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 in the North to Bengal in the East 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 (1866 - 1946) 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" (1922).

Ashoka renounced violence and introduced a policy that established welfare as a right for all citizens, promoted religious tolerance and core universal values including respect for all life, for parents, for teachers and the importance of spiritual awareness. He combined inner with outer morality and wanted to establish a more just and spiritual society. His concern for animals and for the enviroment as well as for the disadvantaged and also for prisoners expressed itself in practical welfare provisions. Justice had to be seen to be done. It is perhaps unfortunate that we have more detail on the lives of mass murderers and military heroes than we do on this truly remarkable ruler, but that he well deserves 'hero' status few if any would dispute. Albeit, his own early career caused the death of thousands, many by his own hand including his own siblings. Well's tribute, however, accurately expresses a fair assessment of his enduring and valuable legacy, consistent with Well's own deeply held conviction that our true nationality is humankind. Ashoka's 'reign', said Wells, 'for eight-and-twenty years was one of the brightest interludes in the troubled history of mankind' ([1]. The transformation of character and morals that Ashoka underwent is testimony to the degree that such change for the good is possible. Cruelty and jealousy and ambition for power for power's sake are not character traits that are set in stone but human personality can undergo radical transformation.

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 emphasise Askoka's role in sending Buddhist missionaries far and wide, including his own son and daughters to Sri 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. When James Princep (1799-1840), a British civil servant in India, who was Secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, first diciphered one of the inscriptions in 1837 he thought they referred to an unknown King called Piyadasi. It was as late as 1915 that the identification with Ashoka (suspected earlier) was proved when another insciption clearly bearing Ashoka's name was discovered. Another account, not alwats identical with the Pali version, is found in an earlier text the Ashokaavadaana,(Story of Ashoka) a 1st century CE Sanskrit work which was twice translated into Chinese: 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 therfore seems to represent Mahayana interests) 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. Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism gives more scope to lay participation than does the School of the Elders, for which the full-time ascetic life of a Bhikkhu is the ideal.

Later scholars have tended to question the degree to which Ashoka identified himself fully with the Buddhist tradition. The only source of information not attributable to Buddhist sources - the Ashokan edicts- make only a few direct references to Buddhism, despite many references to the concept of dhamma (Pali) (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). Others point out that his aim was to inform ordinary people of the reforms he was instituting, and to encourage them to live more moral and spiritually aware lives. He deliberately used simple language, and had no interest or purpose in delinetaing complex Buddhist philosophy. His commitment to Buddhist was shown by his convening the third Buddhist Council in 250B.C.E. with the aim of reconciling different schools of thought. Before the discovery and authentication of the edicts, many Westerners dismissed the story as simply 'too good to be true', that is, such an 'exceptionally cruel and ruthless prince' who 'dramatically converted to Budhism and ruled wisely and justly for the rest of his life' had to be wishful thinking (Dhammika, 1993).

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 previousuly independent city states of India following Alexander the Great's invasion of 327B.C.E. The empire reached its zenith 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 (Bhikkhus) and nuns (bhikkunis). 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 this time as provincial governor. Buddhism's rejection of class and caste was regarded as socially dangerous by many and its denial of the authority and role of the Brahmans (the highest class in Hindu society) also undermined the social system of the time.

The following year passed quite peacefully for Ashoka 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 expansion of the Mauryan Empire and one that has arguably remained unmatched in Indian history.

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. At the time, Ashoka possessed the largest standing army of his day - 600,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 9,000 war elephants.

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 to Alexandria in 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 (see discussion in Bennett, 2001: 67-68; 207-8, 322; 339-40). It has been suggested that the pre-Christian ascetics, known as the Therapeutae derived their name from Therevada. From that point Ashoka, who had been described as "the cruel Ashoka" (Chandashoka), started to be described as "the pious Ashoka" (Dharmashoka). He made Buddhism his state religion around 260 B.C.E. He propagated the Vibhajyavada school of Buddhism (from Vibhaajja, analysis and vada, the precursor of Therevada Buddhism) discussion.and preached it within his domain and worldwide from about 250 B.C.E. Some sources indicate that he had actually called himself a Buddhist two years before the war.

