The Mauryan Rulers had a large, disciplined and well-organised Army. The King was the Supreme Commander and he personally supervised the Army both in peace and war. His entire existence rested on the Army itself, Pliny records that the Mauryan Army consisted of 6, 00,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, 9,000 war- elephants and 1,000 chariots, besides transport corps and the fleet.
It has been wrongly suggested that the Mauryan Army was inspired by the Greek model. It was purely indigenous. Kautilya has devoted several chapters to the Army set-up. The King himself led the Army in war as was done by Chandragupta Maurya in his battle against Seleucus Nikator, or Asoka against the ruler of Kalinga.
The soldiers were provided with uniform arms and armour by the State and they receive their regular pay. The war-chariots were drawn by strong oxen; each chariot carried two soldiers an’ a sarathi (driver).
On each elephant were seated three archers and a mohaut (driver). The soldie were equipped with bows, arrows and quiver swords and daggers, spears, javelins and oth projectiles and clubs, pestle or other smashi weapons. Defensive armours like helmet, body armour, shield, leg armour, etc. were used only by the important Knights or the ones who could afford them.
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Elaborate rules are prescribed in the Ar- thashashlra for the training and drilling of th soldiers, their pay, duties and responsibilities Similarly, specific rules for the training, from treatment, etc. of the war-animals were laid do Doctors, nurses, and other non-combatant persons were attached to each contingent.
The overall in charge of the defence forces was the Satapati (Commander-in-Chief), directly a pointed by the king, who supervised and controlled the entire Army. He was always consulted the king on all matters pertaining to the Army. He had under him Superintendents of horse’s elephants, chariots, infantry, and a separate of -charge of the armory.
There was a War Council comprising thirty members, divided into six sub-councils of five members each which formulated the policy. Th first formulated the rules and regulations for the infantry, the second for the cavalry, the third for the elephantry, the fourth for the chariotry, the fifth for the navy, and the sixth for the commissariat.
The navy, transport and commissariat were Mauryan innovations. Ships, ferries, and boats were constructed and used for trade as well as defence. Ports and harbours were constructed for civil and military purposes and were safeguarded from the pirates.
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There were two kinds of soldiers, hereditary and mercenary. The former were on the regular pay-roll while the latter were recruited at the time of war. It was on account of a well-regulated Army that the Mauryan could rule over such a vast empire.-
Asoka declaimed war and proclaimed the policy of peace and non-violence. This pacific and submissive attitude of the monarch proved a dead weight on the martial spirit of the soldiers. It rusted the military machine, jeopardized its efficiency and impaired its morale.