The Mauryan Empire - Ashoka

Ashoka, also known as Devanampiya Piyadasi (beloved of the Gods), was one of the most distinguished emperors of the Mauryan dynasty, and is remembered as one of the greatest emperors of India. Not only was he well known for his able rule but also for work he did in spreading Buddhist ideas and teachings throughout the country. Such was his greatness that elements of his time still exist, for instance the official emblem of the Republic of India, is the four lion capital which used to adorn the famous Ashoka pillars, which were used by Ashoka to spread his ideas to the four corners of his kingdom. Ashoka ruled for almost three decades and his rule is a fairly well documented period in Indian history. He left us a variety of sources of information, especially the inscriptions on rocks and pillars.

Ashoka was one of the sons of the earlier Mauryan king, Bindusara. Early in his political career he was given the important viceroyalties of Taxila and Ujjain. When his father died, he arrived at the capital Patiliputra and after a power struggle between his brothers he emerged as the next ruler of the Mauryan empire. During the early years of his rule he was involved in the policy of expansion and increased the size of the Mauryan empire. It was now very vast, sweeping right across the Indian subcontinent leaving very few areas not under its control. Ashoka would however go through a major transformation in his life, one that would completely change his outlook and policies. It took place at the battle of Kalinga, a bloody war in which thousands of soldiers were killed. The sight of the extreme bloodshed that had taken place in Kalinga made Ashoka begin to question the rationale behind his aggressive expansionist policies. The experience made Ashoka a believer in the idea of Dharma (morality and piety). Ashoka was now a changed person, he no longer ordered military conquests to take over kingdoms and instead advocated a system known as dharma-vijaya (conquest by piety). Ashoka soon developed an interest in the teaching of Buddhism, but initially did not express much enthusiasm for joining the faith. This finally did happen, when he visited Bodh Gaya (the place where Buddha reached enlightenment) and interacted with the monks over there. The experience finally made up his mind and Ashoka took up the religion with tremendous zeal. He soon began the process of travelling across the country spreading the ideas of Dharma and asking people to live their life with strong moral values.

Ashoka empire was huge and it was not possible for him to be constantly on tour, nor was it possible for him to visit the entire empire himself. To achieve his objective of spreading these ideas to every part of his empire he created a new administrative wing especially for this purpose. Although ,initially he attempted using his existing officers to do the job, but such was the volume of the work that it was an unviable option. Their job was to create text on morality and engrave these onto rocks and stone pillars and put them up in all parts of the empire. Ashoka also sent missionaries abroad so that even people of foreign lands would have the opportunity to learn about these ideas. Ashoka is also credited with constructing one of the first Buddhist structures in the country, the Sanchi Stupa.

Ashoka was one of the most outstanding personalities in the history of India. A person who had great organizational skills and truly excelled in whatever he did, be it the expansion and governance of his empire or his incredible work in spreading Buddhist teachings. During the early part of his rule he organized the finest military conquests, defeating his most powerful enemies and later he spent a fantastic amount of energy propagating his new ideas and beliefs throughout the empire. As a person, as a ruler and as a preacher Ashoka has had few equals in Indian history. He is said to have died sometime around 233 BC.

t outstanding personalities in the history of India. A person who had great organizational skills and truly excelled in whatever he did, be it the expansion and governance of his empire or his incredible work in spreading Buddhist teachings. During the early part of his rule he organized the finest military conquests, defeating his most powerful enemies and later he spent a fantastic amount of energy propagating his new ideas and beliefs throughout the empire. As a person, as a ruler and as a preacher Ashoka has had few equals in Indian history. He is said to have died sometime around 233 BC.