malwa — the Western Kshatrapas)
  5. Upper Deccan
• Maues / Moga (c. 80 BC) — first major Saka king in India; ruled from Taxila; first to issue Saka coins.
• Azes I (c. 58 BC) — possibly associated with the start of the Vikram Samvat era (57 BC), though tradition attributes it to King Vikramaditya of Ujjain who is said to have defeated the Sakas.
• Western Kshatrapas — most enduring Saka branch in Saurashtra-Malwa (c. AD 35 – AD 405). Important rulers:
  • Nahapana (Kshaharata clan, c. AD 119–125) — challenged the Satavahanas; defeated by Gautamiputra Satakarni; his silver coins were over-struck by the Satavahanas.
  • Chashtana (founder of the Kardamaka clan, c. AD 130) — established the long-lasting Mahakshatrapa line.
  • Rudradaman I (c. AD 130–150) — most celebrated Western Kshatrapa; defeated Satakarnis twice but spared his "near relation" (his daughter had married into the Satavahana family); his Junagadh / Girnar Rock Inscription (AD 150) is the first major inscription in chaste Sanskrit (chronologically marks Sanskrit's debut as inscriptional language) and records the repair of the Sudarshana Lake built by Chandragupta Maurya. Rudradaman patronised Sanskrit literature.
• Saka rule in western India was finally ended by Chandragupta II Vikramaditya (Gupta) in c. AD 388–409.

1.3 The Scytho-Parthian / Shaka-Pahlava Dynasty

• The Parthians (Pahlavas) were an Iranian people; their entry into India overlapped with the later Sakas, hence the joint name "Shaka-Pahlava".
• Gondophernes (c. AD 19–46) — greatest Pahlava king of north-western India; ruled from Taxila.
  • Christian tradition (Acts of Thomas): St. Thomas the Apostle is said to have visited the court of Gondophernes (called Gudnaphar in the Christian text) — making him the first foreign king in Indian history with a credible link to a major world religion's mission.
  • Takht-i-Bahi inscription (AD 46) from Mardan area confirms his reign.
• The Pahlavas were short-lived; they were absorbed/displaced by the Kushanas.

1.4 The Kushana / Yuechi Dynasty

• Origin: The Yuechi were Central Asian nomads displaced from China by the Hsiung-nu around 165 BC. They migrated westward and split into five tribes. The Kuei-shang (Kushana) tribe under Kujula Kadphises unified the five tribes in the 1st century AD.

Kushana Rulers

Kanishka — Detailed Profile

• Accession: AD 78 — start of the Saka Era / Shalivahana Shaka, still India's official national calendar.
• Empire: Central Asia (Khotan, Yarkand, Kashgar) → Afghanistan → Gandhara → Sindh → Punjab → UP → Bihar → Varanasi. Western frontier touched Parthia, Eastern reached Pataliputra (he is said to have taken away Ashvaghosha and the Buddha's begging bowl).
• Religion: Personally a Mahayana Buddhist (his Rabatak inscription invokes Buddhist deities; his coins show Buddha — among the first Buddha images on coins anywhere). His coins also include Iranian, Greek and Brahmanical deities — true syncretism.
• Fourth Buddhist Council: Convened at Kundalavana, Kashmir under presidency of Vasumitra, with Ashvaghosha as vice-president. Compiled commentaries (the Vibhasha-Shastra) on the Tripitaka in Sanskrit. This council formalised the Mahayana schism — Buddhism henceforth split into Mahayana (Sanskrit, image-worship) and Hinayana/Theravada (Pali, no images).
• Patronage of scholars:
  • Ashvaghosha — author of Buddhacharita (Sanskrit kavya on Buddha's life), Saundarananda, Sariputra-prakarana; the father of Sanskrit drama.
  • Nagarjuna — founder of Madhyamika (Sunyavada) school; author of Madhyamika-karika.
  • Vasumitra — president of the Fourth Council.
  • Charaka — court physician; author of Charaka Samhita (foundational Ayurveda text).
  • Greek engineer Agesilaos built the Kanishka Stupa (Shah-ji-ki-Dheri, Peshawar) housing Buddha relics.
• Titles: "Devaputra" (Son of God — calque of Chinese T'ien-tzu), "Maharaja, Rajadhiraja, Shaonano Shao" (King of Kings — Iranian).
• Headless statue of Kanishka from Mat (near Mathura) is a famous Kushana sculpture.
• Death: Traditional accounts say his own soldiers smothered him with a pillow during a winter campaign in Central Asia.

