Economic Conditions of Mauryan India

The economic conditions of Mauryan India were characterized by a robust and organized economy that played a key role in sustaining the Mauryan Empire, which existed from 322 BCE to 185 BCE. The Mauryan Empire, under rulers like Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka the Great, witnessed significant developments in various economic aspects. This meta-description provides an overview of economic conditions during this era, including agriculture, trade, taxation, and coinage, and sheds light on the prosperity and stability of the Mauryan Indian economy.

Economic Conditions of Mauryan India

Introduction

The political unification of India, the establishment of a strong centralized government, the restoration of law and order, the opening of western trade routes by Alexander, and measures taken by the Mauryan state to promote agriculture, trade, commerce, industry, and crafts gave a great impetus to economic development in this period. The increased attention paid by the Mauryan state to the laying out and maintenance of roads and waterways naturally led to a great expansion of Indian industry and commerce. The vastness of India’s agricultural and mineral resources and the extraordinary skill of its artisans were mentioned with admiration by Megasthenes and other Greek accounts of the period.

Agriculture

• (i) The Mauryan state took great care to promote agriculture. It expanded agriculture by encouraging the excess population to settle in new or abandoned areas for cultivation. Land yields on agricultural land ranged from one-quarter to one-sixth of production. The villages were well organized from a fiscal point of view, and the arable land and pastures were carefully monitored. Crops grown in the villages include rice of various varieties, coarse grains (Kodrava), sesame, pepper, saffron, pulses, wheat, linseed, mustard, vegetables and fruits of various types, and sugarcane. The government has set up model farms, which have been very helpful in improving agriculture in the country. The state maintained cattle farms, stud farms, and dairy farms.
• (ii) Irrigation was a state interest as an important source of revenue derived from water charges levied in accordance with the means of irrigation used. Rural officials were granted land without the right of alienation. Village life was built on private property, security of life and property, communications, and public works.

Business trips

The Arthashastra pays considerable attention to roads and market towns. It enables an intelligent assessment of the relative value of different trade routes. The roads leading to the Himalayas were better than those leading to Dakshinapathy. With the establishment and expansion of Mauryan power, the balance of trade shifted in favor of the south. More roads leading to this part of the south opened up, and the volume of trade increased. The Mauryan Empire controlled not only all internal trade routes but also most of the land and sea routes leading out. The royal highway from the north-west to Pataliputra was considered important. It continued to be so for centuries and is popularly known as the Grand Trunk Road. Megasthenes refers to government officials in charge of roads and notes how signboards were placed at intervals to indicate turns and distances. It also refers to the royal route from the north-west to Pataliputra as one that existed in earlier times. The routes of ancient antiquity that connected India with Babylonia were, for the most part, much more frequented, more important, and better developed than the route further north. They approached Seleucia on the Tigris, the great political and commercial city of Seleucus I, the eastern capital of that king and his successors, the heirs of the Babylonian primacy. Tamluk (Tamralipti) on the east coast and Broach and Sopara on the west coast were the most important seaports in India at that time.

Trade

• (i) Foreign trade by land and sea was regulated by regulations and passports. India supplied Western countries, especially Syria and Egypt, with indigo, various medicinal substances, cotton, and silk. To facilitate Bactrian trade with India, Antiochus I, during his joint reign with Seleucus (285–280 BC), issued Indian coins instead of the Attic standard. Ashoka‘s religious missions to the West and perhaps to the East must have followed well-established trade routes.
• (ii) Inland trade was carried on by wagons and caravans. Trade routes (Vanikpatha), according to Kautilya, are to be established as ways of profit. Kautilya disagrees with the view that the water route is more convenient than the land route for the transportation of goods. They classify sea routes into coastal routes and mid-ocean routes to foreign countries. Of these, he prefers the first as a source of greater profit. Apart from these two, it was rivers that served as waterways. No bridges were known, only ferries and ships.

Trade organization

The eighteen major trades of the time, such as woodworking, metalworking, jewelry, etc., were organized in guilds called sirens, each under a president called Pramukha and a councilor called Jataka. Trade was organized in merchant guilds (sanghas and sirens), whose chief was called the councilor above the councilors of the guilds, empowered to hear disputes between guilds. According to Kautilya, they flourished in Varta, a term that included agriculture, cattle rearing, and trade.

State control

The Mauryan state itself was a large industrial and commercial concern and employed in its service a vast number of artisans and merchants. So the state had to control all its trade to protect its interests. Regulating the relationship between state concerns and private enterprise was a delicate task, and the Arthashastra gives clear evidence that the Mauryan state accomplished this task with considerable success. It is not possible to detail the trade regulation provisions here. To name a few, every trader had to obtain a license to sell. The Superintendent of Commerce sets wholesale prices for goods, giving the retailer a profit margin. Smuggling and counterfeiting of goods were severely punished. Speculation and hoarding to influence prices were not allowed. There was state control of weights and measures. The trade was taxed throughout with export and import duties, excise duty, and excise duty. If trade was thus strictly regulated and taxed, there was adequate compensation in the protection afforded to it by the state. Transit was to be provided by the government. Craftsmen and artisans were especially protected by the state, and their offenses were severely punished.

