Political History (1): Mauryas

The political history of the district begun in the Third Century B.C. with the inclusion of Kancheepuram within the Mauryan Empire, built by Chandragupta Maurya which was in its hey-days during Ashoka the Great., K.A. Nilakanda Sastri viewed that a part of the Tondaimandalam was included in the Mauryan Empire. The Velurpa!ayam Plates mentions one Asoka Varman among the earliest rulers of Kancheepuram.^[1] R. Sathianathaier viewed that the people conquered by the Mauryas in Tondaimandalam were the Pulindas or Kurumbas.^[2] While discussing the Mauryan conqueror of Toridaimandalam, R. Sathianathaier writes that the evidence in favour of Bindusara is overwhelming.^[3] After Asoka, the countries conquered by the Mauryas asserted independence and Tondaimandalam might have followed suit.^[4]