The Maurya Empire (c. 322–185 BCE) was an ancient Indian empire. The empire was founded by
Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE and lasted until 185 BCE. The Mauryan Empire was the first pan-Indian empire. At its height, the empire covered most of the Indian subcontinent.[7] The Mauryan Emperor was the monarchical head of state and wielded absolute rule over the empire.
Chandragupta's chief ministerChanakya, sometimes called Kautilya, advised Chandragupta Maurya and contributed to the empire's legacy.[8]Bindusara, Chandragupta's son, assumed the throne around 297 BCE. He kept the empire running smoothly while maintaining its lands.[9] Bindusara's son, Ashoka,[10] was the third leader of the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka left his mark on history by erecting large stone pillars inscribed with edicts that he issued. After Ashoka's death, his family continued to reign, but the empire began to break apart. The last of the Mauryas, Brihadratha, was assassinated by his Senapati, Pushyamitra Shunga who went on to found the Shunga Empire in 185 BCE.[11]
Maurya Empire at its greatest expansion, c. 250 BCE
Greatest emperor of dynasty. His son Kunala was blinded and died before his father. Ashoka was succeeded by his grandson. Also known for Kalinga War victory.
^"A stone inscription from Vada in the north of the Thana District mentions a Maurya king named Suketuvarman ruling in Konkan." Vasudev Vishnu Mirshi (1955). Corpus Inscriptionium Indicarum Vol Iv Part 1 (in Multilingual). Government Epigraphist For India, Ootacamund. p. 75.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
^"We have discussed above about the Saka era. From the point of view of its early history as well as for the history of the later Mauryas of Konkana the Vala (or Vada) inscription of Suketuvarman, dated Saka 322, is one of utmost importance. The inscription was actually found at the place of this name in the Thane District of Maharashtra though wrongly attributed to Vala in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. It aims at registering the installation of the deity Koțiśvara by one Simhadatta, son of Anankiparadatta in the Saka year 322, and some grants to the divinity by one Isuprakki, the Vallabha-Talavara of the Maurya Dharma- mahārāja Suketuvarman of the Bhojas. The inscription adds one more name to the list of the Mauryas of Konkaņa." Dikshit, K. N. (1995). puratattva: Bulletin of the Indian archaeological society number 25 1994-95. Indian Archaeological Society, New Delhi. p. 32.
^Shukla, Dinesh Chandra (1978). Early History of Rajasthan. Delhi: Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan. pp. 185–186. In the seventh century or in the beginning of the eighth century, the Mauryas, evidently the same as the Mori Rajputs, had a strong principality in S.E. Rajasthan
^Olivelle, Patrick (2024). Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-27490-5.
^Allchin, F. R.; Erdosy, George (1995). The Archaeology of Early Historic South Asia: The Emergence of Cities and States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 306.