3/22/2018 History Notes: Dynasties of Ancient India - Part I

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History Notes: Dynasties of Ancient India - Part I

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History forms a very important part of the General Awareness section of every
competitive exam. In continuation to our previous posts on History notes, here are
some very useful notes on Dynasties of Ancient India. Follow these notes to excel
in the upcoming Railway and SSC exams.

Dynasties of Ancient India

Two major dynasties of India, the Maurya Empire (321 BC- 185 BC) and Gupta
Empire (240 BC-550 AD), were originated from Magadha.
Apart from Maurya and Gupta dynasties, there were other dynasties which were
started from Magadha,

Haryanka dynasty (544-413 BC)

Shishunaga dynasty (413-345 BC)
Nanda dynasty (424-321 BC)

Haryanka dynasty :-

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3/22/2018 History Notes: Dynasties of Ancient India - Part I

Haryanka is the name of a new dynasty founded in Magadha by Bimbisara.

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Bimbisara founded the dynasty by defeating the  Brihadrathas.

Bimbisara was a contemporary of Buddha.
Pataliputra and Rajagriha were the capitals of Magadhan kingdom. Magadha
falls in the Patna region of Bihar.

Shishunaga Dynasty:-

Haryankas were overthrown by Sisunaga and he founded the Sisunaga

dynasty there.
Kalasoka the son and successor of Sisunaga was succeeded by Mahapadma
Nanda and he founded the Nanda dynasty.
Ajatasatru’s successor Udayin was the founder of the city of Pataliputra.

Nanda Dynasty:-

The Nanda Empire was an ancient Indian dynasty originated from Magadha
and was established in 424 BC.
Mahapadma Nanda was the founder and the rst king of the Nanda dynasty.
He overthrew the Magadha dynasty and established the new Empire.

Initially Nanda Dynast inherited a large kingdom of Magadha and

subsequently the boundaries of Nanda Dynasty were expanded in all
directions by its rulers.
Nandas formed a vast army, including 200000 infantry, 20000 cavalry, 2000
war chariots and 3000 war elephants.
At its peak, the Nanda Empire expanded from Bengal in the east to Punjab in
the west.
In the southern side it extended to the Vindhya Range.
Dhana Nanda was the last ruler of Nanda Dynasty.
In 321 BC, Chandragupta Maurya defeated him and founded the Maurya
Empire.

MAURYAN DYNASTY (321 – 185 BC):-

List of Mauryan Emperors:

1. Chandragupta Maurya (321 BC-298 BC)

2. Bindusara (298 BC-272 BC)
3. Ashoka Maurya (269-232 BC)

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4. Dasaratha Maurya
5. Samprati
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6. Salisuka
7. Devavarman
8. Satadhanvan
9. Brihadratha Maurya

Origin of Mauryan Empire:-

The Mauryan Empire, started from Magadha was founded in 321 BC by

Chandragupta Maurya.
Pataliputra,the modern day Patna was the capital city of Mauryan Empire.

Expansion of Mauryan Empire:-

Mauryan Empire was one of the world's largest empires of that time and
expanded to an area of 5,000,000 km2.

Ashoka:-

Ashoka ascended the throne in 273BC and ruled upto 232 BC. He was known
as ‘Devanampriya priyadarsi the
beautiful one who was the beloved of Gods.
He was known as ‘Devanampriya priyadarsi the beautiful one who was the
beloved of Gods.
Ashoka fought the Kalinga war in 261 BC Kalinga is in modern Orissa.
Ashokan inscriptions were deciphered by James Princep.
After the battle of Kalinga Ashoka became a Buddhist, being shocked by the
horrors of the war.
Ashoka was initiated to Buddhism by Upagupta or Nigrodha a disciple of
Buddha
For the propagation of Buddhism Ashoka started the institution of
Dharmamahamatras.
The IV Major Rock Edict of Ashoka tells about the practice of Dharma
The Major Rock Edict XII of Ahoka deals with the conquest of Kalinga.
Ashoka held the third Buddhist council at his capital Pataliputra in 250BC
under the presidentship of Moggaliputa Tissa.
He sent his son and daughter to Sri Lanka for the spread of Buddhism
(Mahendra and Sanghamitra)
Ashoka spread Buddhism to SriLanka and Nepal. He is known as the
Constantine of Buddhism.
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3/22/2018 History Notes: Dynasties of Ancient India - Part I

In his Kalinga Edict he mentions ‘‘All man are as my children’’.

Ceylones ruler Devanmpriya Tissa was Ashoka’s rst convert to Buddhism.
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Ashoka ruled for 40 years and died in 232 BC.

The emblem of the Indian Republic has been adopted from the four lion
capital of one of Ashokas pillars which is located in Saranath.
Rock-cut architecture in India made a beginning during Ashoka’s reign.

Chanakya the architect of Mauryan Empire:-

Chanakya,also known as Kautilya was the teacher of Chandragupta Maurya.

He was originally a teacher of Takshashila University.
He is considered to be the main architect in the establishment of the Maurya
Empire by defeating the powerful Nanda Empire.
His original name was Vishnugupta.

Important points about Mauryan Empire:-

Major sources for the study of Mauryan Empire are the Arthasastra of
Kautilya and Indika of Megasthenes.
Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of Mauryan Empire. It is also said that
his mother was Mura a women of lower birth hence got the name Maurya.
ChandraGupta Maurya was converted to Jainism, abdicated the throne in
favour of his son Bindusara, passed his last days at Sravanabelagola (Near
Mysore) where he died in 298 BC.
Bindusara was a follower of Ajivika sect.
Bindusara was known as Amitragatha.
Megasthenese the rst foreign traveller to India mentions about the existence
of seven castes in India during the Mauryan period. Stanika in Mauryan
administration refers to tax collector.

More from Us: 

History Notes: Vedic Literature Part – II

Important Points You Should Know About Indus Valley Civilization

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183 upvotes 30 comments

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binod mahto Mar 6

सर ीज िहं दी म भी पो कीिजये
3 1

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Prasath Mar 7
Nandha dynasty 344- 323 b.c ??
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Shiva Murmu Mar 29

Sir please provide mcqs
0 0

R A V I S P I N N I N T I Mar 29
Xiii rock edict describes about ashokas kalinga war
0 0

R A V I S P I N N I N T I Mar 29
Try to make the date lucid and maintain chronology.......we r expecting
0 0

Fayaz Apr 9
Rd
0 0

Prince Rohilla Jul 12

Dates are wrong
0 0

Sweetha D Jul 14
Please provide correct information sir. Every body following your information
1 0

Mahesh Chavan Jul 15

Nice
0 0

Kamlesh Sep 16
Sir grade up is one of the better app of all all he notes regarding gs are quite
effective and no need to make hand written notes and it consume much time thanks
tooo sir
1 0

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