2. Impact of Foreign Contacts on India

RS Sharma in Ancient India systematically lists eight major areas of impact. These contacts transformed Indian material culture, polity, religion and art.

2.1 Impact on Pottery

• Red Polished Ware (RPW) replaces the Mauryan Northern Black Polished Ware as the diagnostic pottery of the Post-Mauryan period — fine, well-fired red surface; widespread in western India (especially Saurashtra and Sindh).
• Roman Arretine Ware (a glossy red ware made in Arezzo, Italy) has been found at Arikamedu (Tamil Nadu) — direct proof of Indo-Roman trade.
• Amphorae (Roman two-handled wine jars) found at Arikamedu and other coastal sites.

2.2 Impact on Cavalry & Costume

• Reins, saddle and stirrups introduced systematically by Sakas and Kushanas — revolutionised cavalry warfare in India.
• Riding trousers (kanchuka), tunics, long coats, turbans, boots, helmets entered Indian wardrobe — visible in Kushana sculpture (the famous headless Kanishka statue wears Central Asian heavy coat and felt boots).
• Horse-trading with Central Asia became a major commerce; Indian breeds (from Bahlika, Sindh) crossed with Central Asian horses.

2.3 Impact on Agriculture & Trade

• Indo-Roman trade boom: The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (c. AD 70–80) by an anonymous Greek mariner and Ptolemy's Geography describe a thriving sea trade. Roman gold poured into India in exchange for spices, silk, muslin, indigo, ivory, pearls, precious stones, animals.
• Pliny the Elder (1st c. AD) complained — "By the lowest reckoning, India, China, and the Arabian peninsula take from our empire 100 million sesterces every year. So much do our luxuries and women cost us."
• Roman gold coin hoards have been recovered from Tamilakam — at Pondicherry, Madurai, Coimbatore — most coins are of Augustus, Tiberius, Nero.
• Major ports: Bharukaccha (Broach), Sopara, Kalyan on the west coast; Muziris (Cranganore), Tondi, Korkai, Arikamedu, Tamralipti on the east.
• Silk Route: Kushanas controlled the trans-Asian silk route — taxes on this trade fuelled Kushana gold coinage.
• Introduction of cherries, peaches, almonds, walnut, saffron and certain grapes from Central Asia.
• The agricultural plough with iron coulter spread, enabling wet rice cultivation in newer regions.

2.4 Impact on Political Organization

• Satrap (Kshatrapa) system of provincial governance — borrowed from the Persian-Iranian model via Sakas and Pahlavas.
• Divine kingship: Title "Devaputra" (Son of God) by Kushanas — borrowed from Chinese Son of Heaven; "Shaonano Shao" (King of Kings) — from Iranian Shahanshah.
• Hereditary dual rule: Indo-Greeks and Kushanas often had two co-rulers (king + heir-apparent ruling jointly).
• Royal titles became more grandiose — "Mahakshatrapa", "Maharaja-Rajatiraja-Devaputra".

2.5 Impact on Religious Developments — Birth of Mahayana Buddhism

The Post-Mauryan age witnesses the most decisive religious transformation in ancient Indian history: the rise of Mahayana Buddhism.

Mahayana Buddhism — Key Features

• The Buddha image appears for the first time in this period — the older Hinayana tradition had only used symbols (footprint, Bodhi tree, dharmachakra, empty throne, stupa).
• Bodhisattva cult develops — beings of compassion who delay their own nirvana to help others. Key bodhisattvas: Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri, Maitreya, Vajrapani.
• Bhakti (devotional worship of Buddha as god) enters Buddhism — parallel to the rise of bhakti in Vaishnavism & Shaivism in this period.
• Brahmanical revival: Shungas patronised Brahmanism; the Heliodorus pillar at Besnagar (c. 110 BC) shows Bhagavata Vaishnavism even attracting foreigners. Worship of Vasudeva-Krishna, Shiva, Surya, Skanda-Karttikeya, Naga deities, female yakshis became widespread.

