Life in Mauryan Times & Fragile Empires

NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Grade 7 Part I) | Chapter 5: The Rise of Empires

Life in the Mauryan Period

Cities like Pataliputra were bustling centres of governance and commerce with palaces, public buildings, and well-planned streets. A well-organised taxation system and brisk trade kept the treasury strong. Officials, merchants, and artisans played key roles in urban life. Agriculture was vital, with two crops sown yearly. Granaries were well-stocked against emergencies, and even during wars nearby, farmers were protected. Houses were made of wood up to two storeys tall, streets had water vessels stored for firefighting, and people wore cotton garments.

Mauryan Art & Architecture

The Mauryas were renowned for their polished stone pillars. The Sarnath lion capital — with four lions symbolising royal power and the dharmachakra (wheel of dharma) symbolising the Buddha's teachings — was chosen as India's national emblem. The motto satyameva jayate ('truth alone triumphs') from the Mundaka Upanishad was added beneath it. The Great Stupa at Sanchi, one of India's oldest stone structures, exemplifies Mauryan architecture, originally built in brick and later enlarged with stone.

The Fragile Nature of Empires

Empires are inherently fragile. They can bring political unity and reduce warfare among smaller kingdoms, leading to greater prosperity. However, they are almost always established through force and maintained through power, making them unstable over time. Causes of decline include: tributary regions seeking independence, increasing demands for tribute leading to resentment, weak successors after strong emperors, far-off territories splitting away, and economic crises from natural calamities. The Maurya Empire itself fragmented within half a century of Ashoka's death, around 185 BCE.