The Mauryan Empire — Chandragupta to Ashoka

Why This Chapter Matters

The Mauryan Empire is one of the highest-yield topics in the whole ancient India syllabus. SSC CGL, CHSL, MTS, and RRB NTPC papers regularly draw 2 to 4 questions from this chapter alone, and Art & Culture papers borrow from it too whenever pillars, stupas, or edicts come up. Ashoka gets asked about more than any other ancient ruler in the book, so treat his edicts, Dhamma, and the Kalinga war as must-know material, not optional detail.

The recurring sub-topics are: Chandragupta Maurya's rise with Chanakya, the Arthashastra's content, Megasthenes and his book Indica, the Kalinga war date (261 BCE) and its effect on Ashoka, the classification of edicts and their scripts, James Prinsep's decipherment of Brahmi, the structure of Mauryan administration (spies, provinces, Pataliputra's city council), and Mauryan art (the Sarnath Lion Capital especially). Questions often test exact years, exact names of ambassadors, and matching a script to a region. Learn the numbers cold: 322 BCE, 305 BCE, 261 BCE, 1837 CE.

1. Chandragupta Maurya and the Founding of the Empire

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire around 322 BCE, ending the unpopular rule of the Nanda dynasty in Magadha. He overthrew the last Nanda king, Dhana Nanda, with the guidance of his teacher and minister Chanakya, also known as Kautilya or Vishnugupta. Buddhist and Jain texts differ on Chandragupta's exact origins; the Buddhist text Mahavamsa links him to the Moriya clan of Pipphalivana, while some Brahmanical sources call him low-born. SSC questions usually just want the alternate names of Chanakya, so remember all three: Chanakya, Kautilya, Vishnugupta.

After securing Magadha, Chandragupta expanded west and fought Seleucus I Nicator, the Greek general who had inherited Alexander's eastern territories after Alexander's death in 323 BCE. This war ended around 305 BCE with a treaty favourable to Chandragupta. Seleucus ceded four regions on India's northwest frontier, roughly matching modern Herat, Kandahar, Kabul, and Baluchistan, and in return Chandragupta gave him 500 war elephants. A marriage alliance is also mentioned in some accounts, though its exact nature is debated. As part of this settlement, Seleucus sent an ambassador named Megasthenes to the Mauryan court at Pataliputra.

In his last years, Jain tradition holds that Chandragupta abdicated the throne, became a Jain monk, and travelled south with the Jain teacher Bhadrabahu to Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, where he died by sallekhana, the Jain practice of fasting unto death. This is why Shravanabelagola is an important Jain pilgrimage site tied to Mauryan history; keep this place-person link in mind for matching questions.

Chandragupta was succeeded by his son Bindusara around 297 BCE.

2. Chanakya and the Arthashastra

Chanakya's Arthashastra is the single most important textual source for Mauryan administration and political theory. It is a treatise on statecraft, economics, law, and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. The text was lost for centuries and rediscovered in 1905 by the scholar R. Shamasastry, who published an English translation in 1915. Do not confuse discovery of the manuscript (1905) with the period it describes (4th century BCE).

The Arthashastra lays out the Saptanga theory of the state, describing seven organic elements (anga) that make up a kingdom: Swami (the king), Amatya (ministers), Janapada (territory and people), Durga (fortified capital), Kosha (treasury), Danda (army/justice), and Mitra (allies). It also discusses the Mandala theory of foreign policy, where a king's immediate neighbour is treated as a natural rival and the neighbour's neighbour as a natural friend. The text covers taxation, espionage, the duties of the king, welfare of the state, and even public works, showing the Mauryan state's ambition to control the economy and society closely.

Chanakya's Arthashastra is often studied alongside Megasthenes' Indica because the two together give the fullest picture of the Mauryan state, one from an Indian insider's viewpoint and one from a foreign observer.

3. Megasthenes and the Indica

Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador sent by Seleucus I Nicator, lived at the Mauryan court in Pataliputra during Chandragupta Maurya's reign. He wrote an account of India called Indica. The original text is lost, but large portions survive as quotations in the works of later Greek and Roman writers such as Strabo, Arrian, and Diodorus. This is a key exam point: Indica itself does not exist today as a complete book; we know its contents through these secondary quotations.

