Dasharatha Maurya – the fourth Mauryan ruler
Ashoka was succeeded by his grandson Dasharatha, who took over the throne in 232 BCE. He succeeded to the throne only based on royal lineage, instead of having any qualities of an able ruler. After the death of Ashoka and succession of Dasharatha, the Mauryan empire started declining. Hence, he became the ruler of the declining imperial rule. The Mauryan Empire received a huge setback as several territories broke away from the Mauryan rule during his reign. He continued the social and religious practices laid by his grandfather – Ashoka. Also, he was the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty to issue imperialistic inscriptions, as no detailed records have been found of other Mauryan rulers who succeeded him.
None of the kings, after Ashoka, were powerful enough to hold the territories under the central authority. Due to this, the Mauryan Empire started to decline and completely collapsed within 50 years of Ashoka's death. Also, in this brief period of 50 years, the Mauryan Empire witnessed the rule of 6 Kings. Each of these kings received a lesser amount of territory from his predecessor.
As a result of the lack of inscriptions and written accounts, there has been no information provided regarding the birth year of Dasharatha but he was probably born around 252 BCE. He was just 20 years old when he ascended the throne in 232 BCE.
Succession
The question arises in the mind that why the grandson of Ashoka had to succeed him instead of any of his sons. Ashoka had three sons and one daughter. From his first wife Maharani Devi, he had a son Mahendra and a daughter Sanghamitra. From his second wife Queen Kaurwaki, Tivala Maurya was born. The third son of Ashoka – Kunala Maurya was the son of his wife Rani Padmavati.
After Ashoka had adopted Buddhism, he sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghmitra to Ceylon for the spread of Buddhism. So, he was left with two sons. Dasharatha was the son of Ashoka’s favourite son – Tivala Maurya. The successor of Dasharatha, Samprati Maurya was the son of Kunala Maurya. Kunala Maurya couldn’t be the king as he was blinded by his stepmother, Tishyaraksha due to jealousy. Dasharatha was young as compared to Tivala, therefore he became the King.
Reign of Dasharatha Maurya
The political unity of the Mauryan Empire too, could not survive after the death of Ashoka. Historians suggest that the Mauryan Empire might have been divided among the grandsons of Ashoka – Dasharatha and Sampati. In this division, Dasharatha might have got the Eastern part of the empire including Patliputra, while Sampati got the Western part of the empire with the capital Ujjain. Though there is no clear evidence of this.
Puranas also mention three Mauryan rulers—Bandhupalita, Indrapalita, and Dasona. These were the rulers who were probably connected to the royal line and were appointed as the governors of the different regions by Dasharatha. Further, an uncle of Dasharatha named Jalauka established his independent kingdom in the Kashmir region. Another Mauryan prince – Virasena also declared himself the independent ruler of Gandhara. Vidarbha region also separated itself from the Mauryan Empire.
After the death of Ashoka, Greeks also became active on the North-Western border of the Indian subcontinent. Hence after the fall of the Mauryan Empire, Indo-Greek rule was established in the North-Western part of India. The Mauryan Empire also started to face pressure from the Southern part of the Indian subcontinent where the Satavahana Empire had emerged as the powerful one. Satavahanas were earlier the feudatories of the Mauryan Empire but now had risen to sovereignty.
These incidents show that Dasharatha was able to maintain his command in the home provinces but failed to manage the administration in the distant ones due to which the distant regions broke from the Mauryan Empire and declared their independence. Even the Kalinga Dynasty, which was acquired by Ashoka through a bloody war, separated after his death.
Dasharatha is also known for the three caves in the Nagarjuni Hills that he dedicated to the Ajivikas.
Dasharatha Maurya died in 224 BCE and was succeeded by Samprati, another grandson of Ashoka.
