Ashoka

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Please see Ashoka (disambiguation) for other uses of the word Ashoka

Ashoka the Great (also Asoka, अशोक Aśoka; pronounced Ashok, even though there is an 'a' at the end) was the ruler of the Mauryan empire from 273 B.C.E. to 232 B.C.E. After a number of military conquests, Ashoka reigned over most of South Asia and beyond, from present day Afghanistan to Bengal and as far south as Mysore. An early supporter of Buddhism, Ashoka established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, and according to Buddhist tradition was closely involved in the preservation and transmission of Buddhism.

The name "Ashoka" translates as 'without sorrow' in Sanskrit. Asoka was the first ruler of ancient Bharata (India), after the famed Mahabharata rulers, to unify such a vast territory under his empire, which in retrospect exceeds the boundaries of the present-day Republic of India.

The British author H. G. Wells wrote of Ashoka: "In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves 'Their Highnesses', 'Their Majesties' and 'Their Exalted Majesties' and so on. They shone for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day."

Historical Sources

Information about the life and reign of Ashoka primarily comes from a relatively small number of Buddhist sources. In particular, the two Pāli chronicles of Sri Lanka (the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa) provide most of the currently known information about Asoka. These Therevadin (School of the Elders) texts date from the fifth century CE and emphasises Askoka's role in sending Buddhist missionaries far and wide, inclkuding his own son to Sr Lanka. Additional information is contributed by the Edicts of Asoka, whose authorship was finally attributed to the Ashoka of Buddhist legend after the discovery of dynastic lists that gave the name used in the edicts (Piyadasi- meaning 'good looking', or 'favored by the Gods') as a title or additional name of Ashoka Mauriya. A somewhat different account is found in a an earlier Mahayana text (Greater Vehicle)the Ashokaavadaana,(Story of Ashoka) a 1st century CE Sanskrit. work which was translated into Chinese twice: the A-yu wang chuan around 300 C.E. and the A-yu wang ching circa 500 C.E. This text stresses Ashoka's role in encouraging lay Buddhism and also explores his relationship with the monastic commuity, the sangha. Its version of Ashoka's conversion (see below) is also different from the Pali account.

Later scholars have tended to question this assessment. The only source of information not attributable to Buddhist sources - the Ashokan edicts- make only a few references to Buddhism directly, despite many references to the concept of dhamma (Sanskrit: dharma). Some interpreters have seen this as an indication that Ashoka was attempting to craft an inclusive, poly-religious civil religion for his empire that was centered on the concept of dharma as a positive moral force, but which did not embrace or advocate any particular philosophy attributable to the religious movements of Ashoka's age (such as the Jains, Buddhists, orthodox Brahmanists (see Hinduism, and Ajivikas).

Most likely, the complex religious environment of the age would have required careful diplomatic management in order to avoid provoking religious unrest. Modern scholars and adherants of the traditional Buddhist perspective both tend to agree that Ashoka's rule was marked by tolerance towards a number of religious faiths.

Early life

Ashoka was the son of the Mauryan emperor Bindusara by a relatively lower ranked Queen known as Dharma. Ashoka had several elder siblings and just one younger sibling, Vitthashoka. Because of his exemplary intellect and warrior skills, he is said to have been the favorite of his grandfather Chandragupta Maurya who founded the dynasty, responding to the need for greater unity among the previosuly independent city states of India following Alexander the Great's invasion of 327B.C.E. The empire reached its zentith during Ashoka's rule. According to legend, Ashoka recovered his grandfather's sword after Chandragupta Maurya cast it away before embarking on life as a Jain ascetic.

