The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c12.76

c12.76

Of Bindusâra, the son and successor of Candragupta,¹ we know little. The range of his diplomacy extended as far as Egypt whose sovereign Ptolemy Philadelphos (285—247 B.C.) sent an envoy to the Mauryan court.² The Pâli legends concerning Aśoka’s early life show that royal princes were appointed provincial governors. The high-handedness of local officers could sometimes provoke a revolt. Prince Aśoka had to be sent once to Taxila to pacify a popular insurrection. As he neared the town, the people came out to meet him and said, “ we are not opposed to the prince nor even to the king (Bindusâra) but the wicked ministers (Duṣṭâmâtyâḥ) insult us.”³ But, according to tradition, history repeated itself in the reign of Aśoka. Once again a royal prince Kuṇâla went to quell a disturbance and met with the same reception from the people. The Pâli legends paint Prince Aśoka himself as a tyrannical governor indulging in calculated cold-blooded atrocities. But here the motive seems to be to create a Kâlâśoka or Caṇḍâśoka for contrast with Dharmâśoka to bring out the divine influence of Buddhism. Nor is it possible to be sure of the truth of the statement in the Ceylonese chronicles that the death of Bindusâra was followed by a fierce civil war, chiefly between the prince-viceroys of Ujjayinî and Takṣaśilâ.⁴