DECLINE OF THE MAURYAN EMPIRE

Decline of the Mauryan Empire 

The Mauryan empire began to disintegrate soon after the death of Aahoka around 232 BEC . Ashoka was succeeded by a chain of weak rulers since , surprisingly , after Ashoka , only one of the later Mauryas , i.e. king Dasaratha is known to have issued inscriptions . Several factors can be delineated which brought about the decline and downfall of the Mauryan empire , such as : 

1. Brahmanical reaction 

2. Oppressive rule in provinces 

3. Financial crisis

4. Spread of material culture and new knowledge in 

    the outlying areas

5. Neglect of the north-west frontier and absence of a 

    boundary structure such as the Great Wall of 

    China 

1. Brahmanical reaction : The anti-sacrifice attitude of Buddhism and deriding of the superfluous rituals performed by them by Ashoka must have brought loss to the income and livelihood options of Brahmanas who used to live on the varied gifts made to them . Also , the appointment of Dhamma Mahamattas would have come in conflict with the Brahmanas ' prestige as custodians of social morality and order . This naturally must have made Brahmanas hostile towards the Mauryas . They wanted a ruler who would uphold their existing interests and privileges . It is rather interesting to note that some of the new kingdoms that arose on the ruins of the Maurya empire were ruled by Brahmanas such as the Shungas and the Kanvas in Central India and the Satavahanas in the Deccan . Ashoka's pacifist policy also resulted in lack of preparedness of the army , and may have been a factors responsible for the success of Greek invasion . Harprasad Shastri too corroborates this view and holds Ashoka's pro-Buddhist and pacifist policy responsible for annoying the Brahmanas and resulting in the fall of Mauryan empire . 

2. Oppressive rule in provinces : There have been instances of complaints by citizens of certain provinces regarding misrule by corrupt officials . The appointment of Ashoka as the viceroy of Taxila during Bindusara's reign to redress the grievances of citizens against dushtamatyas ( wicked bureaucrats ) is a example . Similarly , the Kalinga edicts also point towards the fact that Ashoka was very concerned about oppression in the provinces and therefore advises his Mahamattas not to torture townsmen without due cause . The disturbing and outrageous fact that the last Maurya king Brihadratha was assassinated by his commander of army during an inspection of the troops , and there was probably not much hue and cry on the murder, further substantiates the claim that the later Mauryas were not very popular with the public . 

3. Financial crisis : The enormous expenditure on maintaining such a large army and bureaucracy must have created a financial crises for the Mauryan empire . The cost of establishing settlements on the newly cleared lands also must have strained the treasury . D.D. Koshambi supports this view and feels that heavy economic pressure due to a vast army and bureaucracy may have resulted in a crisis . 

4. Spread of material culture and new knowledge in the outlying areas : Once the new knowledge of iron tools and weapons spread in the peripheral areas , Magadha lost its special advantage . On the basis of material culture acquired from Magadha , new kingdoms such as the Shungas and Kanvas in Central India , the Chetis in Kalinga and the Satavahanas in the Deccan were founded and developed . 

5. Neglect of the north-west frontier and absence of a boundary structure such as the Great Wall of China : 

The neglect of safeguarding of the passage on the north-west frontier cost the Mauryans dearly . In the third century BCE , a number of Central Asian nomadic tribes such as the Scythians were in a state of flux , and moved towards the settled empires of China and India in search of new terrains . The Chinese ruler Shih Huang Ti ( 247-210 BCE ) in about 220 BCE constructed the Great Wall of China to protect his empire against the Scythian attack . Since such measures were not taken by Ashoka on the north-western frontier of India , in order to escape the Scythians , the Parthians , the Shakas and the Greeks were forced to move towards India . The Greeks were first to invade India in 206 BCE and they set up their kingdom in north Afghanistan called Bactria .