Megasthenes described Pataliputra as a large fortified city on the confluence of the Ganga and Son rivers, protected by a wooden wall with towers and a moat. He divided Indian society into seven classes (philosophers, farmers, soldiers, herdsmen, artisans, magistrates, and councillors), a classification that does not match the Indian varna system exactly and is treated by historians as an outsider's simplified reading. He also described the famous six-committee (board) system that ran Pataliputra's municipal administration, each board having five members, thirty officials in total, each committee handling a different civic function such as industry, foreigners, trade, or manufacturing.

Megasthenes noted the absence of slavery in the strict Greek sense in India, praised the honesty of Indians, and mentioned there was no need for written contracts because people did not break their word, though modern historians treat some of his claims as exaggerated or based on limited observation. For exam purposes, remember: Megasthenes, Indica, ambassador of Seleucus, court of Chandragupta Maurya, describes Pataliputra and its municipal boards.

4. Bindusara

Bindusara ruled from about 297 BCE to 273 BCE. Greek sources call him Amitrochates, a Greek rendering of the Sanskrit title Amitraghata, meaning "slayer of enemies." He maintained diplomatic contact with the Hellenistic world; Antiochus I of the Seleucid empire sent an ambassador named Deimachus to his court, continuing the practice Seleucus had begun with Megasthenes. Bindusara is said to have requested sweet wine, dried figs, and a sophist (a Greek philosopher/teacher) from Antiochus, though the philosopher was reportedly not sent.

Bindusara is linked in later tradition to the Ajivika sect, an ascetic order founded by Makkhali Gosala, which enjoyed some royal patronage in this period even though Jainism and Buddhism were more prominent. During his reign the empire expanded further into peninsular India, though Kalinga on the east coast remained outside Mauryan control until his son's reign.

Bindusara's son Ashoka succeeded him around 273/268 BCE. Some accounts describe a succession struggle among Bindusara's sons before Ashoka's formal coronation, which several sources place around 268 BCE, a few years after Bindusara's death.

5. Ashoka — The Kalinga War and Turn to Dhamma

Ashoka is the most important Mauryan ruler for exam purposes. He ruled roughly from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. In his own inscriptions he calls himself Devanampiya Piyadasi, meaning "beloved of the gods, of pleasing appearance," rather than using the name Ashoka directly; the identification of Piyadasi with Ashoka was confirmed only after 19th-century decipherment work, covered later in this chapter.

The turning point of his reign was the invasion and annexation of Kalinga (roughly modern coastal Odisha) in his eighth regnal year, generally dated to 261 BCE. Ashoka describes this war and its aftermath himself in Rock Edict XIII, one of the most quoted primary sources in Indian history. He records that 1,50,000 people were deported, 1,00,000 were killed, and many more died from resulting hardship. The scale of suffering caused him deep remorse, and he states that he turned to the practice and propagation of Dhamma from this point onward, and gave up further military conquest in favour of what he called Dhamma-vijaya, conquest through righteousness rather than arms.

SSC and RRB frequently test the exact year (261 BCE), the edict number (Rock Edict XIII), and the fact that Kalinga is modern Odisha. Remember also that this is treated as the last major military campaign of the Mauryan Empire.

Ashoka's connection to Buddhism deepened after Kalinga. Buddhist tradition, especially the Sri Lankan chronicles, credits monks such as Upagupta with influencing his faith, and Ashoka's own son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitra are credited with carrying Buddhism to Sri Lanka, where King Devanampiya Tissa received them. Ashoka also sponsored the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra under the monk Moggaliputta Tissa, which compiled the Abhidhamma Pitaka and organised missions to spread Buddhism beyond India, covered in more detail in the Buddhism chapter.

6. Ashokan Dhamma

Ashoka's Dhamma was not a new religion and not identical to Buddhism, even though he personally favoured Buddhism. It was a code of practical ethics meant to hold together a vast, diverse empire without relying purely on force. Its core ideas, as set out across the edicts, include: ahimsa (non-violence, including restriction on animal slaughter for royal kitchens), respect for elders and teachers, kindness to servants and slaves, generosity to Brahmanas and Shramanas (ascetics of all sects, not just Buddhist), truthfulness, tolerance of all religious sects, and care for the sick and needy, including the famous edict references to planting trees and digging wells along roads and setting up hospitals for both humans and animals.