Rise to power

Developing into an impeccable warrior general and a shrewd statesman, Ashoka went on to command several regiments of the Mauryan army. His growing popularity across the empire made his elder brothers wary of his chances of being favoured by Bindusara to become the next emperor. The eldest of them, Prince Susima, the traditional heir to the throne, persuaded Bindusara to send Ashoka to quell an uprising in the city of Taxila in the north-west province of Sindh, of which Prince Susima was the governor. Taxila was a highly volatile place because of the war-like Indo-Greek population and mismanagement by Susima himself. This had led to the formation of different militias causing unrest. Ashoka complied and left for the troubled area. As news of Ashoka's visit with his army trickled in, he was welcomed by the revolting militias and the uprising ended without a fight. (The province revolted once more during the rule of Ashoka, but this time the uprising was crushed with an iron fist).

File:Ashoka2.jpg

Emperor Ashoka (a possible picturisation)

Ashoka's success made his step-brothers more wary of his intentions of becoming the emperor, and more incitements from Susima led Bindusara to send Ashoka into exile. He went into Kalinga (Orissa) and stayed incognito there. There he met a fisherwoman named Kaurwaki, with whom he fell in love; recently found inscriptions indicate that she went on to become his second or third queen.

Meanwhile, there was again a violent uprising in Ujjain. Emperor Bindusara summoned Ashoka back after an exile of two years. Ashoka went into Ujjain and in the ensuing battle was injured, but his generals quelled the uprising. Ashoka was treated in hiding so that loyalists of the Susima group could not harm him. He was treated by Buddhist monks and nuns. This is where he first learned the teachings of the Buddha, and it is also where he met Devi, who was his personal nurse and the daughter of a merchant from adjacent Vidisha. After recovering, he married her. It was quite unacceptable to Bindusara that one of his sons should marry a Buddhist, so he did not allow Ashoka to stay in Pataliputra, but instead sent him back to Ujjain and made him the governor of Ujjain.

The following year passed quite peacefully for him and Devi was about to deliver his first child. In the meantime, Emperor Bindusara died. As the news of the unborn heir to the throne spread, Prince Susima planned the execution of the unborn child; however, the assassin who came to kill Devi and her child killed his mother instead. As the folklore goes, in a fit of rage, Prince Ashoka attacked Pataliputra (modern day Patna), and beheaded all his brothers, including Susima, and threw their bodies in a well in Pataliputra. At that stage of his life, many called him Chanda Ashoka meaning murderer and heartless Ashoka.

Ascending the throne, Ashoka expanded his empire over the next eight years, expanding it from the present-day boundaries of Bangladesh and the state of Assam in India in the east to the territory of present-day Iran and Afghanistan in the west; from the Palmir Knots in the north to the almost peninsular part of southern India. This would be the greatest geographical exapansion of the Mauryan Empire.

Conquest of Kalinga

While the early part of Ashoka's reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty, he became a follower of the Buddha's teaching after his conquest of Kalinga, on the east coast of India in the present-day state of Orissa. Kalinga was a state that prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy; with its monarchical-cum-parliamentary democracy, it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata (India), as there existed the concept of Rajdharma, meaning the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery and Kshatriya dharma (the duty of the warriuor class, expounded by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita)..

The pretext for the start of the Kalinga War (265 B.C.E. or 263 B.C.E.) is uncertain. One of Susima's brothers might have fled to Kalinga and found official refuge there. This enraged Ashoka immensely. He was advised by his ministers to attack Kalinga for this act of treachery. Ashoka then asked Kalinga's royalty to submit before his supremacy. When they defied this diktat, Ashoka sent one of his generals to Kalinga to make them submit.

The general and his forces were, however, completely routed through the skilled tactics of Kalinga's commander-in-chief. Ashoka, baffled at this defeat, attacked with the greatest invasion ever recorded in Indian history until then. Kalinga put up a stiff resistance, but they were no match for Ashoka's brutal strength. The whole of Kalinga was plundered and destroyed: Ashoka's later edicts say that about 100,000 people were killed on the Kalinga side and 10,000 from Ashoka's army; thousands of men and women were deported.

