Medieval History

In 298 BCE, Chandragupta voluntarily abdicated the throne in favour of his son Bindusara, who became the new Mauryan emperor. What we know after this point seems closer to legend than an actual historical account. It is said that Chandragupta turned into an ascetic and follower of Jainism.

Ashoka lead a huge army against Kalinga. This took place in 261 B.C., the freedom loving people of Kalinga offered a stiff resistance to the Mauryan army.

Pranaya literally meaning a gift of affection, pranaya was a levy imposed by the state during emergency periods. Though first mentioned by Panini, it was elaborated upon for the first time in Arthashastra. Pranaya amounted to onethird or one-fourth of the produce according to the nature of the soil.

Bindusara is also known as Amitraghata (amitra-enemy, ghata-slayer) in Sanskrit Literature. Strabo has named him Amitrochates or Allitrochades which are greek version of the name Amitraghata.

Chandragupta Maurya with the help of Chanakya decided to overthrow the Nandas because the Nandas accumulated a great deal of wealth by extortion and oppression of the people.

The great silk-route to the Indians was opened by Kaniskha. Silk Route was established during the reign of Han Dynasty of China. It connects China with East Europe Mediterranean countries and Central Asia, passing through India.

The empire was divided into four provinces, each under a prince or member of the royal family (Kumara and Aryaputra).

Thanesar to Kannauj

Kanishka was a great patron of the Buddhist faith; Buddhism spread to Central Asia and the Far East across Bactria and Sogdia, where his empire met the Han Empire of China. King Kanishka was greatly influenced by the knowledge, teachings and personality of the Buddhist scholar Asvaghosha so, he decided to embrace Buddhism in later days of his life. He even accepted the Mahayana sect of Buddhism as his state religion.

It is believed to be the language spoken by Gautama Buddha. It was the official language of the Mauryan court, in which the edicts of Ashoka were composed. The name Magahi is directly derived from the name Magadhi Prakrit, and educated speakers of Magahi prefer to call it "Magadhi" rather than "Magahi".

Chandragupta thereafter built one of the largest empires ever on the Indian subcontinent. According to Jain sources, he then renounced it all, and became a monk in the Jain tradition. Chandragupta is claimed, by the historic Jain texts, to have followed Jainism in his life, by first renouncing all his wealth and power, going away with Jaina monks into the Deccan region (now Karnataka), and ultimately performing Sallekhana – the Jain religious ritual of peacefully welcoming death by fasting.

The Arthashastra is the title of a handbook for running an empire, written by Kautilya (also known as Chanakya, c. 350-275 BCE) an Indian statesman and philosopher, chief advisor and Prime Minister of the Indian Emperor Chandragupta, the first ruler of the Mauryan Empire.

Upagupta (c. 3rd Century BC) was a Buddhist monk. According to some stories in the Sanskrit text Ashokavadana, he was the spiritual teacher of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. Upagupta's teacher was Sanavasi who was a disciple of Ānanda, the Buddha's attendant.

Megasthenes was born in Asia Minor and became an ambassador of Seleucus I Nicator of the Seleucid dynasty to Chandragupta Maurya in Pataliputra, India.

The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire existing from the mid-to-late 3rd century CE to 590 CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 550 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is called the Golden Age of India by some historians.