Ashoka the Great

Ashoka From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Asoka redirects here. For other uses, seeAshoka (disambiguation). Ashoka the Great MauryanSamrat pic A Chakravatin (possibly Ashoka) first century BC/CE.Andhra Pradesh, Amaravati. Preserved at Musee Guimet Reign 273-232 BC Coronation 270 BC Full prenomen Ashoka Bindusara Maurya Titles Samrat.Other titles include Devanampriya Priyadarsi, Dhammarakhit, Dharmarajika, Dhammarajika, Dhammaradnya, Chakravartin, Samrat, Radnyashreshtha, Magadhrajshretha, Magadharajan, Bhupatin, Mauryaraja, Aryashok, Dharmashok, Dhammashok, Asokvadhhan , Ashokavardhan, Prajapita,Dham manhoodayak, Dharmanayak born(p) 304 BC Birthplace Pataliputra,Patna Died 232 BC (aged 72) Place of death Pataliputra,Patna Buried Ashes immersed in theGangesRiver, possibly atVaranasi,Cremated232 BC, less than 24 hours after death Predecessor Bindusara Successor Dasaratha Maurya Consort Maharani Devi Wives RaniTishyaraksha RaniPadmavati RaniKaurwaki materialisation Mahendra,Sanghamitra,Teevala, Kunala Royal House Mauryan dynasty Father Bindusara Mother Rani Dharma or Shubhadrangi Religious Buddhism,Humanism beliefs Ashoka(Devanagari ,IASTAsoka,IPAa o? k? , 304232 BC), popularly known asAshoka the Great, was anIndianemperorof theMaurya Dynastywho rulight-emitting diode almost all of theIndian subcontinentfrom 269 BC to 232 BC. 1 of Indias greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of force conquests. His empire stretched from present-dayPakistan,Afghanistanin the west, to the present-dayBangladeshand the Indian conjure ofAssamin the east, and as furthermost south as northernKeralaandAndhra. He conquered the kingdom namedKalinga, which no maven in his dynasty had conquered starting fromChandragupta Maurya. His reign was headquartered inMagadha(present-dayBihar, India). 1He embracedBuddhismfrom the prevalentVedictradition after witnes viceg the good deal deaths of thewar of Kal inga, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism crosswiseAsiaand established monuments marking several significant sites in the life ofGautama Buddha. Ashoka was a devotee ofahimsa( nonviolent resistance),love,truth, allowance accountandvegetarianism. Ashoka is remembered in recital as aphilanthropicadministrator. In thehistory of IndiaAshoka is referred to asSamraatChakravartinAshoka- the Emperor of EmperorsAshoka. His name asoka means without sorrow inSanskrit(a= no/without, soka= sorrow or worry).In hisedicts, he is referred to as Devanampriya (Devanagari )/Devana? iyaor The Belove Of The Gods, and Priyadarsin (Devanagari )/Piyadassior He who regards everyone with affection. some(prenominal) other title of his is Dhamma (prakrit ), Lawful, Religious, Righteous. RenownedBritishauthor andsocial criticH. G. Wellsin his bestselling two-volume work,The line of History(1920), wrote of emperor Ashoka In the hist ory of the world at that place obligate been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves their highnesses, their majesties, and their exalted majesties and so on. They shone for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeargond. But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day.Along with theEdicts of Ashoka, his parable is related in the later second centuryAsokavadana(Narrative of Asoka) andDivyavadana(Divine narrative), and in theSri Lankan school textMahavamsa(Great Chronicle). After two thousand years, the influence of Ashoka is seen inAsiaand especially theIndian subcontinent. An symbol excavated from his empire is today the nationalEmblem of India. In theHistory of BuddhismAshoka is considered just afterGautama Buddha. Contents show Biography early(a) life pic This articleneeds supererogatorycitationsforverification. Please helpimprove this articleby adding authoritative references.Unsourced material may bechallengedandremoved. (Jan uary 2009) Ashoka was born to theMauryanemperorBindusaraand his faerie Dharma (although she was aBrahminor Shubhadrangi, she was undervalued as she wasnt of royal blood). Ashoka had several older siblings (all half-brothers from other wives of Bindusara). He had just one younger sibling, Vitthashoka (a much loved brother from the same mother). Because of his exemplary intellect and warrior skills, he was said to have been the favorite of his grandfatherChandragupta Maurya. As the legend goes, when Chandragupta Maurya go away his empire for aJainliving, he threw hisswordaway. Ashoka ound the sword and kept it, in spite of his grandfathers warning. Ashoka, in his adolescence, was rude and naughty.He was a fearsome hunter. He was akshatriyaand was given all royal military trainings and otherVedic intimacy. According to a legend, he killed a king of beasts with just a woody rod. Ashoka was very well known for his sword fighting. He was very adventurous and this made him a howling (a) fighter. Ashoka was a frightening warrior and a heartless superior general. Because of this quality he was sent to destroy the riot ofAvanti. skip over to power pic pic Maurya Empireat the age of Ashoka. The empire stretched fromIrantoBangladesh/Assamand fromCentral