Conversion to Buddhism

The Pali Version

As the legend goes, one day after the war was over, Ashoka ventured out to roam the city and all he could see were burnt houses and scattered corpses. This sight made him sick and he cried the famous quotation, "What have I done?" The brutality of the conquest led him to adopt Buddhism and he used his position to propagate the relatively new philosophy far and wide, sending missionaries as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. The fact that Buddhist missionaries reached Egypt has even led to speculation that similarity between Jesus' teaching and Buddha's may be due to Jesus' having encountered these monks. From that point Ashoka, who had been described as "the cruel Ashoka" (Chandashoka), started to be described as "the pious Ashoka" (Dharmashoka). He made Vibhajvada Buddhism his state religion around 260 B.C.E. He propagated the Vibhajyavada school of Buddhism and preached it within his domain and worldwide from about 250 B.C.E. Emperor Ashoka undoubtedly has to be credited with the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist polity, this putting into practice the Buddha's own advice on kingship and government contained in the Dasa Raja Dharma, including the following ten precepts:

1) be liberal and avoid selfishness,

2) maintain a high moral character,

3) be prepared to sacrifice one's own pleasure for the well-being of the subjects,

4) be honest and maintain absolute integrity,

5) be kind and gentle,

6) lead a simple life for the subjects to emulate,

7) be free from hatred of any kind,

8) exercise non-violence,

9) practice patience, and

10) respect public opinion to promote peace and harmony.

Ashoka replaced conquest by force with what he called 'conquest by righteousness' (dhammavijaya). Was he the first monarch on record to renounce violence? Very possibly, yet he remained a powerful and influential king although the Empire did decline after his death.

Silver punch-mark coins of the Mauryan empire, bear Buddhist symbols such as the dharma wheel, the elephant (previous form of the Buddha), the tree under which enlightenment happened, and the burial mound where the Buddha died (obverse). 3rd century B.C.E.

Prominent in this cause were his son Venerable Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta (whose name means "friend of the Sangha"), who established Buddhism in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He built thousands of stupas and Viharas (monasteries/temples)for Buddhist followers. The Stupas of Sanchi are world famous and the stupa named Sanchi Stupa 1 was built by Emperor Ashoka. During the remaining portion of Ashoka's reign, he pursued an official policy of nonviolence or ahimsa. Even the unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of animals was immediately abolished. Wildlife became protected by the king's law against sport hunting and branding. Limited hunting was permitted for consumption reasons but Ashoka also promoted the concept of vegetarianism. Ashoka also showed mercy to those imprisoned, allowing them outside one day each year. He attempted to raise the professional ambition of the common man by building universities for study and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture. He treated his subjects as equals regardless of their religion, politics and caste. The kingdoms surrounding his, so easily overthrown, were instead made to be well-respected allies.

He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and renovating major roads throughout India. After this transformation of self, Ashoka came to be known as Dhammashoka (Sanskrit), meaning Ashoka, the follower of Dharma. Ashoka defined the main principles of dharma (dhamma) as nonviolence, tolerance of all sects and opinions, obedience to parents, respect for the Brahmans and other religious teachers and priests, liberality towards friends, humane treatment of servants, and generosity towards all. These principles suggest a general ethic of behavior to which no religious or social group could object.

Some critics say that Ashoka was afraid of more wars, but among his neighbors, including the Seleucid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom established by Diodotus I, none could match his strength. He was a contemporary of both Antiochus I Soter and his successor Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid dynasty as well as Diodotus I and his son Diodotus II of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. His inscriptions and edicts demonstrate that he was familiar with the Hellenic world but never in awe of it. His edicts, which talk of friendly relations, give the names of both Antiochus of the Seleucid empire and Ptolemy III of Egypt. But the fame of the Mauryan empire was widespread from the time that Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta Maurya defeated Seleucus Nicator]], the founder of the Seleucid Dynasty.

