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] ¹

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 ¹
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 ¹
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 ²
Son Kunala (by another queen) was blinded by his stepmother Tishyaraksha and thus excluded from succession; his own son Samprati later ruled part of the empire ²
As a young prince, suppressed a revolt at Taxila (~age 18), then served as viceroy at Ujjain ¹
Governed using the Arthashastra (political treatise attributed to Chanakya, Chandragupta's prime minister) as his administrative framework ¹

The Kalinga War

Conquered Kalinga (~261 BCE), a kingdom on the east coast corresponding to modern Odisha and northern Andhra Pradesh, with devastating casualties (~100,000 killed, 150,000 deported per his own edicts) @t[~261 BCE]
The carnage prompted his conversion to Buddhism ³
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 ¹
The edicts are the earliest written and datable texts from India ²
Written in Prakrit, Greek, and Aramaic; two inscriptions were found at Kandahar (Chehel Zina, Afghanistan): the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription (~260 BCE) in Greek and Aramaic (discovered 1957), and a separate Greek-only inscription (discovered 1963) @t[~260 BCE] ⁴ ⁵
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 ⁴
Ordered construction of stupas across the empire, including the famous stupa at Sanchi ¹
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] ²

Empire Extent

At its height stretched from modern-day Iran and Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east ¹
Capital at Pataliputra (modern Patna); provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain ⁴

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
Ashoka was immediately succeeded by his grandson Dasharatha Maurya (~232–224 BCE), as his son Kunala had been blinded and was ineligible; the empire began fragmenting under Dasharatha and subsequent weaker rulers ²
The last Maurya emperor, Brihadratha, was assassinated by his general Pushyamitra Shunga in 185 BCE, who founded the Shunga dynasty, ending Maurya rule ²

Mark, J. J. "Ashoka the Great." World History Encyclopedia, 24 Jun 2020. https://www.worldhistory.org/Ashoka_the_Great/ ↩︎
"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; "Kunala." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kunala; "Dasharatha Maurya." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dasharatha_Maurya ↩︎
Thapar, R. Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas (Oxford, 1961) ↩︎
Singh, U. A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2008) ↩︎
Olivelle, P. Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King (Yale University Press, 2024); "Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription." Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kandahar_Bilingual_Rock_Inscription ↩︎

4.5 KiB Raw Blame History Unescape Escape