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Home › Exam notes › UPSC Civil Services › Mauryan State & Ashoka

Mauryan State & Ashoka

History & Culture

Useful for: UPSC Civil Services

Overview

The Mauryan Empire (c. 321–185 BCE) was India’s first large centralised state; Ashoka’s inscriptions record his policy of dhamma after the Kalinga war.

Key points

  • Chandragupta Maurya founded the empire around 321 BCE with Chanakya (Kautilya).
  • Megasthenes, envoy of Seleucus Nicator, wrote the Indica.
  • Ashoka’s change of heart after the Kalinga war is described in Major Rock Edict XIII.
  • Edicts are mostly in Prakrit in the Brahmi script; Kharoshthi was used in the north-west and Greek and Aramaic in Afghanistan.
  • James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837.
  • The Lion Capital of Sarnath is India’s national emblem.

Practice MCQs

  1. From the perspective of definition and scope, which one of the following statements about Mauryan State & Ashoka is correct?

    1. Ashoka’s dhamma inscriptions merely reproduce Buddhist canonical doctrine word for word.
    2. Mauryan State & Ashoka is unrelated to institutions, processes or real-world applications.
    3. Mauryan State & Ashoka has no exceptions or limitations in exam analysis.
    4. The Mauryan Empire created a large political formation with differentiated provincial and local arrangements.

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    Show answer

    Answer: (d) The Mauryan Empire created a large political formation with differentiated provincial and local arrangements.. The Mauryan Empire created a large political formation with differentiated provincial and local arrangements.

  2. Consider the following statements on Mauryan State & Ashoka, focusing on definition and scope: 1. The Mauryan Empire created a large political formation with differentiated provincial and local arrangements. 2. Archaeology, inscriptions and literary traditions must be read together because each source has limitations. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2

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    Show answer

    Answer: (c) Both 1 and 2. Both statements are correct.

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Notes and questions are written by Kundali IQ for practice. They are not official papers; always check the latest official notification for the syllabus and pattern.