2.6 Development of New Schools of Art

Gandhara School of Fine Arts

• Region: North-western India — modern Peshawar valley, Taxila, Swat, Buner, Bamiyan; flourished c. 1st BC to 5th AD with peak under Kanishka.
• Patrons: Indo-Greeks, Sakas and especially Kushanas.
• Stylistic features:
  • Heavily Greco-Roman influence — also called Indo-Greek or Greco-Buddhist art.
  • Buddha shown with wavy curly hair (modelled on Apollo), sharp features, large eyes, moustache in some cases.
  • Robes draped in heavy Roman toga-style folds.
  • Realistic anatomical detail, muscular bodies.
  • Buddha's halo (prabhamandala) is usually plain or unadorned.
  • Material: blue-grey schist (slate stone); stucco in later phase.
  • Subject restricted almost entirely to Buddha and Bodhisattvas — no Brahmanical deities.
  • Sites: Jaulian, Dharmarajika, Bhamala, Sahri-Bahlol, Hadda (Afghanistan), Bamiyan.

Mathura School of Fine Arts

• Region: Mathura and its hinterland (UP); flourished 1st BC to 6th AD.
• Patrons: Kushanas (especially Huvishka, Kanishka), later Guptas.
• Stylistic features:
  • Indigenous Indian style — direct continuation of older Bharhut and Sanchi traditions, but now producing free-standing Buddha images.
  • Buddha with shaven head (or topknot ushnisha) — never wavy hair.
  • Broad shoulders, broad chest, expansive frontal stance, joyful smiling face.
  • Robes are thin and transparent, clinging to body, revealing limbs — covers only the left shoulder.
  • Highly ornamented haloes with geometric and floral patterns.
  • Material: spotted red sandstone (Sikri sandstone).
  • Most catholic — depicts Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Jain Tirthankaras, Hindu deities (Vishnu, Shiva, Surya, Karttikeya), Yakshas, Yakshis, royal portrait statues (the headless Kanishka).
  • The earliest indigenous Indian Buddha image is often credited to the Mathura school (Katra Buddha image).

Amravati School (introduced here, detailed under Satavahanas)

• Region: Lower Krishna-Godavari valley — Amravati, Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayyapeta, Goli.
• Patrons: Satavahanas and later Ikshvakus.
• Material: white limestone; treatment: narrative reliefs, slender elongated figures, dynamic compositions; covered the great Amravati Stupa.

2.7 Impact on Literature

• Sanskrit becomes the language of court literature for the first time — Rudradaman's Junagadh inscription (AD 150) is the first major royal inscription in chaste Sanskrit.
• Ashvaghosha's Buddhacharita — first major Sanskrit Buddhist kavya.
• Bhasa, traditionally dated to this period, wrote 13 Sanskrit plays (Swapnavasavadattam, Pratima-natakam, Madhyama-vyayoga etc.) — earliest extant Sanskrit dramas.
• The Manusmriti was largely compiled in this period (between 200 BC and AD 200).
• The Mahabharata and Ramayana reached close to their present form during the Post-Mauryan/Gupta transition.
• The Gandhari Prakrit Dhammapada in Kharoshthi script — found in Khotan — testifies to Buddhist literature spreading along the silk route.
• The Pali text Milindapanho ("Questions of King Milinda") — dialogue between Menander and Nagasena — is a major Buddhist text.

