Environmental resources and economic life in post-Mauryan India (200 BCE-300 CE)
Author(s): Manoj Kumar
Abstract: The post-Mauryan period (200 BCE-300 CE) represents a crucial phase in early Indian history marked by political decentralization, the rise of regional kingdoms, and the expansion of agrarian and commercial networks across the subcontinent. A defining feature of this era was the close and dynamic interaction between environmental resources and economic life, which significantly shaped patterns of production, exchange, and settlement. This article explores how forests, rivers, fertile plains, mineral-rich zones, and climatic variations influenced agrarian expansion, pastoral activities, craft specialization, and the growth of inland and coastal trade. Drawing upon a wide range of sources including Sanskrit and Prakrit literary texts, inscriptions, numismatic evidence, and archaeological remains the study highlights the ecological foundations of economic activities and the adaptive strategies adopted by communities in diverse geographical regions such as the Gangetic plains, Deccan plateau, coastal belts, and forested hinterlands. Special attention is given to the role of forests as sources of timber, fuel, medicinal plants, and elephants, rivers as arteries of irrigation and trade, and minerals in the development of metallurgy and coinage. The article also examines the role of emerging states, land grants, and religious institutions, particularly Buddhist and Brahmanical establishments, in regulating, exploiting, and conserving natural resources through systems of taxation, donation, and patronage. By situating economic developments within their environmental context, the study argues that regional prosperity, economic diversification, and the integration of local economies into long-distance trade networks during the post-Mauryan period were deeply rooted in patterns of resource utilization and environmental adaptation, thereby laying the structural foundations for major socio-economic transformations in early historical India
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DOI: 10.22271/27069109.2026.v8.i1a.618Pages: 31-35 | Views: 37 | Downloads: 19Download Full Article: Click Here
How to cite this article:
Manoj Kumar.
Environmental resources and economic life in post-Mauryan India (200 BCE-300 CE). Int J Hist 2026;8(1):31-35. DOI:
10.22271/27069109.2026.v8.i1a.618
