Megasthenes was a major figure in depicting ancient India. Megasthenes was a Greek representative, historian and ethnographer whose extensive writings about the cultures of India provided information about the lives of ancient Indians during the rule of Chandragupta Mauryan. The collection of works of Megasthenes is known as Indica. However, his book Indica is currently lost. He is known for his detailed description of the ancient Indian subcontinent, including its geography, culture, politics and economy.

Tenure of Megasthenes as Ambassador

Megasthenes was born in Greece during Alexander’s conquests in the 4th century BC. He was the son of an aristocrat and was educated in philosophy, literature and politics. In 326 BC, he accompanied Alexander the Great on his campaign in India and was impressed by the rich culture and civilization of the country. After Alexander’s death, He joined as an officer in the Court of Greece’s ruler, ‘Nicator’ I. Nicator I attacked India in a bid to expand his empire but he faced defeat at the hands of king Chandragupta Mauryan. He then realized that it was better to make Chandragupta Mauryan his friend.

Thus, he decided to send an ambassador to Mauryan Kingdom. After successfully defending India from Greek invaders, Indians and Greeks began to develop relations as neighboring political powers. Megasthenes was always interested in India and knew a lot about every culture. That is why Nicator chose him as his ambassador to India and sent him to Patliputra.

Megasthenes’ journey to ancient India

Megasthenes visited India during the reign of Chandragupta Mauryan, yet it is uncertain when he came to India or how long he stayed in the country. He was sent as an ambassador by Seleucus I Nicator, ruler of the Seleucid Empire. His work is one of the earliest sources of information about ancient India from a Western perspective.

Megasthenes spent several years in India, during which he reached Peshawar via Kabul at the end of 4th Century BC approximately and set out on the Royal Road from there. People say that he passed through the Punjab region in north-western India, as he provides detailed descriptions of the rivers of the region. After this he probably went to Pataliputra along the Yamuna and Ganga waterways, yet it is not certain which parts of India he visited.

 

Royal Road was also known as ‘Shahi Sadak’ and ‘North Road”. The Royal road stretches for 2500 km’s. It has linked Central Asia to the Indian Subcontinent for the past 2500 years. This road Connected Peshawar to Takshila then passed through Hastinapur, Kannauj and Prayag before reaching Patliputra. This was expanded afterwards and came to be known as the Grand Trunk Road. While travelling through the Royal Road, Megasthenes realized that people in Greece had some misconceptions about India.

people of Greece believed that Indians were associated with Ethiopian Culture But after Coming here, Megasthenes Saw that Indian people are very different Castes here and this multi-Caste Society showed that Indians welcomed people from other Countries and lived with them peacefully people in Greece believed that India was a landlocked County but after coming here he saw that India was shaped like a quadrilateral and it had oceans in the South and East. Chandragupta welcomed Megasthenes when he reached Patiputres. Chandragupta Mauryan 1st emperor of ancient India the founder of the Mauryan empire. Megasthanes has showered Praise on Chandragupta’s good governance in Indica. He Spent a lot of time in Patliputra which is now Known as Patna.

Megasthenes’ work ‘Indica’

“Indica” is a historical work written by Megasthenes in the 4th century BC. “Indica” is considered to be one of the oldest and important works of ancient India. Megasthenes traveled throughout India and describe his views and experiences in India and this is recorded in his book Indica. Its original text no longer exists, but Megasthenes’s Indica can be reconstructed using parts preserved as direct quotations and paraphrases by later writers. The book mainly describes the geography, culture and social structure of India as seen by Megasthenes during his travels. Some highlights about the book are Geographical description, economy, Cultural Insight, Social Structure and Religious practices.

Geographical description and economy:

Megasthenes provided a detailed description of the Indian subcontinent, including rivers, mountains and cities. According to his book ‘Indica’, the eastern and western parts of the Indian subcontinent were surrounded by vast seas, but on the northern side it was divided by wetlands from that part of Scythia, inhabited by the Scythian people called Sakai.

While the fourth or western coast is bounded by the Indus River which is perhaps the largest of all the rivers in the world.The extent of the country is said to be 28000 sadist from east to west and 32000 sadist from north to south. With such a vast range it appears to cover the entire northern tropical region of the Earth.

In fact at the extreme points of India it is often observed that no shadow falls on the sundial, while the constellation Bear remains invisible till night and in remote parts even Arcturus continuously disappears from view along with it. He also noted the importance of rice and wheat in Indian cuisine and the use of spices such as black pepper, cinnamon and cardamom to enhance the flavor of food.

Megasthenes saw a lot of different creatures in India but he saw animals for the first time in India like: lion, Tiger, Rhinoceros and Pythons. He writes about Some remarkable animals too, like flying Snakes and winged scorpions and the most mysterious of them all, gold digging ants. He described them being as big as a fox and a tribe known as Derdai bred them in Kashmir.

To know what foreigners discovers about India in ancient days read Ancient India through the eyes of foreign travelers.

 Religious practices:

Megasthenes’ Indica touches upon the religious practices of ancient India. In Mauryan when megasthenes heard stories about Krishna brother Balram. he got Confused and thought they were talking about Hercules he Saw Similarities between Balram and Hercules. The Gold eating ants are mentioned in Chapter 51, Sabha Parva of Mahabharata before Indica. He found a lot of Similarities, between Indian and Greek mythology. He also shed light on ancient Indian astrological practices, including the significance of celestial bodies and their impact on human life. His ideas influenced the reform of astrology in both Greece and India.

 Cultural Insight and Social Structure:

In his book, he gave information about Indian customs, traditions and daily life. It includes details of local diet, dress and social practices. Megasthenes described the kings and their administrative systems, including how they ruled their territories.  Megasthenes was particularly interested in the social organization and governance of Indian cities.

Megasthenes was impressed by the grandeur and prosperity of Pataliputra, which was described as one of the largest and most magnificent cities in the world at the time. Megastheres Counted Patliputra among the world’s best cities. The architecture of the city also impressed him very much. He writes that the Patliputra was 15 km long and 3 km wide, the whole city surrounded by a ditch that was 45 feet deep and 900 feet wide. There were tall walls of wood around the city which had 570 towers and 64 doors.

Most of the houses were made of wood as well. About the situation of the Society in Mauryan time, Megasthenes writes that Society was divided into 7 parts based on their occupation. The 7 categories were; Brahman, Philosophers, Farmers, herdsmen, Businessmen and artisans, overseers and Spies, Minister and Soldiers.

He was especially impressed by the fact that Chandra Gupta had navy force of this own.Which was ready for battle in the Sea. Battle – ready elephant in the Mauryan army left him stunned. He had neither seen nor heard of such a big animal in Greece. He was even more amazed by the Mauryan army’s skill of taming Such a huge animal. Chandragupta himself then showed him, how the elephants were tamed using a big ditch and luring them with food. Megasthenes also wrote about the status of women in Indian society, noting their roles in domestic and economic activities.

Megasthenes also wrote about the simplicity of the Indian culture that They live Happily enough. Being Simple in their manners and frugal truth and virtue they hold a like in esteem. at last, Megasthenes set out for Greece with his book Indica.