Post-Mauryan Period: Literature and Science

Post-Mauryan Period: Literature and Science

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The centuries between roughly 200 BCE and 300 CE witnessed a remarkable flowering of both literary and scientific activity in India, shaped in no small part by the subcontinent’s deepening contact with Central Asia, Greece, and Rome. From the multilingual coinage of the Kushanas and the rise of classical Sanskrit kavya, to advances in astronomy, metallurgy, medicine, and military technology, this period reveals a civilisation absorbing foreign influences even as it produced some of its most enduring literary and scientific achievements. For UPSC History Optional aspirants, tracing the interplay between literature, science, and cross-cultural exchange in the post-Mauryan period is essential to understanding the intellectual history of ancient India.

Literature

Scripts and Languages under the Kushanas

• The Kushans were conscious of the fact that the peoples within their dominions used a variety of scripts and languages, and accordingly issued their coins and inscriptions in the Greek, Kharoshthi, and Brahmi scripts.
  • They similarly used Greek, Prakrit, and Sanskrit-influenced Prakrit, and, towards the end of their rule, pure Sanskrit — officially recognising, in effect, three scripts and four languages. Kushana coins and inscriptions thus suggest the commingling and coexistence of different scripts and languages, and the Kushan method of communicating with their people likewise indicates a considerable degree of literacy in their time.

The Rise of Sanskrit: Inscriptions and the Kavya Style

• Although the Mauryas and Satavahanas had patronised Prakrit, some Central Asian princes instead patronised and cultivated Sanskrit literature.
  • The earliest specimen of the kavya style is found in the Junagadh inscription of Rudradaman, in Kathiawar, dating to around 150 CE. From this point onward, inscriptions began to be composed in chaste Sanskrit, although the use of Prakrit for inscriptions continued until the fourth century CE, and even later.
• The Junagarh Rock inscription by Rudradaman I mentions the repairs he undertook to improve the Sudarshana Lake; the same rock also bears inscriptions from Ashoka and Skandagupta.

Sanskrit Scholars and Buddhist Literature

• Among the notable Sanskrit scholars of this period were Ashvaghosha, Vasumitra, and Nagarjuna.

Ashvaghosha

• Ashvaghosha enjoyed the patronage of the Kushans. He wrote the Buddhacharita, a biography of the Buddha composed in the form of a Mahakavya — the first Buddhist book written in Sanskrit.
  • Ashvaghosha also composed the Saundarananda, Vajrasuchi, and Sariputraprakarana, each a fine example of Sanskrit kavya.

Vasumitra and the Avadana Literature

• Vasumitra wrote the Prajnaparamita, the Sutra Shastra, and the Mahavibhasha.
• The development of Mahayana Buddhism led to the composition of numerous avadanas (life histories and teachings), most of them composed in what is now known as Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, with the sole aim of communicating the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism to the people.
  • Important examples of this genre include the Mahavastu and the Divyavadana.

Milindapanho

• Menander asked Nagasena many questions relating to philosophy and Buddhism; these questions, together with Nagasena’s answers, are recorded in the Milindapanho, or “The Questions of Milinda.”

The Development of Indian Theatre

• It has been suggested that Indian theatre owed a considerable debt to Greek influence.
  • Both outdoor and indoor theatres appear in the caves of Ramgarh hill, 160 miles south of Banaras, where there is also a rest house intended for an actress; the theatre’s plan is supposed to be of Greek origin, though some scholars doubt this particular claim.
• The curtain, however, does appear to have entered Indian theatre under Greek influence — borrowed from the Greeks, it came to be known as yavanika, a term derived from yavana, itself a Sanskritised form of “Ionian,” a branch of the Greeks known to the ancient Indians (the term yavana initially referred specifically to Greeks, but was subsequently extended to all foreigners).
  • It is likewise on the Greek model that Indian drama introduced the character of the clown, or Vidushaka.
• India’s own contribution to the development of theatre, however, remains undeniable.
  • Around 150 BCE, Patanjali mentions the presentation of scenes such as the binding of Bali or the killing of Kansa. Bharata’s Natyashastra was an important work on rhetoric and dramaturgy, marking the entry of full-fledged theatre into India.