To spread Dhamma, Ashoka created a new cadre of officials called Dhamma Mahamatras, whose job was to travel through the empire teaching and checking on the moral welfare of subjects, and to look after the interests of women, prisoners, and minorities. He replaced royal hunting expeditions and pleasure tours with Dhamma Yatras, tours undertaken to visit holy sites, meet elders and ascetics, and give donations; his visit to the Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini is recorded on the Rummindei Pillar Inscription. He also organised Dhamma Ghosha, or the sound of morality, replacing the earlier practice of the sound of war drums, a phrase often quoted directly from the edicts.

Ashoka's Dhamma was propagated not just within India but through envoys sent to Hellenistic kings named in the edicts, including Antiochus II of Syria, Ptolemy II of Egypt, Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia, Magas of Cyrene, and Alexander of Epirus, showing the Mauryan empire's diplomatic reach in the mid-3rd century BCE.

7. Ashokan Edicts and Inscriptions

Ashoka's edicts are inscriptions carved on rocks and pillars across the empire, and they form the backbone of everything we know about his reign in his own words. They are classified mainly into these types.

Edict type	Number	Key content
Major Rock Edicts	14	Kalinga war, Dhamma principles, tolerance, welfare measures
Minor Rock Edicts	several, at multiple sites	Ashoka's personal conversion to Buddhism, his identity as Piyadasi
Separate Kalinga Edicts	2	Found only at Dhauli and Jaugada, addressed to Kalinga's officials, tone of paternal care for new subjects
Major Pillar Edicts	7	Later in reign, summarise Dhamma policy, welfare works, appointment of Dhamma Mahamatras
Minor Pillar Edicts	several	Rummindei (Lumbini) inscription, Sanchi/Sarnath schism edicts warning against splitting the Buddhist Sangha

The edicts were written mostly in the Prakrit language, and the script used depended on region. In most of the subcontinent the script is Brahmi, written left to right. In the northwest (modern Pakistan/Afghanistan border area), at sites like Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra, the script is Kharosthi, written right to left, reflecting Persian administrative influence in that region. In the far northwest, at Kandahar in Afghanistan, edicts appear in Greek and Aramaic, since that region had a substantial Greek-speaking population left over from Alexander's campaigns. This script-to-region mapping is a favourite matching question: Brahmi is the general/default script, Kharosthi belongs to the northwest, and Greek-Aramaic belongs to Kandahar.

Major rock edict sites include Girnar (Gujarat), Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra (Pakistan), Kalsi (Uttarakhand), Dhauli and Jaugada (Odisha), and Sopara (Maharashtra). Famous pillars stand at Sarnath, Sanchi, Topra (moved to Delhi by Firoz Shah Tughlaq), Meerut (also moved to Delhi), Rampurva, and Lauriya Nandangarh.

The decipherment of these inscriptions is itself an important exam fact. For decades after their rediscovery, scholars could not read the Brahmi script and did not know who "Devanampiya Piyadasi" was. In 1837, the British scholar and antiquarian James Prinsep deciphered the Brahmi script for the first time. Using this, along with cross-references from Sri Lankan Buddhist chronicles like the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa (which use the title Piyadasi for Ashoka), scholars firmly identified Piyadasi of the edicts with the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. Remember Prinsep's name and the year 1837 precisely; this is asked often.

8. Mauryan Administration

The Mauryan state was highly centralised, with the king at its apex holding legislative, executive, and judicial power. Below the king sat a Mantriparishad, a council of ministers, and a wider body of officials called Amatyas who ran various departments. The Arthashastra lists numerous specialised officers called Adhyakshas, each superintending one department such as agriculture, mints, weights and measures, tolls, or shipping.

For administrative convenience, the empire was divided into provinces, each usually headed by a prince (called Kumara or Aryaputra) acting as viceroy.

Province	Provincial capital
Uttarapatha (north)	Taxila
Avantiratha (west/central)	Ujjain
Kalinga	Tosali
Dakshinapatha (south)	Suvarnagiri
Central home province	Pataliputra

City administration in Pataliputra, as described by Megasthenes, ran through six committees (boards) of five members each, a total of thirty officials, each board overseeing a specific function such as industrial arts, care of foreigners, registration of births and deaths, trade and commerce, supervision of manufactured goods, or collection of sales tax. This is one of the earliest documented forms of organised municipal government in Indian history.

