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Ashoka was the son of the Mauryan Emperor, Bindusara and Subhadrangi. He
was born in 304 BC. He was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. His reign was
from 268 BC тАУ 232 BC.
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Ashoka is counted as one of the greatest emperors of India.
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Ashoka was also called by other names, i.e., Devanampiya (Sanskrit
Devanampriya meaning Beloved of the Gods) and Piyadasi.
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Ashoka erected many rock edicts across India throughout his reign.
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During AshokaтАЩs reign, the Mauryan Empire covered from Afghanistan to
Bangladesh. It did not cover modern-day Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and Sri Lanka.
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His empireтАЩs capital was at Patliputra, which is present-day Patna.
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James Prinsep, a British antiquary and colonial administrator was the
first person to decipher AshokaтАЩs edicts.
Emperor Ashoka: Early Life
and Rise to Power
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According to the culture, the eldest son is the heir to his fatherтАЩs
kingdom. Susima was BindusaraтАЩs eldest son.
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Bindusara wanted Susima to be his heir.
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Ashoka excelled at weapon and military training. He was made the
governor of Ujjain wherein he showcased his skills.
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After BindusaraтАЩs demise in 272
BC, Ashoka became the king with the support of the ministers of the
kingdom.
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Ashoka began expanding his empire by conquest.
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In the ninth year of his reign, he fought the Battle of Kalinga which changed his life.
Emperor Ashoka: Conversion to Buddhism and Later Life
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Ashoka wanted to expand his empire with the battle of Kalinga, which was fought in 265 BC.
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Although he defeated the Kalingas, the site of destruction came as a
nightmare to him.
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The site of destruction led
Ashoka to leave violence and walk on the path of Buddhism.
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One can find about AshokaтАЩs war with Kalinga on his 13th rock edict.
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After that, he converted to
Buddhism in 263 BC and then, he came to be known as Dharmashoka i.e. pious Ashoka.
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AshokaтАЩs mentor here was a Buddhist monk named Moggaliputta
Tissa.
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Ashoka also conducted the third Buddhist Council at his
empireтАЩs capital, Patliputra in 250
BC. This under Moggaliputta TissaтАЩs mentorship.
AshokaтАЩs Dhamma (Dharma)
- Ashoka
brought up the idea of paternal
kinship.
- Ashoka
believed that everybody should serve parents, revere teachers, and
practice ahimsa and truthfulness. This is also engraved in his edicts.
- He
considered his subjects as his children.
- He also
believed that it is the kingтАЩs duty to take care of his subjects.
- He set
forth humane treatment of animals, servants, and prisoners.
- He sought
to conquer not by war but by Dhamma
(Dhammaghosha).
- He
encouraged tolerance towards
all religions.
- He sent missions to foreign lands to
spread the word of Buddhism.
- He also
sent his children, Mahinda and
Samghamitra to Sri Lanka
for the same.
AshokaтАЩs Edicts
- Ashoka
built three types of edicts,
namely major rock edicts, pillar edicts, and minor rock edicts
- Most of
these edicts are written in Prakrit
and Pali in Brahmi script. Some are also
written in Greek, Kharosthi and
Aramaic scripts.
- The
language depended on the location of the edict.
- There were
7 pillar edicts. All of them
were monolith.