Ashoka's New Imperial Policy

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:

Buddha's ten precepts on kingly duty

:* be liberal and avoid selfishness,

:* maintain a high moral character,

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

:* be honest and maintain absolute integrity,

:* be kind and gentle,

:* lead a simple life for the subjects to emulate,

:* be free from hatred of any kind,

:* exercise non-violence,

:* practice patience, and

:* respect public opinion to promote peace and harmony.

The Buddha may have encountered criticsm that his teaching was too oriented towards liberation and to what lies beyond the present world (sometimes represented as cessation, or non-existence) that he neglecetd the affairs of those who could not forsake all wordly responsibilities and enter the sangha. On the other hand, the sangha depends for its existence on the support and generosity of lay-Buddhits. The Buddha's advice on kingship was possibly in response to such criticsm, and Ashoka attempted to translate the theory into practice. He published fourteen edicts, as the basis on his new policy. These were:

1. no living being were to be slaughtered or sacrificed.
2. humans and animals are to be provided medical care throughout his territory.
3. every five years his monks would tour the empire teaching the dharma.
4. all should respect parents, priests and monks
5. prisoners must be humanely treated.
6. concers regarding the welfare of his people must be reported to him at all times no matter where he is or what he is doing.
7. since all religions desire self-control and purity of heart, all are welcome.
8. he prefers to give to monks and Brahmans and to the needy than to receive gifts from others.
9. reverence for the dharma and a proper attitude towards teachers is better than marriage or other worldly celebrations.
10. glory and fame count for nothing if his people do not repect the dharma.
11. giving the dharma to others is the best gift anyone can have.
12. Whoever praises his own religion, due to excessive devotion, and condemns others with the thought "Let me glorify my own religion," only harms his own religion. Therefore contact (between religions) is good.
13. conquest by the dharma is superior to conquest by force but if conquest by force is carried out, it should be 'forbearance and light punishment'.
14. he has writtien his edicts so that people might act in accordance with them (summary of the 14 major rock edicts based on Dhammika's translation, 1993).

Ashoka replaced conquest by force with what he called 'conquest by righteousness' (dhammavijaya). 'Wherever conquest is achieved by Dharma, it produces satisfaction', he wrote (Rock Edict13). 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. Perhaps his beloved grandfather's example, who in retirement became a Jain monk (Jainism teachers reverence for all life and non-violence as a creed) also inspired his change of direction, although unlike his grandfather he attempted to life his new live while continuing to exercise political power and authority. Instead of renouncing the world, he embraced it in order to renew and transform society. The spiritually aware life can be lived in the world; spirituality does not have to be divorced from an affirmation of the value of life in human society, of family, and of a government (which Ashoka tried to establish) that seeks to promote the common good not just the good of an elite few.

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.

Propagation of Buddhism

It is as a patron of Buddhist missionary endeavour that Ashoka is mainly remembered in the ancient texts. Prominent in this cause were his son Venerable Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta, a Bhikkuni (whose name means "friend of the Sangha"), who established Buddhism in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) taking copies of the Pali canon of Buddhist scripture (the Tipitaka) with them, which was formalized at the third Buddhist Council convened by Ashoka. Ashoka built thousands of stupas and Viharas (monasteries/temples)for Buddhist followers. Some of his missionary monks may have been Greek. 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 (including provison for women to 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.

Ashoka's role in helping to spread Buddhism can not be underestimated. Bhikkunis in Sri Lanka today trace their lineage right back to Ashoka's daughter and to the retinue of nuns who travelled to Sri Lanka with her. Although the order had a thousand year absence in Sri Lanka, it was preserved in Korea and Japan and re-introduced from there into Sri Lanka last century. Sri Lanka remains one of the most important Buddhist societies today and a center of Budhist scholarship and had Ashoka not helped to spread Buddhism beyond India it may not have survived, largely disappearing from India (until re-introduced in the modern period) in the eleventh century, with the exception of the area of East Bengal bordering on Burma. Instead, it spread to China, Japan and beyond. Origen refers to Buddhist missionaries reaching England. Buddhism may not have reached China until the first century CE but there are stories of one of Ashoka's missionaries visiting China. The revival of interest in Buddhism in India is also attributable to Ashoka, since it was the re-discovery of his edicts that helped to stimulate interest.

