Ashoka Maurya

(304 - 232 BCE)

PBS © 2008

MayaVision International

Ashoka Maurya (Aśoka in Sanskrit), also known as Ashoka the Great, reined as a “righteous king” (dhammaraja) during the Maurya Dynasty of India from 269 – 238 BCE. He was known as a righteous king because, after converting to Buddhism, his political expression was dominated by Buddhist values. Ashoka, born in 304 BCE, was the son of the second emperor Bindusara, who in turn had been the son of the first emperor Chandragupta. Ashoka had one younger brother and several older half-brothers. His older brothers feared Ashoka would be given the throne when he began to show success as a military leader. Emperor Bindusara grew ill and it became clear that his death was imminent. War broke out between the brothers fighting for the throne. After a series of battles, Ashoka killed most of his brothers and attained the throne in 274 BCE.

During his early reign, Ashoka set out to conquer the surrounding kingdoms. His military conquests spread across India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and some parts of Iran.

The first eight years of his empire were brutal – Ashoka “became famous for his brutality and his desire to expand the Mauryan Empire” (Freeman). When he learned that one of his brothers was hiding in Kalinga, he invaded the province. Thousands were killed and the land utterly destroyed.

Ashoka became repulsed by the number of deaths he witnessed at Kalinga. “Standing along the front lines, Ashoka witnessed first hand the massacre of hundreds of thousands […] He knew so many had lost their lives simply because, he, the king, had ordered them to do so. Women became widows, children now orphans, Ashoka asked himself exactly what had his people won in war” (Wold). The kingdoms around them were not a threat of invasion. From that point on, he rejected violence for the rest of his life, converted to Buddhism and embraced vegetarianism. His attention moved from conquest to the welfare of his people. Peace began, his people began to love and respect all living things.

Ashoka the Great is famous for his non-violent propagation of Buddhism across Asia, as well as Europe and Africa. He abolished the slaughter and mutilation of animals. Hunting was limited only for consumption, though many followed his example as a vegetarian. He showed mercy to those in prison and gave them freedom one day every year. He set up universities as well as “water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture” (Wold). The caste system ceased to exist in his eyes. Even though Buddhism was the national religion, he supported religious tolerance and unified the empire. Each and every person was given the rights to freedom, tolerance, and equality.

Now, the first Buddhist emperor became a Buddhist practitioner. He built 84,000 stupas across the Mauryan empire to house the sacred relics of Buddha. Ashoka sent out his children on religious pilgrimages to other kingdoms so they could share the philosophies that had unified their empire of peace and prosperity.

Great Stupa at Sanchi

Ekabhishek, Wikipedia Commons

A surviving Edict of Ashoka, Kolhua, Bihar.
PBS © 2008 MayaVision International.

He began by sending his only daughter, Sanghamitta, and son, Mahindra, to spread Buddhism in Sri Lanka. “Ashoka also sent many prominent Buddhist monks to modern Kashmir, Afganistan, Bhutan, China, Mongolia Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Persia, Egypt, and Greece. Ashoka’s efforts helped to spread Buddhism across East Asia, where it has become the dominant faith of that region. Ashoka’s efforts to spread Buddhism in the west were much less successful. Nevertheless, there is evidence that a small Buddhist community began to develop at the Greek city of Alexandria in Egypt at this time. It has even been suggested that certain Ptolemaic Greek philosophers were influenced by Buddhism and that they in turn influenced the early development of Christianity” (Explore the Mediterranean).

Lion Capital of Ashoka
Catawba College

The great Mauryan emperor died in 232 BCE, though his dynasty lasted fifty more years. His name would have disappeared from history becoming only a myth if it hadn’t been for the pillars that recorded the actions and teachings he put in place. His testimonies are located throughout the territories he influenced. These monuments were not written in Sanskrit, instead they were written in what would be the first written language since the ancient city of Harrapa, Prakrita. 

Today “one of his stupas, the Great Sanchi Stupa, has been declared as a World Heritage Site by UNECSO. The Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath has a four-lion capital, which was later adopted as the national emblem of the modern Indian republic” (Cultural India). Pillar Edict VII quotes Ashoka, “I consider the promotion of my people’s welfare my highest duty.” He was able to initiate the global spread of Buddhism and affected around 21.5 billion lives.

