King Ashoka
is the Emperor of Emperors, belong to Maurya Dynasty(304-232 BCE). He is One of
India's greatest emperors who ruled thirty eight years, Ashoka reigned over
most of present-day India
after a number of military conquests. Great king Ashoka was the grandson of the
famous ruler Chandragupta Maurya and son of Mauryan emperor Bindusara and his
queen, Dharma. As a young lad, Ashoka excelled in whatever he was taught. Be it
the art of warfare or reading the Holy Scriptures, Asoka excelled in everything
he did. Ashoka had many half brothers and was loved by one and all. Thus, after
his father died, his elder brother Suman took over the reign of the kingdom.
But most of his father's ministers found Ashoka to be more efficient and helped
him attain power. After a three year war, Ashoka accepted the throne and was
crowned as the king of Magadha
in 273 BC. After being crowned as the king, he proved himself by smoothly
administrating his territory and performing all his duties as an able and
courageous king.
His empire stretched from the parts of the
ancient territories of Khorasan, Sistan and Balochistan (unpartitioned) in what
is now Afghanistan and
possibly eastern Iran ,
through the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan ,
to present-day Bangladesh
and the Indian state of Assam in
the east, and as far south as northern Kerala and Andhra
Pradesh. The empire had Taxila, Ujjain and Pataliputra as
its capital, from which he controlled northern India
and 14 other states, extending to Bactria and
Persia , in the west, and
southern India to the Krishna River
and eastward to Bengal . The capital city,
according to Kautilya's "Arthaśāstra" on War and Diplomacy in Ancient
India," by Roger Boesche [The Journal of Military History, Vol. 67, No. 1
(Jan., 2003), pp. 9-37], was the largest city in the world at the time. There
were about fifty million people in this empire, making it larger than the later
Mughal Empire and the British Empire in India .
When Ashoka was in his eighth year of rule, his wife Devi
gave birth two twins: Prince Mahindra and Princess Sanghamitra.
Ashoka
posted "the edicts of Ashoka" on large, animal-topped pillars,
chiseled in the ancient Brahmi script, rather than Sanskrit. Mostly
reforms, the edicts also list public works projects, including universities,
roads, hospitals, and irrigation systems. In these edits, Ashoka calls himself
"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi," according to King Ashoka -
His Edicts and His Times, where you'll find translations of the edits. The
edicts are found in India , Nepal , Pakistan ,
and Afghanistan .
The pillars of Ashoka are a series of columns dispersed throughout the northern
Indian subcontinent, and erected by Ashoka during his reign in the 3rd century
BCE. Originally, there must have been many pillars of Ashoka although only ten
with inscriptions still survive. Averaging between forty and fifty feet in
height, and weighing up to fifty tons each, all the pillars were quarried at
Chunar, just south of Varanasi and dragged, sometimes hundreds of miles, to
where they were erected. The first Pillar of Ashoka was found in the 16th
century by Thomas Coryat in the ruins of ancient Delhi . The wheel represents the sun time and
Buddhist law, while the swastika stands for the cosmic dance around a
fixed center and guards against evil. There is no evidence of a swastika, or
manji, on the pillars.
The nobler phase of his reign
followed Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism, which came after he had waged a far
too bloody war in Kalinga, in c. 265. After a period of eight years of serving
as king, Ashoka planned to seize the territory
of Kalinga , the present
day Orissa. He led a huge army and fought a gruesome battle with the army of
Kalinga. The battle of Kalinga made him pledge to never wage a war again. The
battle took place on the Dhauli hills that are located on the banks of River
Daya. Though Ashoka emerged victorious at the end, the sight of the battlefield
made his heart break with shame, guilt, and disgust. It is said that the battle
was so furious that the waters of River Daya turned red with the blood of the
slain soldiers and civilians. The battle was a massive one and caused
the deaths of more than 100,000 soldiers and many civilians who rose up in
defence; over 150,000 were deported.
The sight of numerous corpses lying strewn across the battlefield made his heart wrench. He felt sick inside. The battle ground looked like a graveyard with bodies of not just soldiers but men, women, and children also. He saw young children crying over the bodies of their dead parents, women crying over the bodies of their dead husbands, mothers crying over the loss of their kids. This turned him heartbroken and thus, made a pledge to never ever fight a battle again.
To seek
solace, he converted to Buddhism. He was so inspired by the teachings of the
Buddhist monks and Buddhist philosophies that he used his status to impart this
knowledge all over the world. He is credited to be the first Emperor to make a
serious attempt at developing Buddhist policies.
Devi his wife was Buddhist and perhaps
this in combination with Ashoka's memory of learning about Buddhist principles
led him to change his ways.
From this point on, he embraces Buddhism. He took on the
Buddhists Radhaswami and Manjushri as his teachers. He decided that he would
base the rest of his rule on Buddhist principles.
Ashoka ruled for over 40 years. 50
years after his death, the Mauryan Empire came to an end. He had numerous wives
and many heirs but most of their names are lost. Buddhism did not, of course,
stay the state religion of India .
Still, empowered by Ashoka, Buddhism quickly spread outside of India 's borders into Southeast
Asia .
The Lion capital of Ashoka is a sculpture of four
"Indian lions" standing back to back. It was originally placed atop
the Aśoka pillar at Sarnath, now in the state of Uttar Pradesh , India .
The pillar, sometimes called the Aśoka Column is still in its original
location, but the Lion Capital is now in the Sarnath Museum .
This Lion Capital of Ashoka from Sarnath has been adopted as the National
Emblem of India and the wheel "Ashoka Chakra" from its base was
placed onto the center of the National Flag of India.
Today, the Ashokra Chakra, the Wheel of Dharma, is featured
on the national flag of India .
Ashoka used this image on many of his constructions.
The wheel has 24
spokes which represent:
Love
Courage
Patience
Peacefulness
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control
Selflessness
Self sacrifice
Truthfulness
Righteousness
Justice
Mercy
Graciousness
Humility
Empathy
Sympathy
Godly knowledge
Godly wisdom
Godly moral
Reverential fear of God
Hope/trust/faith in the goodness of God
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