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# Ashoka

## Overview
Ashoka (~304–232 BCE), also known as Ashoka the Great, was the third Maurya emperor who, after the bloody conquest of Kalinga, converted to Buddhism and promoted non-violence through rock and pillar edicts across the Indian subcontinent. His name means "without sorrow" in Sanskrit. In his edicts he styled himself *Devanampiya Piyadassi* ("Beloved of the Gods, gracious of mien"). @t[304 BCE..232 BCE] [^3]

## Key Facts
- Born: ~304 BCE, Pataliputra @t[~304 BCE]
- Died: ~232 BCE @t[~232 BCE]
- Reign: ~268–232 BCE @t[268 BCE..232 BCE]
- Dynasty: Maurya
- Religion: Buddhism (after Kalinga War)
- Father: Bindusara (r. ~297–273 BCE)
- Grandfather: Chandragupta Maurya (founder of the empire)

## Family & Early Career
- Mother variously named Subhadrangi or Dharma in Buddhist sources [^3]
- First wife: Devi (also Vidisha-mahadevi), daughter of a merchant at Ujjain
- Children with Devi: son Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitra, both of whom led Buddhist missions to Sri Lanka [^3]
- Second queen: Karuvaki (also Kaurwaki); their son Tivala (also Tivara) is the only child of Ashoka mentioned by name in his own inscriptions — in the Queen's Edict [^4]
- As a young prince, suppressed a revolt at Taxila (~age 18), then served as viceroy at Ujjain [^3]
- Governed using the *Arthashastra* (political treatise attributed to Chanakya, Chandragupta's prime minister) as his administrative framework [^3]

## The Kalinga War
- Conquered Kalinga (~262 BCE) with devastating casualties (~100,000 killed, 150,000 deported per his own edicts) @t[~262 BCE]
- The carnage prompted his conversion to Buddhism [^1]
- His 13th Major Rock Edict records his remorse over the campaign

## Ashoka's Edicts
- 33 inscriptions total on pillars, boulders, and cave walls across the empire [^3]
- The edicts are the earliest written and datable texts from India [^4]
- Written in Prakrit, Greek, and Aramaic; the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription (~260 BCE) is carved in both Greek and Aramaic at Chehel Zina, Afghanistan @t[~260 BCE] [^2]
- Promoted *dhamma* (dharma): Non-violence, religious tolerance, welfare of subjects
- Established hospitals for humans and animals
- Sent Buddhist missionaries to Sri Lanka, Central Asia, and the Hellenistic world [^2]
- Ordered construction of stupas across the empire, including the famous stupa at Sanchi [^3]
- Undertook a pilgrimage to Buddhist sacred sites including Lumbini (birthplace of the Buddha), where he erected a pillar inscription (~249 BCE) exempting the village from taxes @t[~249 BCE] [^4]

## Empire Extent
- At its height stretched from modern-day Iran and Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east [^3]
- Capital at Pataliputra (modern Patna); provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain [^2]

## Legacy
- The Ashoka Chakra appears on India's national flag
- Lion Capital of Ashoka at Sarnath is India's national emblem
- Rediscovered by James Prinsep (1799–1840 CE) who deciphered Brahmi script in 1837
- After Ashoka's death, the empire fragmented under a succession of weaker rulers; the last Maurya emperor, Brihadratha, was assassinated by his general Pushyamitra Shunga in 185 BCE, ending the dynasty [^4]

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[^1]: Thapar, R. *Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas* (Oxford, 1961)
[^2]: Singh, U. *A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India* (2008)
[^3]: Mark, J. J. "Ashoka the Great." *World History Encyclopedia*, 24 Jun 2020. https://www.worldhistory.org/Ashoka_the_Great/
[^4]: "Ashoka." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashoka; "Tivala." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivala; "Edicts of Ashoka." *Wikipedia*. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edicts_of_Ashoka