Bindusara

Infobox Monarch
name =Bindusara
title =Mauryan Emperor


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reign =298 - c.272 BC
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predecessor =Chandragupta Maurya
successor =Ashoka the Great
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royal house = Mauryan dynasty
father =Chandragupta Maurya
mother =Durdhara
brothers =
date of birth = 320 BC
place of birth =
date of death = 272 BC
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Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor (Born c. 320 BC, ruled: 298 - c.272 BC) after Chandragupta Maurya. During his reign, the empire expanded southwards. He had two sons, Sumana and Ashoka ,who were the viceroys of Taxila and Ujjain.The Greeks called him Amitrochates or Allitrochades - the Greek transliteration for the Sanskrit 'Amitraghata' (Slayer of Enemies). [:"Both of these men (Megasthenes and Deimachus) were sent ambassadors to Palimbothra (Pataliputra): Megasthenes to Sandrocottus, Deimachus to Allitrochades his son" (Strabo II,I, 9). [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239&query=head%3D%2311http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239&query=head%3D%2311 Strabo II,I, 9] ] Diodorus informs that Mithridates-III, son of Mithridates-II succeeded to the throne in 302 B.C. This is Bindusara Amitrodata. Diodorus writes that he added largely to the dominions inherited from his father. Prof. Mary Boyce and others have written that the name 'Mithra' was often written as 'Baga'. This shows that Bagadates, the first indigenous Indo-Iranian satrap appointed by the Seleucids, was Mithridates or Bindusara. Taranatha wrote that he was from from Gaur and Bagadates ruled as a priest-king at Istakhr which may be the Ashtagoura of Ptolemy. Bagadates' coins depict the Mithraic cross which shows that he was also known as Mithradates. An observatory similar to those at Jaipur and Delhi has been recently discovered at Gour(Firuzabad) which was a flourishing city not far from Istakhr. Another Gour was near Laghman where inscriptions of Chandragupta_Maurya have been found. It is likely that the name Andragoras echoes the name Gour.

Life

The son of Chandragupta, by a woman named Durdhara, Bindusara inherited a large empire that consisted of what is now, North, Central and East India and the parts of Afghanistan and Baluchistan. Bindusara extended this empire to the southern part of India, as far as what is now known as Karnataka. He brought sixteen states under the Mauryan Empire and thus conquered almost all of the Indian peninsula (he is said to have conquered the 'land between the two seas' - the peninsular region between the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea). Bindusara didn't conquer the friendly Dravidian kingdoms of the Cholas, Pandyas, and Cheras. Apart from these southern states, Kalinga (the modern Orissa) was the only kingdom in India that didn't form the part of Bindusara's empire. It was later conquered by his son Ashoka, who served as the viceroy of Ujjaini during his father's reign.Bindusara's life has not been documented as well as his father Chandragupta or his son Ashoka. The philosopher Chanakya served as prime minister during his reign. During his rule, the citizens of Taxila revolted twice. The reason for the first revolt was the maladministration of Suseema, his eldest son. The reason for the second revolt is unknown, but it could not be suppressed by Bindusara due to his untimely death, but was later crushed by Ashoka.

Ambassadors from Seleucid Empire (such as Deimachus) and Egypt visited his courts. He maintained good relations with the Hellenic World. Unlike his father Chandragupta (who was a Jain), he believed in the Ajivika (a Hindu sect that preached equality for all people).

Bindusara died in 272 BC (some records say 268 BC) and was succeeded by his son Ashoka the Great. Bindusara is known as "The Son of a Father and the Father of a Son" because he was the son of a great father Chandragupta Maurya and father of a great son Ashoka, the Great.

Bindusara's Empire

Bindusara extended his empire further as far as south Mysore. He conquered sixteen states and extended the empire from sea to sea. The empire included the whole of India except the region of Kalinga (modern Orissa) and the Dravidian kingdoms of the south. The Dravidians kingdoms of the Cholas, Pandyas and Cheras were very friendly with the Mauryan empire and so the king felt no need to conquer them. However, Kalinga was not friendly with the Mauryans and so a war was fought between the people of Kalinga and Mauryans led by Bindusara's son Ashoka.

Early Tamil poets speak of Mauryan chariots thundering across the land, their white pennants brilliant in the sunshine. At the time of Bindusara's death in 272 BC, practically the entire sub-continent had come under Mauryan suzerainty. One area alone remained hostile and unconquered, Kalinga, on the east coast (modern Orissa). This was left to Bindusara's son Ashok, who campaigned successfully against Kalinga. Bindusara campaigned in the Deccan, extending the Mauryan empire in the peninsula to as far as Mysore. He is said to have conquered 'the land between the two seas', presumably the Arabian sea and the Bay of Bengal.

Administration during Bindusara's Reign

Bindusara maintained good relations with Seleucus Nicator and the emperors regularly exchanged ambassadors and presents. He also maintained the friendly relations with the Hellenic West established by his father. Ambassadors from Syria and Egypt lived at Bindusara's court. He preferred the Ajivika philosophy rather than Jainism.

Apparently he was a man of wide interest and taste, since tradition had it that he asked Antiochus I to send him some sweet wine, dried figs and a sophist:

Notes