2.8 Impact on Science and Technology

• Astronomy: Greek astronomy via Yavanajataka (3rd c. AD), Romaka Siddhanta, Paulisha Siddhanta — bringing the zodiac, seven-day week, planetary names and horoscope-based astrology to India. Indian astronomers acknowledged the debt — "the Yavanas, though impure, must be honoured like sages, for they were the earliest astronomers" (Brihatsamhita of Varahamihira).
• Medicine: Charaka Samhita systematised by Charaka in Kanishka's court — foundational Ayurveda text. The Susruta Samhita (especially surgical procedures) also assumed its present form in this period.
• Coinage technology: Die-struck gold and silver coins replaced punch-marked coins. Indians learned to issue large quantities of standardised gold coinage.
• Glass and gem-cutting: Improved techniques; bead-making at Arikamedu reached high quality.
• Leather and tanning; large-scale metallurgy of iron and copper at sites like Sonkh (near Mathura).

3. The Indigenous Ruling Dynasties

While foreign dynasties ruled the north-west, four major indigenous dynasties controlled most of the Indian heartland — the Shungas and Kanvas in the north, the Satavahanas in the Deccan, and the Chedis in Kalinga.

3.1 Shunga Dynasty (185–73 BC) — 10 rulers, ~112 years

• Pushyamitra Shunga (185–149 BC) — Brahmin commander-in-chief of the last Maurya Brihadratha; killed him during a military review and founded the Shunga dynasty. Recorded in Banabhatta's Harshacharita.
  • Performed two Ashvamedha sacrifices — recorded in Patanjali's Mahabhashya: "Iha Pushyamitram yajayamah" ("here we sacrifice for Pushyamitra").
  • Repulsed two Indo-Greek invasions, most importantly under Demetrius/Menander. The grammarian Patanjali (Mahabhashya) mentions a Yavana siege of Saketa (Ayodhya) and Madhyamika (Chittor) successfully resisted.
  • Traditionally accused of Buddhist persecution (Divyavadana says he destroyed monasteries and offered 100 dinaras per Buddhist monk's head) — but archaeology shows continued Buddhist construction at Bharhut and Sanchi in his time, so the persecution thesis is now considered overstated.
• Agnimitra — Pushyamitra's son; hero of Kalidasa's play Malavikagnimitram.
• Bhagabhadra / Kashiputra Bhagabhadra — Indo-Greek king Antialcidas sent his ambassador Heliodorus to this court at Vidisha. Heliodorus declared himself a "Bhagavata" (devotee of Vasudeva) and erected the Heliodorus Pillar at Besnagar (c. 110 BC) — the earliest epigraphic evidence of Bhagavatism/Vaishnavism.
• Devabhuti — the last Shunga, deposed and killed by his Brahmin minister Vasudeva Kanva in 73 BC.
• Shunga contributions to art & architecture:
  • Construction/embellishment of the stone railings (vedika) and gateways (toranas) of Bharhut Stupa, Sanchi Stupa I and Bodh Gaya temple. Bharhut railing inscriptions identify the donors.
  • The earliest rock-cut chaitya halls in western India (Bhaja, Bedsa) belong to this phase.
  • Patanjali's Mahabhashya, a commentary on Panini's Ashtadhyayi, was composed in this period.
  • Revival of Brahmanism, Sanskrit, Ashvamedha — yet Buddhism continued to thrive under popular patronage.

3.2 Kanva Dynasty (73–28 BC) — 4 rulers, 45 years

• Founded by Vasudeva Kanva, a Brahmin minister who killed the last Shunga, Devabhuti.
• Rulers: Vasudeva → Bhumimitra → Narayana → Susharma.
• Their actual rule was confined to parts of Magadha; the rest of the empire had already broken away.
• The last Kanva, Susharma, was killed by a Satavahana king (probably Simuka or his successor) in 28 BC, ending the dynasty.
• The Kanvas continued the Brahmanical orientation of the Shungas; cultural pace remained Shunga-style — no notable architectural projects of their own.

3.3 Satavahana Dynasty (c. 1st century BC – 3rd century AD)

The greatest indigenous dynasty of the Deccan; called the Andhras in the Puranas. Original home debated — some scholars place them in the eastern Deccan (Telangana/Andhra), others between Godavari and Krishna; archaeologically they are first attested in the western Deccan (Maharashtra).