Resources:

Cultural India. "Ashoka." CulturalIndia.net

Dhammika, Ven S. "King Ashoka: His Edicts and Timelines." The Wheel Publication Number 386/387. Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1993.

Explore the Mediterranean. "The Top Ten Most Influential People in History." Historical Atlas of the Mediterranean. 

Freeman, Larry. "Ashok: A Short Biography of Ashoka the Great of India." Hubpages.com

Wold, Kevin. "The Life of Ashoka Mauryan." Kevin Wold's Webpage for Those Who Seek Enlightenment. CHICO.

About the Author

I'm Melanie, the founder of BermudaQuest and an archaeology undergraduate at the University of New Mexico. I love writing about ancient and modern cultures. My goal is to make information about our origins available to everyone [in simple English!]

indianmapsonline.com

The Mauryan Empire began as one of the many kingdoms in ancient India during the 4^th century BC. It began with only control of present day Bengal and later the entire of northern India and beyond. The Mauryan are credited with unifying all of India for the first time and contributing to the spread of Buddhism.

Rise of an Empire

In 321 BC, A young man named Chandragupta Maurya took control of Magadha, a kingdom that was large and militarily powerfull and feared by its neighbors. Chandragupta took control using his army inspired from Alexander the great and the Macedonian army and recruited men upset over the corrupt king Dhana of Magadha. After the conquest of Magadha, Chandragupta had gained control of an immense area ranging from Bengal in the east to Afghanistan in the west and as far south as the Narmada River. Later, his son Bindusara, became the second Mauryan emperor and conquered sixteen more states for the Maurtan empire, thus extending the empire into central and parts of southern India. Bindusara had said he had conquered the “land between the two seas.” The Mauryan empire now included the whole of India except the region of Kalinga (modern Orissa) and the Tamil kingdoms of the south. Kalinga was later to be conquered by the third Mauryan emperor Ashoka, Bindusara's son.

Spread of Buddhism

Ashoka became the third Mauryan Emperor and reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests. He is one of India’s greatest and famous rulers for his conversion to and support of Buddhism. The legend told explaining his conversion to Buddhism goes, one day aftre the war was ended, Ashoka roamed a city and all he saw was burnt houses and corpse scattered everywhere, he then gave his famous monolog:

“What have I done? If this is a victory, what's 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 other's kingdom and splendor? One has lost her husband, someone else a father, someone a child, someone an unborn infant.... What's this debris of the corpses? Are these marks of victory or defeat? Are these vultures, crows, eagles the messengers of death or evil?”

The brutality he witnessed after the conquest led him to adopt Buddhism. To promote Buddha’s dharma, he formulated a legal code and inscribed his laws on enormous 30-40 feet monolithic columns erected throughout his kingdom. The pillars penetrated deep intothe ground, connecting the earth and sky, forming the “axis of the universe.” Capping Ashoka’s pillars were elaborated lion capitals carved from a single block of stone. (Buddha was often referred to as “the lion.”) The two pairs of lions stand four wheels and four animals that symbolize the four quarters of the world.

The main principles of dharma (dhamma) defined by ashoka:

• Nonviolence
• Tolerance of all sects and opinions
• Obedience to parents
• Respect for the Brahmans and other religious teachers and priests
• Liberality towards friends
• Humane treatment of servants
• And generosity towards all

By 250 BC, Ashoka had monumental edicts on Buddhism carved into rocks and caves throughout his empire. Ashoka is also credited with building over 80,000 stupas to enshrine the relics of the Buddha and commemorate key events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. As the Mauryan Empire began to go into a decline, Western powers were able to invade and conquer India, creating the Greco-Indian kingdom. The greatest legacy left by the Mauryan civilization was certainly the spread of Buddhism in India, which remains today.

About the Author

I'm Jose Pierre and I like learning about all aspects of culture, both ancient and modern. I enjoy learning how they communicated, expressed themselves, and their technology.