Asia(Afganistan) toTamil Nadu/South India.Developing into an impeccable warrior general and a shrewd statesman, Ashoka went on to command several regiments of the Mauryan army. His growing popularity across the empire made his elder brothers wary of his chances of being favored byBindusarato become the next emperor. The eldest of them,Susima, the traditional heir to the throne, persuaded Bindusara to transfer Ashoka to quell an uprising inTaxshila, a city in the north-west District of Pakistani Punjab region, for which Prince Susima was the Governor. Taxshila was a highly volatile place because of the war-like Indo-Greek population and mismanagement by Susima himself. This had led to the formation of different mil itias causing unrest. Ashoka complied and left for the troubled area.As news of Ashokas visit with his army trickled in, he was welcomed by the revolting militias and the uprising ended without a conflict. (The province revolted once more during the command of Ashoka, but this time the uprising was crushed with an iron fist) Ashokas succeeder made his stepbrothers more wary of his intentions of becoming the emperor and more incitements from Susima led Bindusara to send Ashoka into exile. He went intoKalingaand stayed there incognito. There he met a fisher woman namedKaurwaki, with whom he fell in love. Recently prime inscriptions indicate that she would later become either his second or third queen. Mean plot, there was again a violent uprising inUjjain.Emperor Bindusara summoned Ashoka out of exile after two years. Ashoka went into Ujjain and in the ensuing date was injured, but his generals quelled the uprising. Ashoka was treated in hiding so that loya controversys of the Sus ima group could non harm him. He was treated byBuddhistmonks and nuns. This is where he first learned the teachings of theBuddha, and it is also where he met Devi, who was his personal encourage and the daughter of a merchant from adjacent Vidisha. After recovering, he married her. It was sooner unacceptable to Bindusara that one of his sons should marry a Buddhist, so he did not allow Ashoka to stay inPataliputrabut kinda sent him back to Ujjain and made him the governor of Ujjain.The following year passed sort of peacefully for him, and Devi was about to go to bed his first child. In the meanwhile, Emperor Bindusara died. As the news of the unborn heir to the throne spread, Prince Susima planned the work of the unborn child however, the assassin who came to kill Devi and her child killed his mother instead. Ashoka beheads his elder brother to ascend the throne. In this phase of his life, Ashoka was known for his unquenched thirst for wars and campaigns launched to conquer th e lands of other rulers and became known as Chandashok (terrible Ashoka), the Sanskrit wordchanda gist cruel, fierce, or rude,Chandi-devi being associated withKali.Ascending the throne, Ashoka expanded his empire over the next eight years, from the present-day boundaries and regions ofBurmaBangladeshand the state ofAssamin India in the east to the territory of present-dayIran/PersiaandAfghanistanin the west from thePamirKnots in the north almost to the peninsular of Confederate India(i. e. Tamilnadu/Andhra pradesh). Conquest of Kalinga Main articleKalinga War While the early part of Ashokas reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty, he became a follower of theBuddhas teaching after his conquest of Kalinga on the east coast of India in the present-day state ofOrissa. Kalinga was a state that prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy. With its monarchical parliamentary democracy it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata where there existed the concept ofRajdharma. Rajdharma mean s the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of heroism andKshatriyadharma.The pretext for the start of theKalinga War(265 BC or 263 BC) is uncertain. One of Susimas brothers might have fled to Kalinga and found decreed refuge there. This enraged Ashoka immensely. He was advised by his ministers to attack Kalinga for this act of treachery. Ashoka then asked Kalingas royalty to give before his supremacy. When they defied this diktat, Ashoka sent one of his generals to Kalinga to make them submit. The general and his forces were, however, completely routed through the skilled tact of Kalingas commander-in-chief. Ashoka, nonplus at this defeat, attacked with the greatest invasion ever natureed in Indian history until then.Kalinga put up a stiff resistance, but they were no suss out for Ashokas brutal strength. The whole of Kalinga was plundered and destroyed. Ashokas later edicts state that about 100,000 people were killed on the Kalinga side and 10 ,000 from Ashokas army. Thousands of men and women were deported. Buddhist conversion pic This articleneeds additionalcitationsforverification. Please helpimprove this articleby addingreliable references. Unsourced material may bechallengedandremoved. (March 2009) pic pic A similar four Indian lion Lion Capital of Ashoka atop an ntactAshoka Pillarat Wat U Mong near Chiang Mai,Thailandshowing another largerDharma Chakra/Ashoka