The Mauryan state maintained an extensive espionage system. Spies, called by various names in the Arthashastra such as Sanstha (stationary) and Sanchara (wandering), reported on officials, the army, and the general population, helping the king keep a check on corruption and disloyalty. The Mauryas also kept a very large standing army; Greek writers such as Pliny cite figures running into hundreds of thousands of infantry along with large cavalry, elephant, and chariot divisions, though these numbers should be treated as roughly indicative rather than exact.

Land revenue was a central pillar of state finance. Crown land directly cultivated for the state was called Sita land, and its produce belonged directly to the treasury. On other land, the state usually claimed around one-sixth of the produce as tax, though the Arthashastra allows for this to vary depending on circumstances. The state also derived income from mines, forests, tolls on trade, and fines.

9. Mauryan Art and Architecture

Mauryan art is usually studied in two parts: court art, sponsored directly by the emperor, and popular art, produced by common artisans.

Court art is best represented by Ashoka's stone pillars, carved from a single piece of sandstone, mostly quarried at Chunar near Varanasi, and famous for their extraordinary polish, sometimes called the "Mauryan polish." Each pillar typically has a shaft, an inverted lotus-shaped base at the capital, and an animal figure on top. The most celebrated is the Lion Capital at Sarnath, showing four lions standing back to back on a circular abacus decorated with a wheel (chakra) and four animals (lion, elephant, bull, horse). This capital, minus the original crowning wheel, was adopted as the National Emblem of India in 1950, and the wheel motif from its abacus appears on the national flag. Other notable pillar capitals survive at Sankisa (elephant) and Rampurva (bull and lion).

Ashoka also built the original core of the Sanchi Stupa in brick; the stupa was later enlarged in stone during the Shunga period, so questions on Sanchi's grand gateways (toranas) usually belong to the Shunga/post-Mauryan chapter, while the original small brick stupa is Ashoka's contribution. Ashoka is also credited by tradition with building a very large number of stupas across the subcontinent to enshrine relics of the Buddha, though most of these are legendary in scale.

Rock-cut architecture also begins in this period. The Barabar Hill Caves near Gaya, especially the Lomas Rishi cave, were carved out for the Ajivika ascetics, showing the characteristic Mauryan mirror-like polish on interior surfaces. This is the earliest known example of rock-cut cave architecture in India, a fact worth remembering for the Art & Culture overlap.

Popular art of this period includes Yaksha and Yakshi statues, large freestanding folk-cult figures (such as the Yaksha of Parkham and the Didarganj Yakshi), made in a bolder, less polished style than the court pillars, and terracotta figurines used in everyday religious life.

10. Decline of the Mauryan Empire

Ashoka's death around 232 BCE was followed by a rapid weakening of the empire. Sources mention several successors such as Dasaratha and Samprati, but none matched Ashoka's authority, and the empire appears to have split administratively even before its final end. Historians point to several causes for the decline: weak and short-reigned successors, growing financial strain from the large bureaucracy and army, a possible Brahmanical reaction against Ashoka's pro-Buddhist policies and restrictions on animal sacrifice, and renewed pressure from Indo-Greek forces in the northwest.

The empire formally ended in 185 BCE, when the last Mauryan ruler, Brihadratha, was assassinated by his own commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra Shunga, while inspecting his troops. Pushyamitra Shunga then founded the Shunga dynasty, which the next chapter covers.

The Mauryan Empire remains, even in decline, the first pan-Indian empire covering nearly the entire subcontinent barring the far south, and it set the template that later Indian empires, right up to the Mughals, would be measured against.

