| Chandragupta Maurya |
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Chandragupta Maurya (चन्द्रगुप्त मौर्य) (ruled 322 – 298 BC ) was the founder of the Maurya Empire . The Maurya empire, whose capital was Pataliputra (modern day Patna ) in Eastern India , is acknowledged to be the greatest empire in ancient India, and lasted until 185 BC , fifty years after the death of Chandragupta's famous grandson, Emperor Ashoka The Great . .]] Prior to Chandragupta's consolidation of power, small regional kingdoms dominated Northern and Eastern India. Chandragupta is acknowledged as the greatest of ancient Indian rulers, and his kingdom, which spanned from Afghanistan in the West, Bengal in the East, the Deccan plateau in the South and Kashmir in the North, was the greatest power of its day. He appears in Greek Sources as ''Sandrokottos''. ORIGIN OR ANCESTRY ''"The ancestry of Chandragupta is still shrouded in mystery and not known for certain Political History of Ancient India, 1996, p 236, Dr H. C. raychaudhury, Dr B. N. Mukherjee; Ancient India, 2003, p 284, Dr V. D. Mahajan. There are divergent views regarding the origin, and each view has its own set of adherents. Nanda Dynasty Affiliation stamp commemorating the rule of Mauryan Emperor, Chandragupta Maurya.]] Some Indian literary traditions connect him with the Nanda prince and a ''dasi'' ( Hindi :maid), Mura. Pandit Kshmendra and Somadeva call him Purvananda-suta, son of genuine Nanda as opposed to Yoga-Nanda i.e pseudo Nanda. Peacock-tamer Theory Other literary traditions imply that Chandragupta was raised by Epithet . Both the Buddhist as well as Jain a traditions testify to the supposed connection between the Moriya (Maurya) and Mora or Mayura (''Peacock''). While the Buddhist tradition describes him as the son of the chief of the Peacock clan (Moriya), the Jain a tradition on the other hand, refers to him as the maternal grandson of the headman of the village of peacock tamers (Moraposaga)Parisishtaparvan, p 56, VIII239f. This view suggests a degraded background of Chandragupta. (The same Jain tradition also describes Nanda as the son of a barber by a courtesan). According to some scholars, there are some monumental evidence connecting the Mauryas with peacocks. The pillar of Ashoka in Nandangarh bears on its bottom the figures of a peacock which is repeated in many sculptures of Ashoka at Sanchi A Guide to Sanchi, pp 44, 62, Sir Johmn Marshal.. According to TurnourMahavamsa (Mahawamsa), xxxix f., Buddhist tradition also testifies to the connection between Moriya and Mora or Mayura or peacock. Aelian informs us that tame peacocks were kept in the parks of the Maurya palace at Pataliputra . But scholars like Foucher Monuments of Sanchi, 231. do not regard these birds as a sort of canting badge for the dynasty of Mauryas. They prefer to imagine in them a possible allusion to the Mora Jataka. Moreover, besides the peacocks, there were also other birds like pheasants, parrots as well as a variety of fishes etc also kept in the parks and water pools of the Mauryas. Moriya Clan View , with symbols of wheel and elephant. 3rd century BCE.]] Yet there are other literary traditions accoprding to which Chandragupta belonged to Moriyas, a Kshatriya (warrior) Clan of a little ancient republic of Pippalivana located between Rummindei in the Nepalese Tarai and Kasia in the Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh . Tradition suggests that this clan was reduced to great straights in the 4th Century BCE under Magadhan rule, and young Chandragupta grew up among the peacock-tamers, herdsmen and hunters. The states that the Moriyas (Mauryas) belonged to the Kshatriya community of Pippalivana. These traditions, at least, indicate that Chandragupta may have come from a Kshatriya lineage. The Mahavamshatika connects him with the Sakya clan of the Buddha , a clan which also claimed to belong to the race of Aditya i.e solar race. ''also