The most prominant leader of the Muaryan Empire, who was also the most influential, was Ashoka. At the beginning of his reign he was in the process of expanding the empire. As a result, the Muaryan's faced off with the Kalingaians. Ashoka, after having seen the death and destruction this battle brought, converted into a Buddhist. This influenced the social structure of the Mauryan by making all of the people equal. The Buddhist belief of bettering yourself and treating all others equally and fairly, broke the caste system that would later dominate in the Gupta Empire. People of almost all regions of the empire knew the Buddhist values though the several pillars Ashoka erected with the Buddhist values written on them. He built several Buddhist temples. People from all over the empire had the knowledge of Buddhist teachings.
GUPTA EMPIRE
Social Structure
The social structure of the Gupta Empire was highly influenced by religion. Hinduism divided the people of the Gupta Empire into five classes. The highest was composed of the priest and teachers, underneath that were the rulers and warriors, then the merchants and artisans, and ending with the unskilled workers.
Of course there was a class of untouchables that was hardly considered a part of society,making it the lowest class. This division of the people was called the Caste system. How did this separation of people influence the interaction between people? Well, people from different classes were never allowed to speak or even look at each other. I don't know about you, but if i wasn't allowed to talk at my teacher, then I probably wouldn't be learning anything. The belief in ones Dharma, or purpose in life, was to be in their own class and do what that class demands of you kept people in line.
Women
Its safe to say that the freedoms of women depended somewhat on their status and religion in society. But there was a general role women of all status and religion where expected to play. For starters, all women were to rise the children and sustain the house. Even before doing those, the women of the Gupta Empire were to always please their husbands. In the Hindu religion, women were at the bottom of the social caste. They often were married young to ensure virginity and were always the property of their father then passed on to be the property of their husbands. Women had no say in political affairs or in the affairs of their husbands. Despite this, women who were wealthy or who had powerful families could get educated. Some women became philosophers, wrote poetry and played music. Sadly enough, women were not allowed to remarry and widows sometimes committed Sati, or suicide by setting themselves on fire. Women who were widows committed Sati because they lost a place to live (property was not inherited by the widow from their husbands) and an unmarried non-virgin was not wanted in society.
Family
The men of a family were always valued above the women of a family. Men had more rights then women and could inherit property. Women were often in the background and treated with little respect. In addition to having the gender divisions in a family, having siblings also affected marriage, especially the eligibility of a woman. If you so happened to be a younger sister, then your chances of getting married were very slim.