Shipbuilding

It was known to Indians in the pre-Mauryan period. On the way back, Alexander was supplied by the Indians with a large number of boats and ships. Strabo writes that the Mauryans maintained shipbuilding as a state monopoly. The ships of the time were large enough to hold hundreds of passengers. The Pali books mention “coast-watching birds” used when a ship’s position was uncertain.

Crafts and industry

(i) Textiles

(a) Textile production was perhaps the most important large industry. Malavas donated huge quantities of cotton cloth to, among others, Alexander. The Pali books speak of fabrics from Benares as well as fabrics from the country of Sibi. Kautilya mentions Madhura, the Pandyan capital, Aparanta (on the west coast), Kasi, Vanga, Vatsu, and Mahisha (either Mahishmati on the Narmada or the Mysore country) as sources of the finest cotton cloth. It refers to varieties of kula (a cloth of uncertain nature) produced in Vanga (East Bengal), Pundra (West Bengal), and Suvarnyakudya (in Assam). Kasi and Pundra were famous for linen fabrics (karma), and textiles from patron tree fabrics were made in Magadha, Pundra, and Suvarnakudya.

(b) Among the more expensive textiles, silk cloth is frequently mentioned in Pali Buddhist books. Kautilya mentions Kausalya from Chinhumi, which seems to mean not China but the country of the Shin tribe. Silk can also come from China; the latter is called China-patta. The manufacture of wool of various kinds, including various blankets and rainproofs, came mainly from Nepal. Cloth embroidered with gold was used for turbans and worn by the wealthy on ceremonial occasions.

(c) Kautilya mentions a wide variety of hides, especially from the Himalayan regions. Arrian alludes to the skill of the Indian tanners by saying that the Indians “wear shoes made of white leather, and these are elaborately cut, while the soles are variegated and of great thickness, to make the wearer appear taller.”

(ii) Working with wood

Among the forest crops were fragrant trees of various species, which entered mainly into international trade. Kautilya speaks of Chandana, agar, tail-parnika, Bhadradri, and kaleyaka and distinguishes them according to their place of origin, color, and other qualities. Woodwork and ivory carving reached a high level of efficiency. In addition to house building, boat and shipbuilding, cart and wagon manufacturing, and machine manufacturing are mentioned.

(iii) Stone cutting

Stone cutting was another highly developed art in which the Mauryan artisans reached a height that has not been surpassed since.

(iv) Mining and metalwork

Mining and metalwork had a long history starting from pre-Vedic times. Kautilya gives many details of metallurgical interest and refers to the production of copper, lead, tin, bronze, iron, and other goods. The bell or lotus head of the Asokan Ramapurva pillar is joined to the stem by a barrel-shaped bolt of pure copper, an excellent example of copper art. Pearls, jewelry, diamonds, and corals are discussed at length by Kautilya from the point of view of both the jeweler and the merchant. The fact that the jeweler’s art was highly developed and specialized can be seen from Kautilya’s mention of five varieties of pearl necklaces and several varieties of head, arm, leg, and waist ornaments.

(v) Other Industries

Other industries included the production of dyes, gums, drugs, perfumes, and ceramics. The manufacture of ornaments included swords and armor of various types, machines (Yantradni) of various descriptions, both fixed and movable, and possibly chariots. The production of military equipment was a state industry.

Work

Some agricultural laborers worked as domestic servants based on free food and some cash wages. Industrial labor included free laborers (Kammakaras) who worked under a wage contract and serfs (dasas). Kautilya’s Code contains an entire section on the relations of laborers with their masters. The Indian dasa was not identical to the Greek doulos, as the former could own property and earn for themselves. Asoka mentions both categories of laborers in his edicts and places special emphasis on treating them kindly.

Currency

We have very little authentic information about the currency of the period, but long before the rise of the Mauryas, India had developed its monetary system based on indigenous standards. In the Arthashastra, the silver pana with its subdivisions is recognized as the standard coin, while the copper Mashaka with its division is regarded as token currency. Mashaka, with its division, is considered a token currency. The Mashaka was worth one-sixteenth of a silver pana. The hallmarked silver coins found in large numbers all over India have been identified with the silver Karshapana or Pana, Mashaka, and Dharana of the Arthashastra.

Conclusion

The Mauryan dynasty ruled most of India. It included what is now Iran as well as parts of the central and northern regions of India. During the Mauryas, agriculture formed the backbone of the economy, but trade was increasingly important. Most of the population appeared to be cultivators, and agricultural taxes were the main source of income. Hundreds of kingdoms, numerous small armies, powerful regional chieftains, and internal strife gave way to a more centralized and disciplined administration.

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