Both civilizations valued religious knowledge but had different ways for people to obtain that knowledge. The Han had tests and Universities open to anyone who could afford it. These tests determined if you could work for the government or not. Meanwhile Mauryans had Caste, to obtain the knowledge needed to work for the government you must have been born into a certain Caste. To summarize China let people’s knowledge define their place in society, while India let family determined people 's place. We can also assume that the Han had better control over their people and government, because unlike the Mauryans, China was very centralized. They had one capital and one ruler with absolute power. This makes it so China had very clear direction as it was only one person 's ideas being expressed through government. Mauryans also had a ruler, but he had assigned loyalties to govern smaller areas of India. This is due to the fact the India did not become centralized until the Vedic period.
To Summarize, both the Mauryan and Han empires maintained control by incorporating religion and politics to rule. Both empires also used social heirarchy, though by different methods, to control the people. The Mauryan empire died along with its last emperor, Brihadratha, when he was murdered by the people who would go on to create the Sunga Empire. China went into political chaos before the end of the Han dynasty in 220 CE. Both of the Empires’ falls could be blamed on weak government and loss of political control, further proving just what a vital component it is to any