What were the causes of the decline of the Maurya Empire? Was Asoka in any way responsible for its decline?
What were the causes of the decline of the Maurya Empire? Was Asoka in any way responsible for its decline?
.png)
Reasons for the fall of the Mauryan Empire:-
With the efforts of Chandragupta Maurya, Chanakya and Ashoka, the Maurya Empire took a huge form, but after the death of Ashoka in 233 BC, taking advantage of the internal chaos of the empire in 185 BC, the tenth emperor Brihadratha was killed by his general Pushyamitra Sunga and seized the throne. However, the Mauryan Empire did not fall due to any one particular reason - a combination of factors was responsible for its downfall.
Opposition of Brahmins:-
According to Pandit Haraprasad Shastri, the hatred of Brahmins towards Ashoka was one of the reasons for the downfall of the Mauryan Empire. He thinks -
1. The ban on animal sacrifice was enforced only against Brahmins.
2. Ashoka undermined the rights and dignity of the Brahmins by introducing the principle of equality of punishment and equality of use.
3. Ashoka interfered with the exclusive rights of the Brahmins by appointing Dharma Mahamatras.
For all these reasons the Brahmins rebelled under the leadership of Pushyamitra Sunga and helped to destroy the Mauryan dynasty.
But Dr. H C Roychoudhury and Dr R C Mazumdar have expressed doubts about the validity of H. Shastri's opinion. According to them, Ashoka prohibited the killing of animals by following the principle of non-violence. By applying equality of punishment and equality of use, he was able to introduce the same type of justice system irrespective of class. Apart from preaching, Dharma Mahamatras also looked after the happiness and well-being of all irrespective of caste and religion. Thus, there was no good reason for the Brahmins to be hostile to Ashoka, who was generous and tolerant of paganism.
Extension of empire:-
The size of the Maurya Empire can be identified as one of the reasons for its decline. Due to the lack of a fast transportation system and the difficulty of establishing communication with different parts of the empire, it was not possible for the central royal power to maintain its supremacy in that era.
Administrative weaknesses:-
Although the Maurya administration was politically well organized, it had some serious weaknesses. The bureaucracy was highly centralized and all owed allegiance to the king alone. In the absence of specific norms to control the dominance of social and territorial groups, clan administration crippled the social administration of the empire. Besides, the practice of espionage creates complications in the political and administrative spheres.
Tyranny of Provincial Rulers :-
Ashoka's inscriptions reveal that provincial rulers in the provinces used to oppress the masses as they depended on the royal servants for administrative matters and depended on their goodwill. After the death of Ashoka, when this tyranny reached its climax, anarchy was created all around. Taking advantage of this chaos, powerful provincial rulers broke ties with the empire and declared independence.
Rebellion of individual nations:-
In principle Ashoka recognized the individuality of the individual castes and tribes within the empire. Among them were - Andhra, Pulinda, Kamboja, Rashtrik, Bhoja, Chola, Panda, Satyaputra and Keralaputra. After Ashoka's death, they became powerful and helped bring down the Mauryan Empire.
Disqualifications of later emperors:-
The emperors after Ashoka were not able to solve internal and external problems. It is known from Rajatarangini that Jaloki declared the independence of Kashmir and expanded the kingdom up to Kannauj. According to a book written by Taranath, Birsen declared independence in Gandhar. Thus, the weakness and rivalry of Ashoka's successors was one of the reasons for the fall of the Mauryan Empire.
Economic Deterioration :-
Although the entire valley was dominated by an agricultural economy; But there was considerable variation in the economy and revenue system throughout the empire. As a result, the economic status quo was greatly disrupted and brought about an extreme economic crisis on the entire Mauryan empire. As a result, the stability of the empire became dangerous.
Ashoka's responsibility in the fall of the Maurya Empire
Ashoka abandoned the ‘’Digvijaya policy’’ and adopted the ‘’Dharmavijaya policy’’. He instructed his successors to follow the principles of 'Dharmaghosha' instead of 'Verighosha'. Adoption of non-violence as a state policy undermines military power. As a result, foreign attacks took place on the occasion of internal chaos.
According to Dr. Bhandarkar, this moralism of Ashoka resulted in a strong aversion to militarism, statehood and material development. The result was the collapse of the Mauryan Empire.
Dr. Roy Chowdhury mentions two more errors of Ashoka.
1. He strengthened opposition forces at the center by handing over power to royal servants.
2. By excessive donation, meditation, he damaged the treasury of the country.
But Nilakantha Shastri contradicted all these opinions and said that the state is not strong only by war; Aurangzeb could not prevent the decline of the Mughal Empire despite his lifelong struggle. Although Ashoka is theoretically responsible for the downfall of the Maurya Empire, it cannot be said that his ideals of non-violence were the cause of the downfall of the empire. Although Ashoka's policy of religious conquest was partly responsible for the downfall of the Mauryan empire, it cannot be denied that even if he had followed his grandfather's policy of conquest, the empire would have fallen at some point.
The Arab historian Ibn Khaldun said,
“Every empire has its birth, its rise and its fall. ''
The moral and cultural preeminence that Ashoka established for India in the civilized world remains undiminished after two thousand years.
According to Dr. Majumder,
Ashoka is incomparable in world history and Ashoka's advent has glorified India.
Dr. Smith commented,
Ashoka is the first preceptor of mankind.
0 comments