Chakraatop the four lions thought to be missing in the Lion Capital of Ashoka atSarnath Museumwhich has been adopted as theNational Emblem of India. As the legend goes, one day after the war was over, Ashoka ventured out to roam the city and all he could see were burnt houses and split corpses. This sight made him sick and he cried the illustrious monologue What have I done? If this is a victory, whats a defeat then? Is this a victory or a defeat? Is this justice or injustice? Is it gallantry or a rout? Is it valor to kill innocent children and women? Do I do it to widen the empire and for prosperity or to destroy the others kingdom and splendor?One has unconnected her husband, someone else a father, someone a child, someone an unborn infant. Whats this debris of the corpses? Are these mark of victory or defeat? Are these vultures, crows, eagles the messengers of death or evil? The brutality of the conquest led him to adopt Buddhism and he utilize his position to propagate the relatively new religion to new heights, as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. He made Buddhism his state religion around 260 BC, and propagated it and preached it deep down his domain and worldwide from about 250 BC. Emperor Ashoka undoubtedly has to be credited with the first serious adjudicate to develop a Buddhist policy. pic pic Ashokan Pillar atVaishaliProminent in this cause were his son VenerableMahindraand daughterSanghamitra(whose name means friend of the Sangha), who established Buddhism in Ceylon (nowSri Lanka). He built thousands of Stupas and Vi haras for Buddhist followers. The Stupas of Sanchi are world famous and the stupa namedSanchi Stupawas built by Emperor Ashoka. During the remaining portion of Ashokas reign, he pursued an official policy ofpassive resistance(ahimsa). Even the unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of people was immediately abolished. Everyone became protected by the kingslawagainst drama hunting and branding. Limited hunting was permitted for consumption reasons but Ashoka also promoted the concept of vegetarianism.Ashoka also showed mercy to those imprisoned, allowing them carry for the outside a day of the year. He attempted to raise the professional ambition of the common man by building universities for study, and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture. He treated his subjects as equals regardless of their religion, politics and caste. The kingdoms surrounding his, so well overthrown, were instead made to be well-respected allies. He is acclaimed for constructing hospit als for animals and renovating major roads throughout India. After this transformation, Ashoka came to be known as Dhammashoka (Sanskrit), meaning Ashoka, the follower of Dharma.Ashoka defined the main principles of dharma (dhamma) as nonviolence, tolerance of all sects and opinions, obedience to parents, respect for the Brahmans and other religious teachers and priests, liberality towards friends, mankinde preaching of servants, and generosity towards all. These principles elicit a general ethic of behaviour to which no religious or social group could object. whatsoever critics say that Ashoka was afraid of more wars, but among his neighbors, including theSeleucid Empireand the Greco-Bactrian kingdom established byDiodotus I, none could match his strength. He was a contemporary of twainAntiochus I Soterand his successorAntiochus II Theosof the Seleucid dynasty as well asDiodotus Iand his sonDiodotus IIof the Greco-Bactrian kingdom.If his inscriptions and edicts are well studie d one finds that he was familiar with the Greco-Roman world but never in awe of it. His edicts, which talk of friendly relations, give the names of both Antiochus of the Seleucid empire andPtolemy IIIofEgypt. The fame of theMauryanempire was widespread from the time that Ashokas grandfatherChandragupta MauryadefeatedSeleucus Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Dynasty. pic pic Stupa ofSanchi. The source of much of our knowledge of Ashoka is the numerous inscriptions he had carved on pillars and rocks throughout the empire. Emperor Ashoka is known as Piyadasi (inPali) or Priyadarshi (inSanskrit) meaning good looking or favored by the gods with good blessing.All his inscriptions have the imperial color and show compassionate loving. He addressed his people as his children. These inscriptions promoted Buddhist morality and encouraged nonviolence and adherence to Dharma (duty or proper behavior), and they talk of his fame and conquered lands as well as the neighboring kingdoms hold ing up his might. One also gets some primary information about the Kalinga War and Ashokas allies plus some useful knowledge on the civil administration. The Ashoka Pillar atSarnathis the most popular of the relics left by Ashoka. Made of sandstone, this pillar records the visit of the emperor to Sarnath, in the third century BC.It has a four-lion capital (four lions standing(a) back to back) which was adopted as the emblem of the modern Indian republic. The lion symbolizes both Ashokas imperial rule and the kingship of theBuddha. In translating these monuments, historians