Secular Literature: The Kamasutra

• The best example of secular literature from this period is the Kamasutra of Vatsyayana. Attributed to the third century CE, it is the earliest surviving work on erotics, dealing with sex and lovemaking, and offers a picture of the life of a city-bred person, or nagaraka, living amid a period of thriving urbanism.

Medical Literature

• The Charaka-Samhita, by Charaka, extended the science of Ayurveda, laying down the concept of the balance of the three doshas — Vata, Pitta, and Kapha.
• The Sushruta-Samhita, by Sushruta (regarded as the “Father of Surgery”), mentions more than 120 surgical instruments.

Literature from South India

• Sangam literature produced several important works, including the Thirukkural by Thiruvalluvar, the Agattiyam by Agathiyar, and the Tolkappiyam by Tolkappiyar.
  • Outside the core Sangam corpus, there are five great epics: the Silappatikaram, the Manimekalai, the Civaka Cintamani, the Valayapathi, and the Kundalakeci.
• (Further details on Sangam literature are discussed separately, under the topic of the Sangam Age.)

Science

Astronomy and Astrology

• In post-Mauryan times, Indian astronomy and astrology profited considerably from contact with the Greeks.
  • Many Greek terms concerning the movement of the planets appear in Sanskrit texts; Indian astrology was influenced by Greek ideas, and the Sanskrit term horashastra, denoting astrology, derives from the Greek term “horoscope.”
• The Indians learnt a great deal from the Greeks in the field of astronomy, and honoured the learned Greek astronomers, remaining deeply impressed by their knowledge in this field.
  • The renowned Indian treatise on astronomy, the Gargi Samhita, asserts: “The Yavanas are barbarians, yet the science of astronomy originated with them, and for this they must be reverenced like gods.”

Coinage and Greek Influence

• The Greek coins, properly shaped and stamped, represented a great improvement over the earlier punch-marked coins; the Greek term drachma came to be rendered in India as drama.
  • In turn, the Greek rulers adopted the Brahmi script and depicted certain Indian motifs on their own coins. Dogs, cattle, spices, and ivory pieces were exported by the Greeks, though whether they learnt any craft from India in return remains unclear.

Medicine, Botany, and Chemistry

• The Indians, however, did not owe anything particularly striking to the Greeks in the fields of medicine, botany, and chemistry — these three subjects were dealt with comprehensively by Charaka and Sushruta.
  • The Charakasamhita contains the names of numerous plants and herbs from which drugs were prepared; the processes it describes for pounding and mixing these plants offer valuable insight into the developed state of chemistry in ancient India.
• For the cure of ailments, the ancient Indian physician relied chiefly on plants, for which the Sanskrit word is oshadhi — as a result, medicine itself came to be known as aushadhi.

Technology and Central Asian Influence

• In the field of technology too, the Indians appear to have benefited from contact with the Central Asians. Kanishka is depicted wearing trousers and long boots, and the introduction of the stirrup is likewise attributed to the Kushans; it is possible that the practice of making leather shoes also began in India during their period.
  • In any event, the Kushan copper coins in India were imitations of Roman coins, and Kushan gold coins were similarly struck in imitation of Roman gold coinage.
• We hear of two embassies exchanged between Indian kings and their Roman counterparts — one sent from India to the court of the Roman emperor Augustus, around 27–8 CE, and another to the emperor Trajan, around 110–20 CE — suggesting that contact with Rome may also have introduced new technological practices to India.
  • Glass-working during this period was especially influenced by foreign ideas and practices — indeed, in no other period of ancient India did glass-making progress as much as it did during this era.