Key Satavahana Rulers

Gautamiputra Satakarni — Detailed Profile

• Defeated and killed the Western Kshatrapa Nahapana (Kshaharata dynasty); restruck Nahapana's silver coins with his own legend — a hoard of these has been found at Jogalthembi (Nashik).
• Extended the empire from Saurashtra (Gujarat) and Malwa in the west to Berar, Kuntala (north Karnataka), and Vidarbha — "lord of the Vindhyas, Pariyatra, Sahya, Krishnagiri, Macha, Sristana, Malaya, Mahendra, Setagiri and Chakora mountains".
• Called "Eka-brahmana" (unique Brahmin) and "Khatiya-dapa-mana-mardana" (destroyer of the pride of the Kshatriyas).
• Despite being a champion of Brahmanism, he made donations to Buddhist monks — Nasik cave (Cave No. 3) donated to the Bhadrayaniya sect.

A. Political Organization of Satavahanas

• The empire was divided into Aharas (provinces/districts), each under an Amatya. Lower units: Grama (village) under Gramika.
• Strongly centralised monarchy; the king is described in inscriptions as a chakravartin.
• Practice of matronymics — Satavahana kings used their mothers' names: Gautamiputra ("son of Gautami"), Vasishthiputra ("son of Vasishthi") — suggesting matrilineal influence, though property and succession remained patrilineal.
• Three classes of feudatory officials — Raja, Mahabhoja, Maharathi — who were hereditary and held land grants.
• Pioneers of the agrahara system: Satavahana kings were the first to grant land (tax-free villages) to Brahmins and Buddhist monks with administrative and judicial rights — this practice would later flourish under the Guptas and became feudal land tenure.
• Used Prakrit (specifically Maharashtri Prakrit) as the language of administration and inscriptions, written in Brahmi.
• Coinage: Lead, copper and potin coins; few silver coins. Ship motif on Yajna Sri's coins shows maritime ambitions.

B. Material Culture of Satavahanas

• Spread of iron tools and weapons to the Deccan — RS Sharma considers this period crucial for the second urbanisation of the Deccan.
• Use of burnt bricks and ringwells (drainage and water supply); cement-like binding materials.
• NBPW disappears; Rouletted Ware (linked to Indo-Roman trade) appears at Arikamedu, Amravati and other east-coast Satavahana sites.
• Cotton textile industry: Periplus and Pliny mention high-quality cotton from Tagara (Ter), Pratisthan (Paithan), Bharukaccha. Pliny calls these cottons "gangetic".
• Foreign trade: Two great Satavahana ports — Bharukaccha (Broach) on the west and Kalyan/Sopara on the west, plus Masulipatnam (Maisolia) on the east coast — handled enormous Roman trade. Roman gold coin hoards found within Satavahana territory.

C. Amravati School of Art under Satavahanas

• Region: Lower Krishna-Godavari valley; major sites — Amravati, Nagarjunakonda, Jaggayyapeta, Goli, Ghantasala, Bhattiprolu.
• Patronised by Satavahanas and later by Ikshvakus.
• Stylistic features:
  • Built around the Great Stupa of Amravati (modern Andhra Pradesh) — at its peak in the 2nd century AD; railings and drum slabs covered with narrative reliefs.
  • Material: white limestone (often called "white marble").
  • Treatment: slender elongated figures, complex multi-figure compositions, dynamic movement, sensuous beauty, narrative drama.
  • Both aniconic (symbolic) and iconic (Buddha image) representations co-existed.
• The Amravati Stupa's marble panels are now displayed in the British Museum (Amravati Marbles), Government Museum Chennai and Amaravati Museum.
• Also patronised the great rock-cut chaitya hall at Karle (one of the largest), Bhaja, Bedsa, Junnar, Nasik, Kanheri caves.

