One
of his capital now serves as India’s national emblem. Ashoka ruled as the 3rd
Mauryan Empiror (r. 268 – 232 BCE), the most recorded in the dynasty’s history.
He became a legend for his transformation and benevolence becoming one of
India’s most revered rulers.
Early Life
Ashoka
was the son of the second Mauryan Emperor Bindusara on date lost in history. He
received training worthy of a prince and served as governor of Taxila and
Ujjain provinces. In 275 BCE, his father passed away and he had to contend with
his elder brother to achieve the throne. From 275 until 268 BCE, it has been
suggested that internal strife marred the Empire until Ashoka emerged
victorious and began to cement his rule.
Reign of Emperor
Ashoka
Apex of Mauryan
Empire
The
reign of Ashoka in its early years focused in expanding the empire. The lands
of the Mauryan Dynasty reached its apex under his rule. As a military
commander, he showed ruthlessness and brutality towards opponents.
His
campaign, however, ended with the conquest of Kalinga (situated in modern day
Orissa) that laid in between the Mahanadi and Godavari Rivers. In 260 BCE,
Ashoka marched his vast army of men, cavalry, and elephants against Kalinga
obliterating its army and subduing its population. In the course of the
conquest, Ashoka brought the death of 100,000 and deported an additional
150,000. The destruction of his war against Kalinga brought tremendous feeling
of remorse to Ashoka disheartening the Mauryan Emperor.
Buddhist Ruler
Depressed
from the bloody Kalinga campaign, Ashoka found solace in the growing religion
called Buddhism. The religion promoted living in righteousness to achieve
nirvana. Ashoka converted to Buddhism and the religion’s principle became the
core of his rule. Hence, from his edicts, doing of “dhamma” or “dharma” became
central. As for the definition of Dhamma. Ashoka said
“Dhamma is good, but what constitutes Dhamma? (It includes) little evil, much good, kindness, generosity, truthfulness and purity.”
In
promoting Dhamma, Ashoka made laws and reforms that could be considered as
advance and even modern.
Before
he made changes in Mauryan Society. He made several changes personally. He gave
up hunting. He reduced luxury preferring to live simply. He became vegetarian
and gradually stopped eating meat in his curry.
Only
then he began to focus on his subject welfare in a way he put it, a father to
all his subject he considered his children.
Ashoka Edicts
Much
of the knowledge with regards to the reign of Ashoka came from the edicts he
had carved in either pillars or rock and erected across the empire. A practice
done by the Persians, it became clearly evident with the use of animals as
capitals of the pillars. The pillars and rocks revealed Ashoka’s concern to the
welfare of his people and desire to explain his rationale in the simplest form.
The practice also gave the city an aura of the presence of the authority of
Ashoka. Ultimately, it revealed a father’s desire to communicate with his far
away children.
Some
of Ashoka’s edicts carved into rocks and pillars. About 14 had been found in 7
locations. Meanwhile, 7 pillars had been attributed to Ashoka. Most pillars
made from limestone had carvings of edicts written in various language
depending on the usage in a region, thus, showing Ashoka’s awareness of his
empire’s diversity. The edicts had been carved in Prakit and Kharoshti script.
In the regions in the west, Greek and Aramaic had been used. Some pillars had
two language allowing modern scholars to understand ancient Indian languages.
Ashoka
had his pillars capped with animal decoration. Sometimes a bull or a sphinx
ornate the capital of the pillars. Many recognized the capital in Sarnath with
4 lions facing the 4 cardinal direction with an Ashoka wheel carved in its
pedestal as the most famous as it became the state emblem of modern day India.
Earliest Welfare
State
From
his edicts, Ashoka established world’s earliest welfare state. His government
showed toleration towards all religion and denounced persecution. They showed
consciousness towards nature. They displayed tremendous compassion towards their
subjects.
Ashoka
and his government wanted to improve the plight of his subjects. He showed
equality among all cast and religion within his borders. He promoted women’s
welfare and supported the poor. He established hospital for the sick and opened
pharmacies to provide easy access to medicine. He also promoted the importation
and cultivation of herbal medicine to increase supply.
As
a Buddhist, he showed respect for the life of both men and animal. He already
began his campaign of animal welfare when he abandoned hunting. He went further
by slowly abolishing rituals that involved animal sacrifice. Wildlife
protection seemed modern sounding, but Ashoka imposed it about a millennium ago
placing a list of animals on its shield. The Emperor also established
veterinaries across the empire. He also ordered the planting of banyan trees
and groves of mango trees in major routes of the Empire to provide shade for
travelers as well as animals and to give food to eat.