Avadanakalpalata, No 59''. A medieval age inscription represents the Maurya clan as belonging to the ''solar race'' of Kshatriya s. Epigraphia Indica, II, 222. It is stated that the Maurya line sprang from Suryavamsi Mandhatri, son of prince Yuvanashva of the solar race For prince Mandhatri, son of prince Yuvanashva, please refer to Mahabharata 7/62/1-10. Alternate Views on Maurya Origin As it can be noticed from above, there is no concrete evidence on Chandragupta's origin and all the above referred to theories are quite divergent. Therefore, additional views have been proposed by an alternative school of scholars. Scythian Origin View A of Scythian or Indo-Scythian origin. It is claimed that the Jatts still have ''Maur'' or ''Maud'' as one of their Clan name.This view may become creditable only if it is accepted that the Jatts evolved from the Madra s, Kekaya s, Yona s, Kamboja s and the Gandhara s of the north-west borderlands of ancient Indian Sub-continent . This is because king Ashoka 's own Inscriptions refer only to the Yona s, Kambojas and the Gandharas as the most important people of his north-west frontiers during third century BCE. They do not make any reference whatsover, to the Sakas, Shakas or the Scythians. See: Rock Edict No 5 [http://depts.washington.edu/ebmp/etext.php?cki=CKI0005] '''and''' '''Rock Edict No 13''' [http://depts.washington.edu/ebmp/etext.php?cki=CKI0013] ( Shahbazgarhi version). The Rajputana Gazetteer describes the Moris (Mauryas?) as a Rajput clan II A, the Mewar Residency by Major K. D. Erskine, p 14.. One branch of Mauryas was ruling in Konkan region till late 12th century.Mauryas are considered as one of 96 royal Maratha Clan System . North-western Origin There is school of scholars like B.M. Barua, Dr J.W. McCrindle, Dr D.B. Spooner, Dr H.C. Seth, Dr Hari Ram Gupta, Dr Ratanjit Pal and others who connect Chandragupta (Sandrokottos) to the north-western frontiers. B.M. Barua calls him a man of Uttarapatha or Gandhara if not exactly of Taksashila'To me Candragupta was a man of the Uttarapatha or Gandhara if not exactly of Taksashila ' (Indian Culture, vol. X, p. 34, B. M. Barua).. Based on Plutarch 's evidence, Dr J.W. McCrindle and Dr H. R. Gupta write that Chandragupta Maurya was a Punjabi and belonged to the Ashvaka ( Assakenoi ) territory Invasion of India by Alexander the great, p. 405. Plutarch attests that Androcottos had seen Alexander when he (Androcottos) was a lad and afterwards he used to declare that Alexander might easily have conquered the whole country (India); ''Was Chandragupta Maurya a Punjabi?'' Article in Punjab History Conference, Second Session, Oct 28-30, 1966, Punjabi University Patiala, p 32-35. Appian of Alexandria (95CE-165CE), author of a Roman History attests that 'Antrokottos (Chandragupta), the king of the Indians, dwelt on river Indus '.Appian (XI, 55). Some historians state that he belonged to Kunar and Swat valleys. See: The Kambojas Through the Ages, 2005, pp 150-51, Kirpal Singh. This reference also seems to indicate that Chandragupta belonged to north-west rather than East India. These scholars relate Sandrocottos (or Androcottos) with Sisicottos of the Classical writings. Sisicottos was the ruler of Paropamisos (, and that he called himself Maurya because his mother was the keeper of royal peacocks (mor) at Pataliputra. He came to Punjab and conquered it. Afterwards, with the help of the Punjab army he seized the Nanda empire. However, there are reasons to believe that Chandragupta belonged to the Kshatriya caste of the ruling Ashvaka tribe of the Koh-i-Mor territory. He called himself Maurya after his homeland"'' (Ref: Article in Sunday Tribune, January 10, 1999 ''They taught lessons to kings'', Gur Rattan Pal Singh; Also cf: ''Was Chandragupta Maurya a Punjabi''?, Punjab History Conference, Second Session, Oct 28-30, 1966, Punjabi University Patiala, p 33, Dr H. R. Gupta) |
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