Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mauryan Empire & Southern Kingdoms
Chandragupta Maurya was the first in a line of Mauryan kings to rule what was effectively
the first Indian empire. The empire's capital was in present-day Patna in Bihar. Chandrag-
upta's son, Bindusara, who came to the throne around 300 BC, extended the empire as far
as Karnataka. However, he seems to have stopped there, possibly because the Mauryan em-
pire was on cordial terms with the southern chieftains of the day.
The identity and customs of these chiefdoms have been gleaned from various sources,
including archaeological remains and ancient Tamil literature. These literary records de-
scribe a land known as the 'abode of the Tamils', within which resided three major ruling
families: the Pandyas (Madurai), the Cheras (Malabar Coast) and the Cholas (Thanjavur
and the Cauvery Valley). The region described in classical Sangam literature (written
between 300 BC and AD 200) was still relatively insulated from Sanskrit culture, but from
200 BC this was starting to change.
A degree of rivalry characterised relations between the main chiefdoms and the numer-
ous minor chiefdoms, and there were occasional clashes with Sri Lankan rulers. Sangam
literature indicates that Sanskrit traditions from the old Aryan kingdoms of the north were
taking root in South India around 200 BC. Ultimately, the southern powers all suffered at
the hands of the Kalabhras, about whom little is known except that they appeared to have
originated from somewhere north of the Tamil region.
By around 180 BC the Mauryan empire, which had started to disintegrate soon after the
death of Emperor Ashoka in 232 BC, had been overtaken by a series of rival kingdoms that
were subjected to repeated invasions from northerners such as the Bactrian Greeks. Despite
this apparent instability, the post-Ashokan era produced at least one line of royalty whose
patronage of the arts and ability to maintain a relatively high degree of social cohesion
have left an enduring legacy. This was the Satavahanas, who eventually controlled all of
Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Under their
rule, between 200 BC and AD 200, the arts blossomed, especially literature, sculpture and
philosophy. Buddhism reached a peak in Maharashtra under the Satavahanas, although the
greatest of the Buddhist cave temples at Ajanta and Ellora were built later by the Chalukya
and Rashtrakuta dynasties.
Most of all, the subcontinent enjoyed a period of considerable prosperity. South India
may have lacked vast and fertile agricultural plains on the scale of North India, but it com-
pensated by building strategic trade links via the Indian Ocean.