The Pillars of Ashoka at Sarnath is the most popular of the relics left by Ashoka. Made of sandstone, this pillar records the visit of the emperor to Sarnath, in the 3rd century B.C.E. It has a four-lion capital (four lions standing back to back) which was adopted as the emblem of the modern Indian republic. The lion symbolises both Ashoka's imperial rule and the kingship of the Buddha. In translating these monuments, historians learn the bulk of what is assumed to have been true fact of the Mauryan Empire. It is difficult to determine whether certain events ever happened, but the stone etchings depict clearly of how Ashoka wanted to be thought and how he wanted to be remembered.

Ashoka's first rock inscription at Girnar

Ashoka's own words as known from his Edicts are: "All men are my children. I am like a father to them. As every father desires the good and the happiness of his children, I wish that all men should be happy always." Edward D'Cruz interprets the Ashokan dharma as a "religion to be used as a symbol of a new imperial unity and a cementing force to weld the diverse and heterogeneous elements of the empire".

The Sanskrit Version

The conversion account contained in the Ashokaavadaana does not refer to the Battle of Kalinga and appears more mythical than the above account. However, it also contains interesting details about Ashoka's practice of Budhism. In this text, a Buddhist monk called Samudra appears at what he thought was a Palace in Ashoka's capital, which was in fact a new building dedicated to the 'art of execution', 'asking for alms' only to become potential victim of a strange transaction that allowed the palace's builder, Chandagirikaa to kill whoever firt steps through the door. This young man had always delighted in torturing and killing and had already despatched his own parents quitre callously. Samudra was the unfortunate person. Chandagirikaa agreed to a seven day delay when the monk, who feared death, begged him for mercy. Meanwhile, a youth and one of the women of the royal household caused some offence to Chandagirika, who ordered their execution. He then had their bodies 'ground ... with pestles in an iron mortar before Samudra'. Witnessing this horrible execution, Samudra suddenty realised the truth of the Buddha's teaching of impermanence, and gained enlightenment, becoming an arhat (liberated being). The next morning, the time for his own execution arrived but this,was calm and fearless, detached from his physical self, he said to Chandagarikaa, â??True my night of ignorance has cleared and the sun of my good fortune is at its height. You may do as you wish, my friend.â?? The executioner was quite unmoved, and threSamudrara into a cauldron of water and blood. However, as hard aChanagarikaaaa tied tried to light a fire underneath the cauldron, he could not do so. Lookinitoto the cauldron, he was amazed to see thSamudrara calmly sat on lotuisis. He immediately went to finAshokaka, so that he too could see this miracle, which hundreds of people also came to seeSamudrara realized that the time was ready foAshokaka to become a Buddhist. The text tells us that:

Miraculously, Samudra floated up in the air and stunned the monarch.

For from half his body water poured down;

from the other half fire blazed forth;

Raining and flaming, he shone in the sky.

Ashoka folded his hands and asked to be initiated into the mysteries of the Dharma. Thus, Ashoka converted to Buddhism. Samudra also informed Ashoka that the Buddha had predicted that a king would arise who would build eighty four thousand stupas to contain his bodily relics but instead the Emperor had built a Palace of Execution. Ashoka then begged for forgiveness, and took the three 'refuges' by which one becomes a Buddhist (refuge in the Buddha, in the dharma and in the sangha). He also promised to build stupas to house the sacred relics. Then, the monk vanished. As Ashoka was about to leave himself, his Executioner challenged him that his boon had not been granted and that he still had the right to execute the first person who had entered the Palace. Surprised that his servant apparently intended to execute his king, Ashoka replied that since Chadagirikaa had in fact entered before him, it should be him who dies. Chanagarikaa was duly executed (he was not last man to be killed by Ashoka's orders but later Ashoka forbade all exectutions) and the palaced of horrors (described as paradisal hell in the text) was destroyed.

