History: Chandragupta Maurya - India's First Emperor

In my last few ancient history posts, I have written about Hannibal (the great Carthaginian general), Cyrus the Great, Darius I and Xerxes (the great Persian emperors of the Achaemenid Empire) and briefly about Alexander and Julius Caesar. What about Indian kings, someone asked me? What about our own glorious history and heritage? Why are you not writing about that? All very valid questions – and they are right. India’s ancient history is at least as glorious and noteworthy as that of the Persians, Greeks or Romans. After all, we have produced such great spiritual leaders and philosophers such as the Buddha, Mahavira and Shankaracharya as well as great emperors such as Bimbisara, Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka the Great and Vikramaditya.

H.G. Wells in his book “A Short History of the World” observed that Ashoka’s rule circa 250 B.C. was the true age of enlightenment. Ashoka was an enlightened ruler, especially after he embraced Buddhism. The Mauryan Empire that he ruled has been compared to the Athenian Golden Age under Pericles (circa 440 B.C). The difference is that Ashoka ruled over many more people, and his reign was compassionate and benign. The Mauryan Empire ruled by Ashoka was also far larger and richer than the Athens of two hundred years earlier.

Sadly, no magnificent ruins of Pataliputra remain to remind us of the Mauryan Empire’s greatness, like Persepolis or Pasargadae in Iran or the Parthenon in Greece. In addition, western historians (propagandists actually) such as Strabo, Plutarch and later Livy and Virgil painstakingly documented (and greatly exaggerated) the achievements of their own Greek and Roman monarchs. Alas, no such detailed accounts exist of the Indian empires of old. But that does not mean these empires did not exist. So I will try and recreate the splendor and glory of what was ancient India in this blog.

So apart from the ancient Indian epics the Mahabharata and Ramayana, what is a good starting point to begin understanding ancient Indian history? A difficult question. The Magadhan kings Bimbisara and Ajatashatru circa 500 B.C. could be a good starting point. But even more interesting (and easier to write about from my point of view, since more documentation exists) is Chandragupta Maurya. Why Chandragupta Maurya? Because he was the founder of the first Indian Empire – a huge empire that stretched from Burma to eastern Iran, from Central Asia to South India. This empire was quite as large as Alexander’s empire, as culturally diverse and as rich. Chandragupta also was a hero, a great administrator and only twenty years old when he created this empire. His empire also lasted two hundred years, while Alexander’s broke up within a few years of his death. Chandragupta Maurya lived in very interesting times – circa 340 to 298 B.C., when the Western world was undergoing a seismic geo-political shift. What seismic geo-political shift, you may ask, and why is he using such big words? I am using big words because major world events justify their use. Allow me to elaborate.

In 333 B.C. Alexander the Macedonian invaded Asia and took on the Achaemenid Persian Empire. He beat the Persians at Issus in what is modern-day Turkey. In 331 B.C. he beat them again at Gaugamela in what is modern-day Northern Iraq. The Persian Achaemenid dynasty had established the first world empire more than two hundred years earlier, under Cyrus the Great in 560 B.C. Unfortunately, their last king Darius III (not to be confused with Darius I who is also called Darius the Great) was a coward and fled the battlefield at both Issus and Gaugamela. Because of his cowardice, he lost to Alexander when he should have won. Alexander inherited a stable, rich, enormous world empire that stretched from Northern India to Greece. To give you a modern day comparison of the changes this brought about in the ancient world, imagine if the United States went to war with say, Venezuela tomorrow - and lost. The world was turned on its head. The old established world order was abruptly destroyed and new power equations suddenly emerged.

After beating the Persians and consolidating his hold over the Persian heartland of Iran, Alexander decided to pacify the troublesome Central Asian Scythian tribes to the north and east of Iran. He got hopelessly lost in the mountains of the Hindu Kush (modern-day northern Afghanistan) where many of his soldiers died of frostbite and starvation. He finally emerged in Northern Punjab on the Indus River, sometime in 326 B.C. Here his army was challenged by the local king, the brave Porus. Alexander and Porus fought a series of closely contested battles. Alexander was impressed with the military abilities of Porus’s small army.

With a modest army of twenty thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry, Porus managed to beat off the much larger Macedonian army twice. The Macedonians were demoralized by the presence of war elephants (which they had never seen before) as well as the powerful Indian longbows. These longbows were six feet in length, and fired arrows that were capable of piercing even the thickest Macedonian body armor. Porus finally lost only because he was ambushed by the Macedonians on the Indus River. Porus (I will call him by his good Indian name Paurava – I am Indian and he was someone we can be proud of) was a giant of a man in both physical stature and courage – he was nearly seven feet tall. When his massive war elephant was brought down by the Macedonians, he dismounted and continued to fight. He continued fighting when his entire army was cut to pieces around him, and refused to give up, standing alone on the battlefield, sword and shield in hand, badly wounded and bleeding profusely. It is said that Alexander was impressed by Paurava’s bravery and that after the battle, they became friends.