D. Religion and Literature of Satavahanas

• Brahmanical patronage: Satakarni I performed Ashvamedha and Rajasuya. Gautamiputra called himself Eka-brahmana.
• Buddhist patronage: Despite Brahmanical leanings, Satavahanas were patrons of Buddhism — most of the great rock-cut Buddhist caves of the western Deccan and the Amravati stupa are their donations.
• The dynasty showed a model of tolerant patronage — kings supported both Brahmins (via agraharas) and Buddhists (via vihara/chaitya endowments).
• Hala's Gathasaptashati (Gaha Sattasai) — 700 Prakrit love-verses; depicts village life, romantic emotions, women's voices — earliest Prakrit anthology.
• Gunadhya's Brihatkatha in Paishachi Prakrit — lost original; survives in Sanskrit recensions (Kathasaritsagara, Brihatkathamanjari).
• Sarvavarman wrote the Katantra, a Sanskrit grammar, in this period.

E. Social Organization of Satavahanas

• Restoration of varnashrama: Gautamiputra's Nasik prashasti claims he "prevented the mixture of varnas" — restoring Brahmanical varna order.
• However, society shows considerable foreign (Yavana, Saka, Pahlava) presence — some absorbed as Kshatriyas, others remained outside the varna fold.
• High status of women: Naganika (wife of Satakarni I) and Gautami Balasri (mother of Gautamiputra) acted independently — Naganika minted coins in her own name; Gautami Balasri set up the Nasik Prashasti. Indicates matrilineal undercurrent.
• Four occupational classes in Satavahana inscriptions: Gahapatis (rich householders), Setthis (merchants), artisans (organised in shrenis/guilds), labourers.
• Guild banking: Inscriptions record donations (akshaya-nivi — permanent endowment) to guilds that paid perpetual interest to monasteries — earliest banking system documented.

3.4 Chedi (Mahameghavahana) Dynasty of Kalinga

• After Ashoka's death, Kalinga reasserted independence under the Mahameghavahana / Chedi dynasty.
• Kharavela (c. 1st century BC) is the celebrated ruler — third in the dynasty.
  • His exploits are recorded in the Hathigumpha (Elephant Cave) Inscription at Udayagiri Hills, near Bhubaneswar (Odisha) — a 17-line Prakrit inscription in Brahmi.
  • Year-wise autobiography of his reign: built water tanks, repaired city walls, conducted military campaigns to Magadha (forced retreat of Bahasatimita/Brihaspatimitra), to the south against the Pandya country, and to the west against the Yavana king (Demetrius?).
  • Brought back from Magadha a Jain image originally taken away by a Nanda king — confirms Jainism's prestige in Kalinga.
  • Patron of Jainism; donated Udayagiri-Khandagiri caves (Hathigumpha, Ranigumpha, Mancha-puri, Ananta etc.) to Jain monks.
  • Performed the Rajasuya sacrifice and donated lavishly to Brahmins, Buddhists and Jains alike.
• Importance: Hathigumpha inscription is one of the most detailed personal regnal records of the early historic period; provides the earliest reference to a Magadha king (Bahasatimita) and to a "Tramira-deshasamghata" (Tamil confederacy).

4. Economic Life of the Post-Mauryan Age

Despite the political fragmentation, the Post-Mauryan economy is often described as "the most prosperous phase of ancient India" — driven by external trade, urbanisation, craft specialisation and Roman gold.

4.1 Craft Development

• Iron technology spread — better ploughshares, axes, sickles, swords. Iron sites at Banawasi, Sanchi, Kausambi, Ujjain.
• Goldsmithy and gem-cutting reach high quality — Roman demand for Indian pearls, beryl (from Coimbatore), diamond (from Andhra) creates a boom.
• Textile centres — Mathura (cotton, "sataka" garments), Varanasi (silk, "kasheya"), Vanga (Bengal, muslin khauma), Madurai (cotton). The Periplus identifies Mathura cotton and Bengal muslin as major exports.
• Bead and stone-craft — Arikamedu's beads went west; the Roman world received Indian carnelian, agate, lapis lazuli.
• Glass-making: Mathura, Hastinapura, Taxila — improved during this period.
• Shrenis (guilds) become powerful — over 26 types of guilds mentioned in inscriptions (weavers, oilmen, smiths, potters, jewellers, goldsmiths, basket-makers, garland-makers, dyers, leather-workers, perfumers, fishermen, hunters). Guilds had their own seals, courts, charity funds and banking functions (akshaya-nivi — perpetual endowment).