The
Mauryan Emperor also ordered digging of more wells and water sheds. He had
canals carved into landscape to improve irrigation and ultimately food
production. He also built rest stop in an interval along major routes for
travelers to stay in during the night.
In
all, Ashoka wanted to create a harmonious peaceful society through the practice
of Dhamma. He also fostered good relation between his subjects by reminding
them of the importance of respect.
Administration
Ashoka
ruled over a vast empire. In order to promote his dhamma edicts, he needed an efficient
administration to oversee it. He also had to exert tremendous effort to
maintain the empire’s unity.
Much
of the administration of the empire had been laid out by the previous Mauryan
Emperors influenced by the teachings of political thinker Kautilya and his work
Arthashastra. The Empire had been divided into 4 provinces each ruled by a
prince or a governor appointed by the Emperor.
Ashoka
assumed the title of Cakravartin or Universal Ruler, a title widely used by
later rulers in Indian history. It also showed Ashoka’s devotion into becoming
a true righteous Buddhist emperor. As the father of the Empire, he urged his
officials putting compassion of his subjects’ welfare a paramount priority. He
also allowed his officials to disrupt him from his activities to hear reports
about his subject’s conditions. To see the real situation of his subjects, he
travelled much of the year, about 10 months, throughout the Empire instead of staying
in the capital Pataliputra. He also appointed dhamma mahamatras or dhamma ministers to ensure the enforcement of
his policies and report of the condition of his subjects.
Foreign Affairs
Ashoka’s
devotion to the dhamma extended beyond domestic affairs to cover the Maurya
Empire’s diplomatic relations with its neighbors. Following the bloody
aggressive campaign against Kalinga, Ashoka renounced war and promoted peace
with its neighbors.
He
sent diplomatic missions to Greek kingdoms in the west. Maurya missions went to
the courts of Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Empire, Ptoloemy II
Philadelphus of Egypt, Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia, Magas of Cyrene and a
confusing Alexander, which either the ruler of Epirus or Corinth.
Ashoka
extended friendship with his neighbors within the subcontinent too. He sent
missions for cordial relations with Nepalese rulers and most noteworthy the
King of Sri Lanka King Tissa. Ashoka’s relation with Tissa became close to the
point that Ashoka sent his son Mahendra and daughter Samghamitra to Sri Lanka
to be Buddhist missionaries to propagate the religion.
Patron of Buddhism
As
an Emperor who placed Buddhist principles in his leadership style, it did not
came a surprise that Ashoka supported the development of the religion. He
helped in its organization and proselytization that led to the construction of
temples and stupas which later developed into one of the most beautiful
structures in the country.
Ashoka
convened the Third Buddhist Council in Pataliputra. In the council, he pledged
his support in the spread of the religion to all directions of the Empire. Part
of this resulted to the travels of Ashoka’s son and daughter to Sri Lanka. It
also led to the standardization of scriptures and the organization of the
Buddhist monks putting discipline and credibility in the ranks.
Under
the patronage of Ashoka, Mauryan Empire also saw the erection of marvelous
temples, stupas, and monasteries that continued to dazzle even to this day.
Thousands of Buddhist structures sprang across the Empire. An example included
the Maabodhi Temple Complex and the Sanchi Stupa that displayed the
sophistication and intricacy of Ancient Indian art. Today, the mentioned
structures became UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Later years
Ashoka
ruled the Mauryan Empire for 37 years until his demise 232 BCE. He left a
legacy of legendary benevolence based on the edicts he had left. He also
presided over the largest extent of the Empire and spread of Buddhism within
and without the subcontinent. 50 years after his death, however, the Empire he
so took care fell and smaller feuding kingdoms once again ravaged the
subcontinent.
See also:
Bibliography:
Websites:
Sen, Amulya Chandra. “Ashoka.” In Encyclopedia of Britannica. Accessed
on September 2, 2018. URL: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ashoka
"Asoka." Encyclopedia of World Biography.
. Encyclopedia.com. 2 Sep. 2018 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
General References:
Upshur, Jiu-Hwa Lo.
“Ashoka.” In Encyclopedia of World History. Edited by Marsha Ackermann et. al.
New York, New York: Facts on File, Inc., 2008.
Books:
Stein, Burton. A History
of India. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd., 2010.
Walsh, Judith. A Brief
History of India. New York, New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2011.
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