Crafts

• Remarkable strides were made in the fields of arts and crafts under the Shakas, the Kushans, the Satavahanas, and the Tamil kings (c. 200 BCE–300 CE).
  • The Mahavastu, in its treatment of crafts, catalogues 36 kinds of crafts practised in the town of Raggu, while the Milindapanha (“Questions of Milinda”) enumerates as many as 75. Great advances and specialisation were achieved in metallurgy, glass manufacture, architecture, sculpture, weaving, carpentry, ironsmithy, arms-making, dye-making, and fishing, among other crafts.
• The post-Mauryan period saw remarkable progress in the crafts of silk-weaving and cloth-making — Mathura was a great centre of cloth-making, and ivory crafts reached their zenith, with articles of Indian ivory found as far afield as Rome and Afghanistan.
  • Indian craftsmen were also well versed in the art of glass-melting and the manufacture of glass articles. The craft of bead-cutting, and sculpture-making more generally, were highly developed — the rich wore necklaces made of diamond beads.
  • Perfumes and other articles of luxury were likewise produced in abundance, while arms-making and jewellery-making remained popular crafts.
• Architecture, sculpture, and the construction of caves reached their zenith in this period, and Indian workmen came to be regarded as master craftsmen.
  • The Gandhara School of Art developed during this time, with its chief centres at Gandhara, Sarnath, Amravati, and Mathura; several monasteries, viharas, and caves were constructed during this period as well.

Mining and Metallurgy

• In the post-Mauryan period (200 BCE–300 CE), India made considerable advances in mining and metallurgy.
  • Contemporary literature refers to eight crafts associated with the working of gold, silver, lead, tin, copper, brass, iron, and precious stones or jewels; various kinds of zinc, brass, antimony (a brighter metallic substance), and red arsenic (sankhia) are also mentioned — clear evidence of the advances made in metallurgy during this period.
• Much progress was made in the working and technology of iron — not only were different weapons, balance rods, socketed axes, hoes, sickles, ploughshares, razors, and ladles now being made, but steel was also manufactured.
  • Indian iron and steel, including cutlery, were in great demand in western Asia; according to Pliny, the Romans were prepared to pay virtually any price for Indian cutlery.
  • Indian craftsmen and jewellers also produced unique specimens of gold and silver jewellery, in great demand in foreign lands, particularly within the Roman Empire.
• Coin-minting had likewise become an important craft during the post-Mauryan period.
  • Coins of different kinds and shapes — in gold, silver, copper, bronze, lead, and potin — were produced during this period; various coin moulds belonging to this era have been found in both North India and the Deccan, some capable of producing half a dozen coins at a time.

Cavalry, Horsemanship, and Military Technology

• The Kushanas and Shakas introduced better cavalry, along with the widespread use of the riding horse; they popularised the use of reins and saddles, which appear in Buddhist sculpture of the second and third centuries CE.
  • The Shakas and Kushans were themselves excellent horsemen — their passion for horsemanship is reflected in numerous equestrian terracotta figures of Kushan date, discovered at Begram, in Afghanistan.
  • Some of these foreign horsemen were heavily armoured, fighting with spears and lances, and used a form of toe stirrup made of rope, which greatly facilitated their movements.
• The Shakas and Kushans also introduced the turban, tunic, trousers, and heavy long coat — even today, Afghans and Punjabis wear turbans, and the sherwani is a successor to this long coat.
  • The Central Asians likewise brought in the cap, helmet, and boots used by warriors. Given these advantages, they swept aside their opponents in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India — and later, once this military technology spread within India itself, dependent princes turned it to good use against their former conquerors.

Conclusion

The post-Mauryan centuries reveal a civilisation in vigorous intellectual and technical exchange with the wider world — Sanskrit kavya emerging alongside multilingual Kushana coinage, Ashvaghosha’s Buddhacharita and Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra alongside Charaka and Sushruta’s medical treatises, and advances in metallurgy, glass-making, and cavalry technology that owed as much to Central Asian and Greek contact as to indigenous innovation. For UPSC History Optional aspirants, this convergence of literary flowering and scientific-technological advancement offers essential insight into how post-Mauryan India absorbed foreign influence while producing some of its most lasting cultural and intellectual achievements.