learn the bulk of what is assumed to have been true fact of the Mauryan Empire. It is difficult to determine whether or not some actual events ever happened, but the stone etchings clearly depict how Ashoka wanted to be thought of and remembered. Ashokas own words as known from hisEdictsare All men are my children. I am like a father to them. As every father desires the good and the happiness of his children, I wi sh that all men should be happy always. Edward DCruz interprets the Ashokan dharma as a religion to be used as a symbol of a new imperial unity and a cementing force to dyers rocket the diverse and heterogeneous elements of the empire. Also, in the Edicts, Ashoka mentions Hellenistic kings of the period as converts to Buddhism, although no Hellenic historic record of this event remain The conquest byDharmahas been won here, on the borders, and even six centuryyojanas(5,4009,600 km) away, where the Greek kingAntiochosrules, beyond there where the four kings namedPtolemy,Antigonos,MagasandAlexanderrule, likewise in the south among theCholas, thePandyas, and as far asTamraparni(Sri Lanka). Edicts of Ashoka,Rock Edict13 (S. Dhammika)Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development ofherbal medicine, for human and nonhuman animals, in their territories Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasis Ashokas domain, and among the people beyond the borders, theCholas, thePandya s, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far asTamraparniand where the Greek kingAntiochosrules, and among the kings who are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown.Wherever medical roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and grown. Along roads I have had wells turn over and trees planted for the benefit of humans and animals. Edicts of Ashoka,Rock Edict2 The Greeks in India even seem to have played an active role in the propagation of Buddhism, as some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such asDharmaraksita, are described inPalisources as leading Greek (Yona) Buddhist monks, active in spreading Buddhism (theMahavamsa, XII2). conclusion and legacy Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years. After his death, the Maur yan dynasty lasted just fifty more years. Ashoka had many wives and children, but many of their names are lost to time.MahindraandSanghamitrawere twins born by his first wife, Devi, in the city ofUjjain. He had entrusted to them the job of making his state religion, Buddhism, more popular across the known and the unknown world. MahindraandSanghamitrawent intoSri Lankaand converted the King, the Queen and their people to Buddhism. They were naturally not handling state affairs after him. In his old age, he seems to have come under the spell of his youngest wifeTishyaraksha. It is said that she had got his sonKunala, the regent inTakshashila, blind by a wilystratagem. The official executioners spared Kunala and he became a wandering singer accompanied by his favourite wifeKanchanmala.InPataliputra, Ashoka hears Kunalas song, and realizes that Kunalas misfortune may have been a punishment for some past sin of the emperor himself and condemns Tishyaraksha to death, restoring Kunala to t he court. Kunala was succeeded by his son,Samprati, but his rule did not last long after Ashokas death. The reign of Ashoka Maurya could easily have disappeared into history as the ages passed by, and would have had he not left behind a record of his trials. The testimony of this wise king was discovered in the form of magnificently sculpted pillars and boulders with a build of actions and teachings he wished to be published etched into the stone.What Ashoka left behind was the first written language in India since the ancient city ofHarappa. The language used for inscription was the then current spoken form calledPrakrit. In the year 185 BC, about fifty years after Ashokas death, the last Maurya ruler,Brhadrata, was assassinated by the commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces,Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honor of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga founded theSunga dynasty(185 BC-78 BC) and ruled just a fragmented part of the Mauryan Empire. some of the north western territories of the Mauryan Empire (modern-day Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan) became theIndo-Greek Kingdom.When India gained independence from theBritish Empireit adopted Ashokas emblem for its own, placing theDharmachakra(The Wheel of Righteous Duty) that laureled his many columns on theflagof the newly independent state. In 1992, Ashoka was ranked 53 onMichael H. Hartslist of the most influential figures in history. In 2001, a semi-fictionalized portrayal of Ashokas life was produced as a execution picture under the titleAsoka. King Ashoka, the third monarch of the Indian Mauryan dynasty, has come to be regarded as one of the most exemplary rulers in world history. The British historian H. G. Wells has written Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history the name of Asoka shines, and shines almost alone, a star.