Indian Antiquary Vol 45

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 33

FEBRC ARY, 1916)
THE ANCIENT HISTORY OF MAGADHA
29
of the army were non-existent in the earlier period. In civil government a Privy Council of 12 or 36 members (or of a smaller number according to exigencies)57 is found working in the early period, but it is not mentioned by Megasthenes. The military and municipal boards mentioned by Megasthenes are not found in the Arthaiastra, which assumes that these departments were presided over by single officials. Certain forms of torture, not existing under the Mauryas, existed before their time.50 Lastly during the period before us there were independent tribal communitiesco within the Magadha empire, implying that the emperors did not interfere with the constitutions of conquered cities.
Legend has largely gathered round the person of the last of the Nandas, who is named Sahalya by the Puranas and Sahalin by the Buddhists. During his reign there was such an extraordinary growth of material prosperity that he became a by-word for avaricious hoarding of wealth, and his treasuries were spoken of centuries after his death. They were pointed out to Yuan ('hwang as contained in five stúpas near Påtaliputra. The parsimony and avariciousness of Nanda the last are confirmed by the Mudrârâkshasa tradition.
8. The Revolutions. All this time the extreme west of India, the plains of the Panjab, were little affected by the events in the east, cut off as they were from that region by the deserts of Rajputânâ. Taxila was, however, an eminent place of learning, whither went for education youths from distant Anga and Magacha. Between 516 and 485 B. C, Darius Hystaspes had an Indian province in his Persian Empire and Indian soldiers were fighting at Marathon side by side with the Imperial army against the Greeks. Soon after, however, Western India seems to have broken away from l'ersia. When Alexander invaded India there were numerous Indian Princes in the Panjab and Sindh, Porus and Amphi being the chief. These were not in a position to beat the Greek monarch single handed and the civil war in Magadha made Magadhan designs impossible in this region. The withdrawal of Alexander coincided with the efforts of Chandragupta Maurya to usurp the throne of Sahâlya.c2 Chandragupta found that the strategems of Chanakya placed the whole of Hindustan like ripe fruit into his hands. He was, therefore, in a position to bring the extreme west of Hindustan also within the limits of the Empire.
How these revolutions were accomplished we can learn from the traditions that have been preserved. That the opposition to Chandragupta was by no means weak stands clearly in the evidence. The Puranas say that Chanakya took twelve or sixteen years to conquer Magadha for Chandragupta and himself remained minister for several years more. The Mudrdrakshasa tradition implies that the Nandas had strong partisans, who would fight to the death on behalf of their master. It is difficult to believe that any minister, however 57 " GUTER "fa fera:
Artha sastra, (Mysore, 1909) page 29. 5 Lists of officials are given ibid, in pp. 20-22
59 See punishments given on pages 221, 222. Among others onafha t I the crime being A petty theft of less than two panas. 0 कुलस्य वा भवेद्राज्यं कुलसवो हिदुर्जयः।।
(p. 35 ibid). 61 Beal Buddhist Records, Vol. II. p. 94.
62 The Puranas say that Kautilya took 12 or 16 years to make an end of the (Saigunåga) dynasty. Allowing for exaggeration, it may have taken a few years at least. Hence the statement in the text.