The text continues with the story of how Ashoka recovered the relics from eight previously built stupas, and constructed the new ones as he had promised. On one occassions, in order to earn some merit (to recover from some sort of ailment) he travlled his realm ingognito as a menicant, experiencing the life of a monk. We are told that he venerated monks, which his retinue thought inappropriate for a king. He donated generously to the Sangha. Both conversion stories record that Ashoka underwent a change of heart that involved repudiation of slaughter and a new commitment to peace and to the precepts and teachings of Buddhism.

Death and legacy

Emperor Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years, and after his death, the Maurya dynasty lasted just fifty more years. Ashoka had many wives and children, but their names are lost to time. Mahinda and Sanghamitta were twins born by his first wife, Devi, in the city of Ujjain. He had entrusted to them the job of making his state religion, Buddhism, more popular across the known and the unknown world. Mahinda and Sanghamitta went into Sri Lanka and converted the King, the Queen and their people to Buddhism. So they were naturally not the ones handling state affairs after him. Some rare records speak of a successor of Ashoka named Kunal, who was his son from his last wife. But his rule did not last long after Ashoka's death.

File:Asokaemblem.jpg

The reign of Emperor Ashoka Maurya could easily have disappeared into history as the ages passed by, and would have, if he had not left behind a record of his trials. The testimony of this wise king was discovered in the form of magnificently sculpted pillars and boulders with a variety of actions and teachings he wished to be published etched into the stone. What Ashoka left behind was the first written language in India since the ancient city of Harappa. Rather than Sanskrit, the language used for inscription was the current spoken form called Prakrit.

In the year 185 B.C.E., about fifty years after Ashoka's death, the last Mauryan ruler, Brhadrata, was brutally murdered by the then commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honour of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga founded the Sunga dynasty (185 B.C.E.-78 B.C.E.) and ruled just a fragmented part of the Mauryan Empire.

Not until some 2,000 years later under Akbar the Great and his great-grandson Aurangzeb would as large a portion of the subcontinent as that ruled by Ashoka again be united under a single ruler. When India gained independence from the British Empire it adopted Ashoka's emblem for its own, placing the dharma wheel that crowned his many columns on the flag of the newly independent state.

Film: Asoka (20020 DIRECTED BY Santosh Sivan Arclightz and Films Pvt. Ltd., Dreamz Unlimited

Prince Ashoke (Shahrukh Khan), heir to the Magadha Kingdom, bowing to his mother's (Shilpa Mehta) demand forsakes his princely status and goes to live in the wild for awhile. There he meets and falls in love with Kaurwaki (Kareena Kapoor). He identifies himself as Pawan, not wanting to disclose his identity yet. Ashoke has to return to Magadha, but when he returns to find and wed Kaurwaki, he is told by Bheema (Rahul Dev) that Kaurwaki and her brother Arya have been killed. Devastated Ashoke returns home. On the way home he is attacked and Devi (Hrishitaa Bhatt), of the Buddhist faith rescues him and tends to him till he gets well. As a result, Devi's marriage to her groom is cancelled. Ashoke weds her and brings her to Magadha, only to be told by his father that since Devi is not of the same race as he, she cannot be welcomed. Ashoke leaves with Devi and lives in Ujjaini. Soon Devi gets pregnant, and this arouses jealously and hatred amongst Ashoke's step-brothers. As a result they plot to kill Devi, however, their plans are foiled by Ashoke's mother, who is killed. Ashoke swears to avenge his mother's death by killing his step-brothers one by one, except for one, who has led to Kalinga. Ashoke asks the ruler of Kalings to turn over his step-brother to him, and they refuse. Ashoke swears to raze Kalinga to the ground. Ashoke is unstoppable. Even his close friend, Virat (Danny Denzongpa), too, is unable to stop Ashoke. Ashoke proceeds to war, little knowing that the queen of Kalinga is none other than Kaurwaki, who is still alive.

External links

King Asoka and Buddhism. Historical and Literary studies

[1] for the Ashokaavadaana

Sources

Swearer, Donald. Buddhism and Society in Southeast Asia.Chambersburg, PA: Anima Books, 1981. ISBN 0890120234.

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