Ancient India Test - 9

Ashoka was a ruler of Mauryan Dynasty, who ruled from 268-232 BCE. He expanded the Mauryan Empire from present day Afghanistan to Bangladesh. He was the grandson of Mauryan Dynasty founder Chandragupta Maurya. He was one of the greatest emperors of India. He waged the brutal Kalinga War and later turned to Buddhism.

Ashoka the Great was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. Among the monarchs who ruled mankind, Ashoka occupied the highest position of honour.

Ashoka's place in history has been determined by three main factors, namely, his unique role as a ruler, his remarkable achievement as a missionary, and for his lasting contribution to human civilisation. He was focused to promotion of welfare of his people.

The prime objective of Ashoka was to achieve both material and spiritual welfare of men. He thought of their happiness in this world and the other.

As for the material welfare of men, he ordered for liberality and charity towards the needy, for protection of the interests of all sections of people, for protecting people against injuries, for reduction of punishment to criminals, for the release of old men or fathers of many children from prisons, etc.

Hence, we find that Ashoka's claim of greatness chiefly lay in the promotion of welfare of his people.

Chandragupta assumed the title Maharajadhiraja ("king of great kings") and issued gold coins, which suggests that he was the first imperial ruler of the dynasty. Chandragupta certainly reigned in the first quarter of the 4^th century CE, but the exact period of his reign is uncertain.

Saka Era corresponds to Julian Year 78 BC. It is a historical calendar era. Its beginning is equated with ascension of king Chashtana. It is more commonly known as Shalivahana Saka. The earliest users of Saka Era are rulers of Ujjain, from their it continued to survive during the Gupta Era and became part of Hindu tradition. It continued to be used in medieval and modern India as well. The year of Modern Saka is tied to Georgian date March 22.

The spread of the Maurya power over greater parts of the subcontinent facilitated trade and communication. This is also evident in the growing use of silver punch-marked coins. The punch-marked silver karshapana coins appeared in the economic scene around the fifth century BC; the Maurya period witnessed their considerable proliferation. Profuse number of silver punch-marked coins are found from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Though these coins are still uninscribed, the regular use of certain symbols on these coins suggests that these were issued by a particular authority.

The widespread use of these symbols on punch-marked coins, assignable to the Maurya times, has led scholars to logically infer that these coins were indeed minted by a major political authority which could ensure uniformity in minting standard. Such a strong political authority can logically be identified with the Mauryas.
Hence, it can be deduced that first metallic coin, used in India, was in Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh.