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CHAPTER V. THE MAURYA EMPIRE :
THE ERA OF DHAMMAVIJAYA AND DECLINE........ SECTION 1. AśOKA AFTER THE KALINGA WAR. Chakkavatti ahum rājā Jambusandassa issaro muddhābhisitto khattiyo manussādhipati ahwin adandena asatthena vijeyya pathavim imañ asāhasena dhammena samena manusāsiuü dhammena rajjam kāretvā asmim pathavimandale
- -Aiguttana Nilãnga. We have already seen that the Kalinga war opened a new epoch in the history of Magadha and of India. During the first thirteen years of his reign Aśoka was a typical Magadhan sovereign-the inheritor of the policy of Bimbisāra, of Mahāpadma and of Chandragupta -conquering peoples, suppressing revolt, annexing territory. After the Kalinga war all this is changed. The older political philosophy which tradition associates with the names of Vassakāra and Kautily a gave way to a new statecraft inspired by the teaching of the sage of the Śākyas. Before proceeding to give an account of the remarkable change we should say a few words about the religious denominations of India and the condition of society during the reign of the great innovator.
In the days of Asoka the people of India were divided into many sects of which the following were the most important :
1. The orthodox Deva-worshippers."
2. The Ājivikas or the followers of Gosāla Mankhaliputta.?
1 Among the Devas worshipped in the Maurya period, Patañjali makes special mention of Siva, Skanda and Viśākha.
2 This teacher was born in Saravana, probably near Sāvatthi or Śrāvasti. Jaina writers represent him as a person of low parentage and of contemptible