4.2 Foreign Trade — Indo-Roman Trade

Major Ports and Trade Routes

• West coast: Bharukaccha (Broach), Sopara, Kalyan, Muziris (Cranganore, Kerala), Tondi.
• East coast: Korkai, Kaveripattinam (Puhar), Arikamedu (near Pondicherry), Masulipatnam (Maisolia), Tamralipti (Tamluk, Bengal).
• The discovery of monsoon winds by Hippalus (1st c. AD) revolutionised direct sea trade — voyages now took 40 days from the Red Sea to Indian ports.
• Silk Route through Central Asia: Controlled by Kushanas — connected China, India, Persia and Rome.

4.3 Coinage and Money Economy

• Money economy expands dramatically — first time gold coinage becomes systematic (Vima Kadphises, Kanishka, Huvishka).
• Diverse coin types — Indo-Greek bilingual silver, Saka silver drachms, Pahlava copper, Kushana gold (modelled on Roman aureus), Satavahana lead and potin, Roman gold/silver re-circulated.
• The Suvarna/Dinara (Kushana gold coin) weighed about 8 grams — similar to the Roman aureus, indicating standardisation for international trade.

5. Society of the Post-Mauryan Age

5.1 Urban Settlements — Second Urbanisation Flourishes

• The Post-Mauryan age is the peak of the second urbanisation in India. About 30+ urban sites show their maturest phase now.
• Notable urban centres:
  • North: Taxila, Purushapura (Peshawar), Mathura, Sankisa, Hastinapura, Kausambi, Sravasti, Varanasi, Vaishali, Rajagriha, Pataliputra, Champa, Tamralipti.
  • West: Ujjain, Vidisha, Bhrigukachchha (Broach), Sopara, Surat, Junnar.
  • Deccan: Pratisthan (Paithan), Nasik, Karad, Karle, Junnar, Tagara (Ter), Nagarjunakonda, Amravati.
  • South: Madurai, Korkai, Kaveripattinam, Arikamedu, Muziris.
• Urban features: Burnt brick architecture, ringwells, drainage, stupas and chaityas at city outskirts, marketplaces, caravan-sarais.
• Excavations at Sirkap (Taxila) show a planned Hellenistic grid-plan town from this era.
• Decline begins late: In the late 3rd century AD, many of these cities show signs of decline (lower-quality structures, reuse of older bricks), beginning the trend that will lead to "the urban crisis" of the Gupta period.

5.2 Social Structure

• Varna system intact but flexible: Foreigners (Yavanas, Sakas, Pahlavas, Kushanas) had to be assimilated. Manusmriti calls them Vratya-Kshatriyas (degenerate Kshatriyas) — a face-saving formula.
• Rise of new mixed castes (Antyajas): Manusmriti lists numerous Varnasankara (mixed-caste) groups born of inter-varna unions — Ambashtha, Nishada, Chandala, etc.
• Untouchability begins to be codified: The Chandala is described as residing outside the village in Manusmriti — institutional untouchability takes shape in this period.
• Women in this period:
  • Position in Manusmriti is contradictory — exalted on one hand ("yatra naryastu pujyante…") but kept under male guardianship throughout life.
  • Sati not yet a widespread practice; widow remarriage still occurred.
  • Queens like Naganika and Gautami Balasri exercised real political power; women donors are common in Buddhist cave inscriptions (e.g., Nasik).
  • The famous Yakshi figures of Bharhut, Sanchi, Didarganj (Didarganj Yakshi at Patna Museum) celebrate the female form.
• Slavery and labour: Slaves of multiple categories (Manusmriti lists seven); large-scale wage labour now apparent.
• Rise of mercantile/Setthi class — wealthy traders who donated large sums to monasteries; many cave inscriptions are merchant donations (Nasik, Karle, Junnar).

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