Exhausted after a bitter winter in the Hindu Kush and so much fighting, Alexander’s army refused to press ahead into the rich and prosperous Indian Gangetic delta. Alexander was distraught but could do nothing about it. The reason the weary Macedonians were reluctant was because they heard that the king of the Nanda Empire (Dhana Nanda) awaited them across the Ganges, ready for battle, with a huge army - 100,000 infantry, 50,000 cavalry and over 300 war elephants.

The Macedonians were terrified of elephants which they saw for the first time in their battle against Paurava. They had no desire to fight and lose their lives in what was probably a lost cause - fulfilling Alexander’s desire for world dominion. They also had a healthy respect for the fighting abilities of the Indians, since they had fought against them in their battles with Paurava, as well as the Persians. A large Indian infantry and cavalry contingent had also formed part of the Ten Thousand Immortals – the elite bodyguard of the last Persian king Darius III. They had fought Alexander fiercely at both Issus and Gaugamela and had remained undefeated until Darius III decided to flee.

Why is he giving me so much of a background and when is he going to get to the damn point, you ask. Be patient, gentle reader! I am giving you such a detailed background because it has a great bearing on my story of Chandragupta Maurya – the founder of the Mauryan dynasty, and the first ruler of all India (and beyond).

And now to Chandragupta Maurya. His origins are shrouded in mystery. Who was he and like so many great men, how did he emerge from obscurity to create an empire that encompassed all of modern-day India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and eastern Iran? There are many different accounts. The one believed to be true is that he was a bastard son of the last king of the Nanda Empire (Dhana Nanda) and a palace maid whose name was Mura – therefore his name became Chandragupta Maurya. He was probably born in 340 B.C. He was a very intelligent, charismatic young man and as a child, had a hold over his playmates who treated him as if he were a young king. At a very young age, he attempted to usurp his father’s throne. He was exiled from Pataliputra and sent to Taxila on the north-western frontier of the Nanda Empire.

Here he met the famous Chanakya (also known as Kautilya), author of the world’s first comprehensive treatise on politics and statecraft, the “Arthashastra”. This was a fateful meeting. Chanakya spotted the young Chandragupta’s “empire-building” potential. He also realized that he could become powerful himself and Chandragupta was a willing instrument who would help him succeed. Chandragupta for his part, realized that Chanakya was a man who could help him take revenge against his father and gain control of the Nanda Empire.

The relationship between Chanakya and Chandragupta was similar to the one between Aristotle and the young Alexander. Chanakya was teaching at Taxila University in northwestern Punjab when Alexander arrived there. Worn out by his crossing of the Hindu Kush and his battles with Paurava, a weary Alexander stayed longer at Taxila than he had originally planned. This gave Chanakya the opportunity to introduce Chandragupta to Alexander. What an important and historical meeting that must have been!! Chandragupta tried to convince Alexander to go to war with his father Dhana Nanda, the ruler of the Nanda Empire. But he failed. Alexander’s army was exhausted, and they had no desire to fight Dhana Nanda’s army. Their attempt to conquer India had been unsuccessful. Since Chandragupta had been exiled and could not go back to his father’s kingdom, he decided to stay in Taxila with Chanakya.

History has it that Chandragupta quietly studied and learned the secrets of how Alexander had overrun the Persian Empire. The young man must have spoken at length to the Macedonians and understood their military strengths and strategies – the power and cohesion of the heavily armored Greek phalanx, the battle gear of the Macedonian Companion cavalry, the use of siege towers and engines, etc. All of this knowledge was to come in very useful later. This meeting between Alexander and Chandragupta probably took place in 325 B.C., right before Alexander finally gave up his dream of conquering India and headed west back to Babylon, where he died two years later, probably of malaria. Alexander’s death and lack of a successor caused a power vacuum in the Old Persian Empire.

When Alexander died in Babylon in 323 B.C., his Macedonian lieutenants gathered around him like vultures, all hoping to be anointed his successor. Legend has it that when Alexander was asked who the chosen successor to his empire was, he raised his head from his deathbed and whispered in his fevered voice “krateros” – which meant “to the strongest”. This story may or may not be true. What is true is that Alexander’s young empire, inherited from the Persians, fell apart just ten years after his conquest because of Alexander’s poor administrative skills and the lack of an appointed successor.

The power vacuum created by Alexander’s death meant a mad scramble for power among his lieutenants (“satrap” in Greek, “kshatrapavan” in old Persian). One of Alexander’s satraps Seleucus (known later as Seleucus Nicator or Seleucus the Victorious) wrested control of the eastern portion of the Alexander’s empire – from eastern Iran to the Indus River in the Punjab. Seleucus was a very capable and fascinating man in his own right and established the Seleucid Empire in Iran and Iraq, which was later overthrown by the second Persian Empire of the Parthians.

