From Iran To The Deccan, Then To Dust: How India's First Empire Fell Apart

Last Updated:January 30, 2026, 18:12 IST

The Mauryan Empire collapsed in 185 BC after Brihadratha was assassinated by Pushyamitra Shunga, ending 137 years of unity amid military, financial and social decline

That Mauryan empire's collapse began on an otherwise ordinary morning in 185 BC. (AI-Generated Image)

There was a time when a single power held sway over much of the subcontinent, its influence stretching from the Iranian plateau to Bengal, and from the Himalayan foothills to the Deccan. Greek chroniclers wrote of an empire whose military might made Hellenistic rulers uneasy. That empire was the Mauryan, and its collapse began on an otherwise ordinary morning in 185 BC.

During a military parade at Pataliputra, the last Mauryan ruler, Brihadratha, was assassinated in full public view by his own commander-in-chief, Pushyamitra Shunga. With that act, the first great experiment of political unification in the subcontinent came to a sudden and violent end. Historians argue that the murder was not merely a palace coup, but the culmination of deeper political, economic and social stresses that had been building for decades.

Any discussion on the decline of the Mauryan state inevitably returns to the reign of Emperor Ashoka. The devastating Kalinga War of 261 BC transformed Ashoka from a conqueror into a proponent of peace. He renounced aggressive warfare and adopted the policy of ‘Dhamma’, emphasising moral conduct, non-violence and compassion. While these ideals reshaped society and governance, several historians believe they also had unintended consequences for the empire’s military strength.

Ashoka’s refusal to wage wars brought an extended period of peace, but it also reduced the army’s centrality in state policy. Military drills declined, campaigns ceased, and soldiers who once formed one of the most disciplined forces of the ancient world gradually lost their edge. By the later Mauryan period, the army was ill-prepared to deal with rebellions in frontier provinces or to deter foreign threats. Law enforcement, too, weakened as an emphasis on non-violence diluted the deterrent effect of punishment, encouraging unrest in distant regions.

The strain was not only military but financial. Maintaining a vast empire required enormous resources, and over time the cost of sustaining a large bureaucracy and standing army became unsustainable. Ashoka spent lavishly on the promotion of Buddhism, commissioning thousands of stupas and sending missionaries across Asia. While these measures enhanced his moral legacy, they placed a heavy burden on the royal treasury. Later rulers inherited depleted finances and were forced to impose higher taxes, breeding resentment among the population. Some accounts suggest that, towards the end, the state was so cash-starved that gold statues were melted down to mint coins.

Leadership after Ashoka proved to be another critical weakness. Founders like Chandragupta Maurya and administrators of Ashoka’s calibre were followed by rulers who struggled to command loyalty across a vast and diverse empire. Kings such as Kunala, Dasharatha and Shalishuka lacked the authority to control powerful provincial governors far from the capital. As central power weakened, governors in regions like Kashmir, Gandhara and Vidarbha asserted independence, fragmenting the empire from within. A system heavily dependent on the personal strength of the monarch began to crumble once that strength disappeared.

Social tensions also played a role. Ashoka’s policies challenged entrenched hierarchies by curbing animal sacrifices and diminishing the ritual authority of the Brahmin class. The introduction of uniform punishments, regardless of caste, further eroded traditional privileges. Many scholars interpret Pushyamitra Shunga’s revolt as a reaction to these changes. A Brahmin by birth, Pushyamitra is believed to have drawn support from groups alienated by Mauryan religious and social reforms.

The assassination itself revealed how far imperial authority had eroded. When Brihadratha was killed during the parade, the army reportedly stood silent, a sign that the emperor no longer commanded its loyalty. With his death, the Mauryan dynasty ended, and the Shunga dynasty rose in its place. Pushyamitra Shunga moved quickly to revive Vedic rituals, including the Ashwamedha sacrifice, signalling a decisive ideological shift.

As internal weaknesses mounted, external threats intensified. The north-western frontiers, once firmly secured, were neglected by later Mauryan rulers. Indo-Greek forces, led by kings such as Demetrius, exploited this vulnerability and pushed deep into the subcontinent. The weakened Mauryan army was no match for these battle-hardened invaders, further hastening the empire’s collapse.

In retrospect, historians see the fall of the Mauryan Empire as a lesson in imbalance. Ideals without power proved as fragile as power without prudent governance. The state built through Chanakya’s realpolitik and sustained by Ashoka’s moral vision could not survive weak successors, economic exhaustion and social unrest.

When Brihadratha fell on the streets of Pataliputra, it was not just the death of a ruler, but the end of a 137-year-old imperial dream. The ruins of the ancient capital still stand as silent witnesses to a moment when the first vision of a politically united subcontinent slipped into history.

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