In the 6th century BCE the cultivable land was divided between the people. The beneficiaries were granted only the revenue of these lands and no administrative authority. There was emergence of the notion of private property, as there are references to the gift and sale of land.
Seven major pillar edicts have been found at Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya Nandangarh, Rampurva, Nigali Sagar, Sarnath, Topra, and Meerut. Ashokan pillars probably signify the axis of the world (axis mundi) that separated heaven and earth.
The Gandhara School of art was developed in first century AD along with Mathura School during reign of Kushana emperor Kanishka. Both Shakas and Kushanas were patrons of Gandhara School, which is known for the first sculptural representations of the Buddha in human form.