But back to Chandragupta!! By 325 B.C. Chandragupta had an able guide and mentor in Chanakya. Having failed to convince Alexander to invade India, Chandragupta and Chanakya resorted to an alternate plan. Together, they planned and schemed to take on Chandragupta’s father, Dhana Nanda, the king of the Nanda Empire. Chandragupta was still a teenager. He was resentful that his father had exiled him to Taxila. He considered himself the heir to the Nanda throne, though he was a bastard son. Over the next few years, Chandragupta planned meticulously. He built an army of his own. He also formed strong alliances with powerful enemies of the Nanda Empire, including Paurava’s successor, the Himalayan king Parvatka. Your enemy’s enemy is your friend, remember? One of the basic cornerstones of politics and statecraft. Guided by the clever Chanakya, Chandragupta finally put together a formidable army and a powerful alliance of his father’s enemies. Then he proceeded to go to war with his father – the ruler of the Nanda Empire. Here, unfortunately, historical accounts are hazy and unlike in Western history, there are no clear accounts of the battle that took place between Chandragupta and his father’s army.

What is known is that Chandragupta beat his father’s general Bhadrasala in a series of battles, the last one ending with the siege of the city of Kusumapura on the Indo-Gangetic plain. We also know that Chandragupta beat his father Dhana Nanda and killed him. He had gained his revenge. He then became king and ascended the throne at Pataliputra in eastern India (modern-day Bihar). He supplanted the old Nanda dynasty and founded one of his own - the Mauryan dynasty. This was in 320 B.C. Chandragupta was only twenty years old, and the ruler of a large, rich empire that stretched more than a thousand miles from east to west, and eight hundred miles north to south.

Chandragupta then proceeded to pick off the weaker states in southern India. By the time he was twenty two years old (about 318 B.C.), he was ruler of all India – the first ruler of India, our first Emperor. Chandragupta was an excellent administrator as well (most warriors are not). Crime was almost unheard of in the Mauryan Empire in his reign. The empire was prosperous, and Chandragupta’s penal system was harsh – evasion of taxes meant a death sentence and perjury was punished by maiming. The empire was divided into three provinces, each managed by a viceroy. A palace guard comprised of well-paid foreign mercenaries guarded the royal presence. This ensured that no disaffected local elements tried to kill him. Chanakya set up a secret police agency and an excellent intelligence network that protected the empire from enemies, within and outside the empire.

How prosperous and stable was the Mauryan Empire under Chandragupta? We have to rely on accounts from visiting Greeks here. Megasthenes, Seleucus’s ambassador to the Mauryan Empire had this to say about the power and opulence of Pataliputra, the capital of the Mauryan Empire and the royal palace there - “It has wonders which neither Persian Susa in all its glory nor the magnificence of Ekbatana can hope to vie; indeed, only the well-known vanity of the Persians could imagine such a comparison”.

At the time of Chandragupta Maurya, the city was surrounded by a wooden wall which had slots from which to shoot arrows. This wall had five hundred and seventy towers and sixty-four gates. Beyond the wall was a deep trench which was used for defense and as a sewage system. The city was mostly built of wood. This changed when Chandragupta’s grandson Ashoka the Great ascended the throne. He converted the city from a wooden one to a city of stone and granite (much like Augustus did with Rome two hundred and fifty years later).

The royal palace at Pataliputra is reported to have covered an area of four square miles. Ashoka also built universities and monasteries. Pataliputra was the largest, richest and most civilized city in the world in its time. No Greek or Persian city could match it. Sadly, very little of this great city remains to remind the modern visitor of its splendor and magnificence.

Chandragupta now turned his attention to the west in a bid to expand his empire. As a teenager, he had spent several years studying the military strategies and tactics of the Macedonians. This knowledge now proved to be very useful. He decided to take on Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Empire, the man who had taken control of the eastern portion of the erstwhile Persian Empire. While Seleucus Nicator was a great empire-builder in his own right, he was no match for the young Indian conqueror.

Chandragupta went to war with Seleucus in 306 B.C., a man he must have met nearly twenty years before, when he was a young exile at Taxila. Chandragupta adapted Macedonian battle tactics to suit Indian conditions and comprehensively beat Seleucus in the field. Again, no accounts of the battle survive, so sadly no details are available. But it must have been one humdinger of a battle!! Seleucus was forced to cede huge territories east of the Indus River to Chandragupta. All of modern-day Pakistan, Afghanistan and eastern Iran were handed over to Chandragupta as part of the peace treaty after Seleucus lost.

Chandragupta now ruled over the largest empire in the world – from Burma (Myanmar) in the East, to Iran in the West, from Sri Lanka in the South to Uzbekistan in the North. This empire was quite as large, rich and culturally diverse as the erstwhile Persian Empire conquered by Alexander the Macedonian.

Chandragupta Maurya abdicated his throne in favor of his son in 298 B.C., and died shortly after. He was only forty two years old.

Like most conquerors, Chandragupta was intelligent, ruthless, opportunistic and charismatic. But he was India’s first emperor, and founder of a great empire and a great lineage. His grandson Ashoka the Great expanded the boundaries of the Mauryan Empire even further, and became the greatest king in India’s history. Let nobody belittle India’s history and heritage. It is quite as great as the history of Greece or Rome. I hope this blog has in a small way brought alive the first man who united India under a single banner, the banner of the great Mauryan Empire – Chandragupta Maurya, India’s first emperor.