The best known Mauryan monuments are the Ashokan pillars, erected by King Ashoka. Shown below, only a dozen or so of these magnificent monuments remain intact today.  

The Ashokan pillars were carved with Ashoka's edicts and were topped with a sculpture, one of which is shown below.

Also well known is Chandragupta's palace at Pataliputra, the Mauryan capital.  Chandragupta was the founder of the Mauryan empire, and was famous for sleeping in a different room of said palace in order to thwart assassins.  Chandragupta also instated a municipal committee for the upkeep of public works.  

Two sandstone statues dating back to the Mauryan empire were recently discovered in India.  One depicts Ashoka standing alone and bearing an inscription: the first of its kind to be discovered.  The inscription reads "The statue was unveiled by the auspicious hands of Ashoka.  The second statue is a sculpture of Ashoka with his two wives, and bears a simple inscription reading "The King Ashoka."


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