Social Conditions of Mauryan India

The social conditions of Mauryan India were varied and reflected rich and complex Social structures during the Mauryan Empire, which flourished from about 322 BCE to 185 BCE, were influenced by factors including class, religion, and governance

This meta-description provides a brief insight into the social structure of Mauryan India and highlights the presence of distinct social classes, including the elite and the common population. It also touches on the importance of religious tolerance and the spread of Buddhism under Ashoka, which fostered an environment of coexistence. The Mauryan period witnessed progress in education, with universities like Taxila and Nalanda playing pivotal roles.

Overall, this brief overview summarizes the complex and evolving social dynamics that characterized Mauryan India and highlights the multicultural and inclusive nature of the empire during this historical era.

Social Conditions of Mauryan India

Introduction

Social factors play a decisive role in the political and administrative structure of a country. The Mauryan Empire was also a result of this socio-economic development. We get enough information about social life from Greek records, Kautilya’s Arthashastra, and other literary sources of the period.

Caste system

• (i) The state was required to protect the social order based on the Varna and Ashrama systems. In this respect, the position of the Arthasastra is not very different from that of the Dharmasastra. But Kautilya is not as strict in the Varna system as the earlier Smriti writers. It is noteworthy that the Arthashastra refers to troops recruited from all four Varnas. Even more significant is the fact that the Arthashastra viewed the Shudras as an Aryan community distinct from the Mleccha, or non-Aryan community. The text forbids the sale or pawning of a minor who belongs to any of the four varnas and adds that the Mlecches may sell or pawn their children, but no Arya may become a slave. The Arthashastra attempts to assimilate the masses of settled communities into the Aryan fold.
• (ii) Greek and Latin sources refer to the caste system in India. Most of these references can largely be traced to Megasthenes’ account of Indian society being divided into seven classes. He lists these as philosophers, farmers, soldiers, shepherds, artisans, judges, and councils. The above ‘classes’ seem to have been economic rather than social.
• (iii) Brahmins are probably referring to philosophers. The emphasis on endogamy and hereditary occupation indicates that Megasthenes meant to describe a “caste system”. He might not have known about the four-varna theory or the existence of mixed castes in our Smriti literature, or he might have been overcome by the desire—in Hellenistic Greek—to compare the social structures of Egypt and India. organization.
• (iv) Farmers formed the majority of the population, and Megasthenes noted that their occupation was so clearly defined (by caste rules) that they were seen as followers of the intellectual class, the “philosophers” of Greek writers who commanded respect in court and society for their learning, integrity, and readiness to serve the king and the people in various ways. They were entitled to their maintenance on a certain portion of the income, which was allotted to them in one way or another. They were the guardians of the community’s education and culture. A Brahman who had committed a crime was exempted from torture; he was marked on the forehead with a mark that proclaimed the nature of his crime and then banished from the kingdom.
• (v) The Kshatriyas, or warrior class, who were “second in number to the householder, led, according to Arrian, a life of the utmost freedom and enjoyment. They had only military duties.”. According to Megasthenes, the second class among the seven Indian castes was the farming class, which was a large class in terms of numbers and was devoted to the land. The sixth and seventh caste magistrates and councilors noticed by Megasthenes are misnomers. You are confusing caste with trade or profession. These two castes consist of government employees of different grades. The seventh caste consists of the so-called councilors and assessors. It is worth noting that the orthodox terms for the four varnas are not found in the Asokan inscriptions. He speaks of brahmins and sramanas but not of Kshatriyas, vaishyas, or Shudras, terms that, it has been suggested, were used only in theoretical discussions and did not correspond to particular social groups.