Quick Revision — One-Line Facts

• Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Empire around 322 BCE, overthrowing the Nanda ruler Dhana Nanda.
• Chanakya is also known as Kautilya and Vishnugupta; he wrote the Arthashastra.
• The Arthashastra manuscript was rediscovered in 1905 by R. Shamasastry.
• Saptanga theory lists seven elements of the state: Swami, Amatya, Janapada, Durga, Kosha, Danda, Mitra.
• Chandragupta Maurya defeated Seleucus I Nicator around 305 BCE; Seleucus ceded territory for 500 elephants.
• Megasthenes was Seleucus's ambassador at Chandragupta's court in Pataliputra; he wrote Indica.
• Indica survives only through quotations in later writers like Strabo, Arrian, and Diodorus.
• Chandragupta Maurya is said to have become a Jain monk and died at Shravanabelagola by sallekhana.
• Bindusara ruled roughly 297-273 BCE; Greeks called him Amitrochates ("slayer of enemies").
• Antiochus I sent the ambassador Deimachus to Bindusara's court.
• Ashoka fought the Kalinga war in his 8th regnal year, dated to 261 BCE.
• Rock Edict XIII records the Kalinga war casualties and Ashoka's remorse.
• Ashoka called himself "Devanampiya Piyadasi" in his inscriptions, not "Ashoka."
• Ashoka's Third Buddhist Council was held at Pataliputra under Moggaliputta Tissa.
• Ashoka's children Mahinda and Sanghamitra carried Buddhism to Sri Lanka.
• Dhamma Mahamatras were officials appointed to spread and monitor Ashoka's Dhamma.
• Rummindei Pillar inscription records Ashoka's visit to Lumbini, the Buddha's birthplace.
• Ashokan edicts are mostly in Prakrit, written in Brahmi script across most of the empire.
• Kharosthi script appears in the northwest, at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra.
• Greek and Aramaic scripts appear on Ashokan edicts at Kandahar in Afghanistan.
• James Prinsep deciphered the Brahmi script in 1837, enabling identification of Ashoka.
• Sri Lankan chronicles Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa use the title "Piyadasi" for Ashoka.
• Mauryan provinces: Uttarapatha (Taxila), Avantiratha (Ujjain), Kalinga (Tosali), Dakshinapatha (Suvarnagiri).
• Pataliputra's city administration had six committees of five members each, per Megasthenes.
• Crown land directly cultivated for the state was called Sita land.
• The Sarnath Lion Capital of Ashoka is India's National Emblem; its wheel appears on the national flag.
• Mauryan pillars were carved from Chunar sandstone and are famous for their polish.
• The Barabar Caves, especially Lomas Rishi, are the earliest rock-cut caves in India, made for Ajivikas.
• Sanchi Stupa's original core was built in brick by Ashoka; it was enlarged in stone later.
• The Mauryan Empire ended in 185 BCE when Pushyamitra Shunga killed Brihadratha and founded the Shunga dynasty.

Memory Tables

Table A: Mauryan Rulers at a Glance

Ruler	Approx. reign	Key event/fact
Chandragupta Maurya	c. 322-297 BCE	Founded empire, defeated Nandas and Seleucus, became a Jain monk
Bindusara	c. 297-273 BCE	Called Amitrochates by Greeks, hosted ambassador Deimachus
Ashoka	c. 268-232 BCE	Kalinga war 261 BCE, adopted and spread Dhamma, edicts, Sarnath pillar
Dasaratha / Samprati (and other successors)	after 232 BCE	Weak rulers, empire fragments
Brihadratha	ends 185 BCE	Last Mauryan king, killed by Pushyamitra Shunga

Table B: Key People and Their Contribution

Person	Contribution
Chanakya (Kautilya/Vishnugupta)	Wrote the Arthashastra, guided Chandragupta to power
Megasthenes	Greek ambassador of Seleucus, wrote Indica, describes Pataliputra
Seleucus I Nicator	Fought and made treaty with Chandragupta, 305 BCE
Deimachus	Ambassador of Antiochus I at Bindusara's court
Moggaliputta Tissa	Presided over the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra
Mahinda and Sanghamitra	Ashoka's children, carried Buddhism to Sri Lanka
R. Shamasastry	Rediscovered and translated the Arthashastra manuscript, 1905
James Prinsep	Deciphered Brahmi script in 1837, identified Ashoka
Pushyamitra Shunga	Killed Brihadratha in 185 BCE, ended Mauryan rule

Table C: Ashokan Edict Scripts by Region

Region	Script used	Example site
Most of the empire	Brahmi	Girnar, Kalsi, Dhauli, Jaugada, Sanchi
Northwest frontier	Kharosthi	Shahbazgarhi, Mansehra
Far northwest (Afghanistan)	Greek and Aramaic	Kandahar

Practice MCQs

Q1. Who was the teacher and minister who helped Chandragupta Maurya overthrow the Nanda dynasty? (a) Megasthenes (b) Chanakya (c) Moggaliputta Tissa (d) Bhadrabahu

