The Mauryan art is believed to be inspired from Achaemenid or Persian influence. We can find a lot of similarities in terms of form and style in the inscriptions of Ashoka and the Persian king Darius.
The term ‘Aryan’ means ‘noble’. It was used as a self designation by Indo-Iranian people. It was used in vedic period i India as an ethnic label for themselves as well as to refer noble class.