The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c20.10.2

v1.c20.10.2

After the short campaign in the Punjab, made by Alexander as the conqueror of the Persian Empire, his Indian dominions were, within a few years, absorbed by the growing power of Magadha (S. Bihār) then under the sway of a usurper, Chandragupta (c. 321–297 B.C.) the low-born son of Murā and the founder of the Maurya empire. This empire extended from Pāṭaliputra (Patna) to Herāt and was maintained by an army of approximately 700,000 men, the first real empire in India. His successors, Bindusāra and Açoka, enlarged the empire, annexing Kaliṅga on the eastern coast and ruling as far south as Madras. This dynasty continued in power till the end of the Sūtra period; and under it, during the reign of Açoka (c. 274–236 B.C.) Buddhism became the court-religion. Açoka’s period is determined by the mention in his edicts of certain Hellenic princes who were his contemporaries, but after his reign there comes a period of less chronological certainty. The different versions of the Purāṇas are not in agreement as to the exact number of his successors; but they are unanimous in asserting that the Maurya dynasty lasted for 137 years; that is to say, it is supposed to have come to an end c. 184 B.C. For over a century after its fall the Çuṅga dynasty, whose founder, Pushyamitra, had slain Bṛihadratha Maurya and usurped his throne, held sway, despite forcible inroads of the Yavanas (Greeks) and the Andhras;