The major areas of concern for the Mauryan state were the collection of taxes as revenue to the state and the administration of justice, in addition to the maintenance of internal security and defence against external aggression

The second inscription mentions lands beyond his borders: "the Chodas (Cholas), the Pandyas, the Satiyaputa, the Keralaputa (Chera), even Tamraparni, the Yonaking Antiyoka (Antiochus), and the kings who are the neighbours of this Antioka".

The first three Mauryan emperors, Chandragupta, Bindusara and Ashoka, were the best known.

1. It marked the beginning of the interaction between India and the West, which spanned many centuries to follow.
2. Greek governors and kings ruled in the north-western region of India, which introduced new styles of art and governance.

1. The play Mudrarakshasa by Visakhadatta.
2. Arthasastra was a prescriptive text, which laid down the guidelines for good administration.

Perhaps the most detailed account of the administration is to be found in the Arthasastra (though the work itself is now dated to a few centuries later). However, it must be remembered that the Arthasastra was a prescriptive text, which laid down the guidelines for good administration. If we add to this the information from Ashoka's edicts and the work of Megasthenes, we get a more comprehensive picture of the Mauryan state as it was.

The word "Hindu" appears for the first time in an inscription of Darius I at Persepolis, Iran. Darius lists "Hindu" as part of his empire. The word "Sindhu", denoting a river in general and Indus in particular, became "Hindu" in Persian. The Greeks dropped the S and called it Indu, which eventually came to be called Hindu and later India.

Archaeology is particularly important because excavations reveal the nature of urban morphology, that is, layout of the city and construction of buildings

Trade routes opened up with the West.
1. There were four different trade routes in use, which facilitated the movement of Greek merchants and craftsmen to India, establishing direct contact between India and Greece.
2. As trade contact increased, many Greek settlements were established in the northwest of India.
3. Alexandria near Kabul, Boukephala near Peshawar in Pakistan and Alexandria in Sindh were some of the prominent Greek settlements.

1. Spinning and weaving, especially of cotton fabrics, relying on the universal availability of cotton throughout India.
2. A great variety of cloth was produced in the country, ranging from the coarse fabrics used by the ordinary people for everyday use, to the very fine textures worn by the upper classes and the royalty.
3. The Arthasastra refers to the regions producing specialised textiles - Kasi (Benares), Vanga (Bengal), Kamarupa (Assam), Madurai and many others.
4. Each region produced many distinctive and specialised varieties of fabrics.
5. Cloth embroidered with gold and silver was worn by the King and members of the royal court.
6. Silk was known and was generally referred to as Chinese silk, which also indicates that extensive trade was carried on in the Mauryan Empire.

There are linguistic similarities between Rig Veda and Avesta. The term Aryas was also used by the ancient Persians. Accordingto Indologist Thomas Burrow,only phonetic change had occurred overtime. The Bogaz Koi (in North-East Syria) Inscription dating back to 1380 BCE records a treaty between a Hittite and a Mitanni King. It mentions the names of a few Rig Vedic gods such as Indara, Uruvna (Varuna), Mitira and Nasatiya (Ashvins). Since it supports the information gathered from other contemporary sources about Chandragupta. It is important to note from both these sources that the fame of Chandragupta had survived long after lie was gone and became imbibed in popular lore and memory.

The first is the rock inscription of Junagadh, near Gimar in Gujarat. This was carved during the reign of Rudradaman, the local ruler and dates back to 130-150 CE.
It refers to Pushyagupta, the provincial governor (rashtriya) of Emperor Chandragupta. This is of importance for two reasons:
i) It indicates the extent of the Mauryan Empire which had expanded as far west as Gujarat and
ii) It shows that more than four centuries after his death, the name of Chandragupta was still well known and remembered in many parts of the country.
iii) A second source is a literary work. The play Mudrarakshasa by Visakhadatta was written during the Gupta period, sometime after the 4th century CE. It narrates Chandragupta's accession to the throne of the Magadha Empire and the exploits of his chief advisor Chanakya or Kautilya by listing the strategies he used to counter an invasion against Chandragupta. This play is often cited as a corroborative.

1. The edicts of Ashoka thus constitute the most concrete source of information about the Mauryan Empire.
2. There are 33 edicts comprising 14 Major Rock Edicts, 2 known as Kalinga edicts, 7 Pillar Edicts,
3. Minor Rock Edicts and a few Minor Pillar Inscriptions.
4. The Major Rock Edicts extend from Kandahar in Afghanistan, Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra in northwest Pakistan to Uttarakhand district in the north, Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west, Odisha in the east and as far south as Karnataka and Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh.
5. Minor Pillar Inscriptions have been found as far north as Nepal (near Lumbini). The edicts were written mostly in the Brahmi script and in Magadhi and Prakrit.
6. The Kandahar inscriptions are in Greek and Aramaic,while the two inscriptions in north-west Pakistan are in Kharosthi script.

1. The north-western part of India came under the control of the Persian Empire from about middle of the sixth century, the region became a centre of confluence of Persian and Indian culture.
2. The Persian contact left its impact on art, architecture, economy and administration of ancient India.
3. The cultural impact was felt most in the Gandhara region.
4. Most significant impact was the development of the Kharosthi script, used in the north-western part of India.
5. It was used by Ashoka in his inscriptions in the Gandhara region.
6. The Kharosthi script was derived from Aramaic used widely in the Achaemenid Empire of Persia.