Mauryan India, as part of the People's History of India series, covers
the period from about 350 bc to about 185 bc, thereby encompassing the
invasion of Alexander (327-325 bc) and the history of the Mauryan Empire
(c.324-185 bc). There is a detailed account of the inscriptions of
Ashoka and their significance. A picture of the economy, society and
culture of the time follows, constructed out of the varied sources
available, epigraphic, textual and archaeological. An effort is made
throughout to keep the reader abreast of recent discoveries, and to
share with him the reasons for all conclusions and inferences. There are
special notes on Mauryan chronology, the date of the Arthashastra, the
science of epigraphy, and the dialects of Ashokan Prakrit. As many as
fifteen excerpts from Indian and Greek sources, including ten full
edicts of Ashoka, are provided. There are nine maps (five of them
exceptionally detailed) and twenty illustrations (black-and-white). The
volume is addressed to both the general reader and the student, and
attempts to cover all topics that conventional textbooks include besides
much other material that a 'people's history' needs to be concerned
with, such as economic life, technology, social structure, gender
relations, modes of exploitation, language, varied aspects of culture,
etc. It is hoped that it will be considered a readable addition to what
has so far been written on the Mauryan Empire.