Family and marriage

• (i) The Mauryan state did not look favorably at intrusions into the social system and the growth of ascetic orders with heavy demands on the livelihood of the people. Kautilya banned the practice of leaving home life and laid down a rule that only old people could become ascetics, and then only if they had adequately cared for their dependents and received permission from the Dharamshala.
• (ii) The joint family system prevailed in domestic life, but it could be dissolved at the will of the parties. A girl was considered an adult at the age of twelve and a boy at the age of sixteen. Eight kinds of marriage are enumerated, of which only four are regular, though Kautilya adds that there is no prohibition against any form of marriage, which brings satisfaction to all concerned. A marriage can be dissolved by mutual consent or by prolonged absence. A married woman had her property in the form of a bride gift (strident) and jewelry, with which she had a certain amount at her disposal in case of widowhood. If she remarried a relative of her deceased husband with the consent of her father-in-law, she kept the property given to her by her father-in-law or her first husband. Cruelty by either party to a spouse was punishable. In the absence of male offspring, a man could take another wife without paying compensation to his first wife. The law relating to marriage and relations between husband and wife is fully given in three chapters of Kautilya’s Arthashastra. Similarly, the widows in this text seem to enjoy a much freer life and occupy an honorable place in society, and as such, their use in the secret services is encouraged.

Status of women

Women occupied a high position and freedom in Mauryan society. For example, while divorce is unthinkable in the Smritis, Kautilya has allowed it. Women were employed as the king’s bodyguards, spies, and for various other jobs. The ruling class was known to be polygamous. We know that Asoka had up to four queens. According to Greek literature, sati was rarely practiced and appears to have only been available to women from the wealthy classes. They often talk about women from the community who move freely and are engaged in gainful activities. Offenses against women of all kinds were severely punished, and Kautilya imposed punishments on officials in charge of workshops and prisons who ill-treated them.

Food and clothing

Thanks to good governance and the increase in trade, the standard of living of the people also increases. Wealth flourished, and people led comfortable lives in good clothes. Most common people wore cotton shirts, but the wealthy preferred silk, garments adorned with valuable stones, and even jewelry. Rice, pulses, fruits, vegetables, and milk were the common diet of the people, and meat and alcohol were counted during festivals.

Education

• (i) The Mauryas attached importance to education and its spread. The Dharmasastras condemned all illiterate Brahmins. The education system was orthodox, as students studied under a suitable teacher or private tutor. Teaching was the duty of the Brahmins, but Buddhist monks also contributed to the education of the people. Gurukuls and monasteries played a vital role in spreading education among the people.
• (ii) Ashoka‘s edicts were written on pillars of Ashoka, and rocks were placed between roads for people to read, which meant that most of the population was educated. Evidence of women’s education is not directly present. Medicine was studied, while technical education was imparted through guilds.

Games and entertainment

As mentioned in the Arthashastra, gambling houses were licensed. Dice was a universal game; besides this game of boys between men and beasts, gambling, dancing, chariot racing, and chess were other sources of entertainment. Dance was universal. Sports activities such as swimming and boating were common. Hunting was part of royal patronage.

Slavery

History does not confirm Megasthenes’ claims that slavery did not exist in India. Megasthenes seems to have considered slavery in its full legal sense as it acquired it in the West. The Dasas in India were not slaves in this sense, for they could not be employed in impure work—”servile labor,” as Megasthenes puts it—and could hold and convey property and, under certain conditions, regain their liberty as a matter of right. It is established that no Arya (free man, including a Sudra) could be made a dasa. In times of need, a man may agree to become someone else’s data or provide for his children in this way, but the disease usually comes from the middle class and prisoners of war. When Megasthenes is interpreted, it is evident that he did not idealize Indian conditions for Greek education or allow the mildness of Indian slavery to seduce him into denying its existence. Instead, he easily stated the fact as he saw it and understood it in the context of his assumptions.

Superstitions

We learn from the Arthashastra that belief in magical practices and superstitions of all kinds was widespread in Mauryan society. He mentions numerous magical rites and practices for finding the favor of the king, for obtaining inexhaustible wealth, for afflicting enemies with disease, for securing long life, or for obtaining a son. Most of the Fourteenth Arthashastra, called the Aupanisadika, describes a series of rituals and practices intended to produce occult manifestations or miraculous effects.

City life

The idea of city life was to have strict regulations. In different areas of the city, housing was set aside for diverse regions and trades. Officials from the city administration kept detailed records of every household in the city. Building laws and regulations for maintaining hygienic conditions, disposing of the deceased, operating public canteens, etc. were clearly stated and severely enforced.

Conclusion

The society and culture of the Mauryas were well classified and recognized, and the work of each class was decided accordingly.

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