07 Empires and Religions in South Asia

Regional states and the Mauryan Empire

For much of South Asian history, power was divided among regional kingdoms, republics, and local communities. During the first millennium BCE, fortified states called mahajanapadas competed for influence in northern India. Magadha, in the Ganges valley, grew especially powerful and became the base for the Mauryan Empire.

Mauryan rule and Ashoka’s inscriptions

Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around 321 BCE, the Mauryan Empire brought much of the subcontinent under one ruling house. Chandragupta and his successors governed through a royal court and officials. Military force and alliances helped them maintain control over distant territories, and the empire reached its greatest extent under Ashoka, who ruled in the third century BCE.

Ashoka’s inscriptions, carved on rocks and pillars across his realm, are important records of Mauryan rule. They describe dhamma, a public ethic emphasizing respect, generosity, and restraint. The inscriptions also reveal Ashoka’s support for Buddhism, his concern for his subjects’ welfare, and his recognition of different religious communities.

After the Mauryan dynasty ended around 185 BCE, power again shifted among regional states. These included the Shungas in the north, the Satavahanas in the Deccan, and, later, the Kushans in the north and northwest.

Gupta power and its limits

Beginning in the fourth century CE, the Gupta dynasty built another major empire in northern India. Rulers such as Samudragupta expanded their power through conquest, diplomacy, and agreements with subordinate kings. Some regions were governed directly, while others retained local rulers who acknowledged Gupta authority.

Gupta rule weakened in the fifth and sixth centuries as the Hunas, often called Huns in older sources, invaded and regional powers asserted greater independence. Neither Mauryan nor Gupta rule permanently unified the entire subcontinent.

Shared concepts, distinct traditions

Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism developed within a diverse religious world. They share concepts such as karma, meaning action and its consequences, and samsara, the cycle of rebirth, but explain them differently. Their histories overlap without making them the same religion.

Hinduism’s varied development

Hinduism developed over many centuries rather than beginning with one founder. The Vedas and later texts such as the Upanishads shaped its ritual and philosophical traditions. In later ancient India, worship of deities including Vishnu and Shiva, the composition and circulation of epic and Puranic stories, and the growth of temples helped form traditions recognizable as Hinduism today.

Gupta rulers often supported Brahmanical practices and Hindu temples, while Hindu life remained diverse and varied by region.

Buddhist teachings and communities

Buddhism formed around the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who taught in northern India around the fifth century BCE. Its teachings explain suffering and offer a path toward its ending, or nirvana, and liberation from rebirth. Monastic communities preserved and taught the Buddha’s teachings.

Ashoka’s patronage helped Buddhism gain wider support, but its spread depended on more than emperors. Monks, pilgrims, and merchants carried it along land and sea routes. Buddhist communities developed across Central Asia and China, while Buddhist monasteries, art, and learning continued to flourish in South Asia during the Gupta period.

Jain teachings and nonviolence

Jainism is an ancient tradition whose history reaches back before the Gupta era. Jains honor a succession of enlightened teachers called tirthankaras; Mahavira, a contemporary of the Buddha, is traditionally regarded as the twenty-fourth. Jain teachings emphasize liberation of the soul from karma and rebirth.

A central Jain principle is ahimsa, or nonviolence toward living beings. It is expressed especially in the disciplined practices of Jain monks and nuns. Jain communities endured in South Asia and received support from rulers and donors in different periods.

Patronage across religious communities

Rulers could strengthen their authority by supporting religious institutions, but patronage did not necessarily mean exclusive loyalty to one faith. Gupta rulers commonly supported Hindu traditions, while Buddhist and Jain communities also received donations. During the Gupta period, Hindu temples and sacred images flourished alongside Buddhist centers of learning such as Nalanda.

The Ajanta caves, decorated with Buddhist paintings under regional patronage, show that artistic and religious life extended beyond the imperial court.

Trade and cultural exchange

Trade helped religious ideas travel. Merchants and pilgrims used routes connecting South Asia with Central Asia, China, Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia. Buddhist institutions along these routes provided places for learning and worship, and travelers carried art and religious texts.

Hindu traditions also spread overseas, especially to Southeast Asia, through commerce, migration, and cultural contact. As religious traditions reached new communities, these exchanges transformed religious practices.

Political authority and religious change

The Mauryan and Gupta empires were powerful but differently organized efforts to build political authority across parts of South Asia. Regional kingdoms remained important between and after them. Hinduism developed gradually from varied traditions, while Buddhism and Jainism offered influential paths shaped by renunciation, ethical discipline, and liberation. Royal support, local communities, monasteries, pilgrims, and trade networks all helped these religions flourish and spread.