Q2. In which year did Chandragupta Maurya's war with Seleucus I Nicator end in a treaty? (a) 322 BCE (b) 305 BCE (c) 261 BCE (d) 273 BCE

Q3. How many war elephants did Chandragupta Maurya give Seleucus as part of their treaty? (a) 200 (b) 300 (c) 500 (d) 1000

Q4. Megasthenes was sent to the Mauryan court as an ambassador of which ruler? (a) Antiochus I (b) Ptolemy II (c) Seleucus I Nicator (d) Alexander of Epirus

Q5. The book "Indica," describing Mauryan India, was written by: (a) Fa-Hien (b) Megasthenes (c) Hiuen Tsang (d) Strabo

Q6. Chandragupta Maurya is believed to have died at Shravanabelagola by practising: (a) Yoga (b) Sallekhana (c) Ahimsa (d) Tapasya

Q7. Bindusara was referred to by Greek writers as "Amitrochates," meaning: (a) Friend of Greeks (b) Slayer of enemies (c) Lover of wisdom (d) Keeper of peace

Q8. In which regnal year, and corresponding to which BCE date, did Ashoka fight the Kalinga war? (a) 5th year, 265 BCE (b) 8th year, 261 BCE (c) 10th year, 250 BCE (d) 12th year, 240 BCE

Q9. Which edict of Ashoka records the horrors of the Kalinga war and his consequent remorse? (a) Rock Edict I (b) Rock Edict XIII (c) Pillar Edict VII (d) Minor Rock Edict II

Q10. Ashoka refers to himself in most of his inscriptions by which title, rather than the name Ashoka? (a) Chakravartin (b) Devanampiya Piyadasi (c) Dharmaraja (d) Samrat Ashoka

Q11. Who deciphered the Brahmi script in 1837, enabling scholars to read Ashoka's edicts? (a) Alexander Cunningham (b) James Prinsep (c) John Marshall (d) Mortimer Wheeler

Q12. Which script, besides Brahmi, is found on Ashokan edicts in the northwest at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra? (a) Kharosthi (b) Devanagari (c) Aramaic only (d) Pali script

Q13. Arrange the following in chronological order: 1. Kalinga war 2. Founding of Mauryan Empire 3. Treaty with Seleucus 4. End of Mauryan Empire under Brihadratha (a) 2, 3, 1, 4 (b) 1, 2, 3, 4 (c) 2, 1, 3, 4 (d) 3, 2, 1, 4

Q14. The Lion Capital, adopted as India's National Emblem, was originally erected by Ashoka at: (a) Sanchi (b) Sarnath (c) Rampurva (d) Topra

Q15. Which of the following statements about Mauryan Pataliputra's city administration, as described by Megasthenes, is correct? (a) It was run by a single governor appointed by the king (b) It had six committees of five members each, thirty officials in total (c) It had no organised civic administration at all (d) It was administered directly by Dhamma Mahamatras

Answer Key

Q	Answer	One-line reason
1	(b)	Chanakya (Kautilya/Vishnugupta) guided Chandragupta to the throne.
2	(b)	The Seleucus-Chandragupta treaty is dated to around 305 BCE.
3	(c)	Chandragupta gave Seleucus 500 elephants under the treaty.
4	(c)	Megasthenes was sent by Seleucus I Nicator as his ambassador.
5	(b)	Megasthenes wrote Indica, describing Mauryan India.
6	(b)	Jain tradition holds he died by sallekhana at Shravanabelagola.
7	(b)	Amitrochates is the Greek form of Amitraghata, "slayer of enemies."
8	(b)	The Kalinga war fell in Ashoka's 8th regnal year, 261 BCE.
9	(b)	Rock Edict XIII describes the Kalinga war and Ashoka's remorse.
10	(b)	Ashoka's inscriptions use the title Devanampiya Piyadasi.
11	(b)	James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi script in 1837.
12	(a)	Kharosthi script is found in the northwest, e.g. Shahbazgarhi, Mansehra.
13	(a)	Empire founded (322 BCE), treaty with Seleucus (305 BCE), Kalinga war (261 BCE), end under Brihadratha (185 BCE).
14	(b)	Ashoka's Lion Capital was originally set up at Sarnath.
15	(b)	Megasthenes describes six boards of five members each in Pataliputra.