He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and renovating major roads throughout India. After his change of heart, Ashoka came to be known as Dhammashoka (Sanskrit), meaning Ashoka, the follower of Dharma. His favorite self-decription (found of numerous edicts) was 'beloved of the Gods'. 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. Indeed, from his 12th edict, Ashoka appears to have pioneered not only inter-religious dialogue but the concept that all religions share common truths and values.

Ashoka's Political Pragmatism

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 (some were written in Greek) but he was 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. Some of the information we have on Mauryan history is from the work of Greek historians and writers. As a result of Alexander the Great's imperial and cultural project, the world of India and the Hellenic world were now linked and to a certain degree shared a common view of the wider world both inhabited. Ashoka's commitment to remaining ruler while flying in the face of many conventions of the day that depended on force and military strenght demanded a certain pragmatism. This included maintaining friendly relations with his powerful neighbours and extending trade and commerce. His exporting of non-violent Buddhism was also clearly intended to bring about a new diplomtatic era of peaceful co-existence between formerly competing powers.

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. Most of the pillars on which his edicts were inscribed are between 40 and 50 feet and weigh up to fifty tons each. They are found in about thirty locations in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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." Certainly, Ashoka's dharma was intended to be a polity around which all in his heterogeneous kingdom could unite, and it has someting in common with Akbar the Great's sulh-i-kull policy of a later but not disimilar time.

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 was first to step through the door. This young man had always delighted in torturing and killing and had already callously despatched his own parents. Samudra was the unfortunate person who was first through the door of the newly finished house of horror. 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 Chandagirikaa, 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 the enlightened monk, unlike his unenlightened self severn days earlier, was calm and fearless. Now detached from his physical self, he said to Chandagarikaa, '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'. The executioner was quite unmoved, and threw Samudra into a cauldron of water and blood. However, as hard as Chanagarikaa tried to light a fire underneath the cauldron, he could not do so. Finally, looking into the cauldron, he was amazed to see Samudra calmly sat on a lotus. He immediately went to find Ashoka, so that he too could see this miracle, which hundreds of people also came to see. Samudra realized that the time was ready for Ashoka 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, becoming an lay-devotee (upasaka). 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 audacious and insolent 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 palace 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 occassion, in order to earn some merit (to recover from some sort of ailment) he travelled his realm incognito as a mendicant, experiencing the life of a monk. The phrase yam me samghe upeti, which translates as going [went to] to the Sangha, has led some scholars to claim that Ashoka became a full-time bhikkhu but it probably implies that he visited and spent time listening to the monks. '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. He was committed both to supporting the full-time sangha, with its special responsibility to teach the dharma, and to enable lay-Buddhists (like himself) to live pious, devout and moral lives while carrying out their day-to-day, business, family or leadership responsibilities in the secular world. While the school of Buddhism of which he was a patron developed as Therevada, with emphasis on the full-time religious life, some embryonic Mahayana concerns for the conduct and quality of lay-Buddhist life (not absent in Therevada but stressed in Mahayana) also appear to have motivated his polity and action.

Death and legacy

Imperial 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. They went to Sri Lanka and converted the King, Devanampiva Tissa, 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. Of itself, this represents a major cultural legacy.

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 Honor 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. The empire's decline is mainly attributable to the weak leadership that succeeded Ashoka's rule but several other factors also contributed. These include the de-skilling of the military, who lost their jobs under Ashoka's policy and were subsequently unable to offer adequate defence. The large adminsistration required strong leadership and when this was not forthcoming, provinces tended to assert independance from the center. Also, the Brahman priests had been sidelined by Ashoka's Buddhist policy but after his death worked to undermine this, which encouraged civil war. Ashoka's time had been one of unification, bringing small kingdoms together; it was followed by fragmentation.

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 symbolically adopted Ashoka's emblem for its own, placing the dharma wheel that crowned his many columns on the Flag of India of the newly independent state. Ashoka's non-violence was also revived during the indepedence struggle against the British, by the nationaist leader and Hindu philosopher, Matatma Gandhi.

Adminstrative Legacy

In addition to his legacy as probably the first Buddhist King, and as one of the pioneers of an alternative approach to goverance, Ashoka was an efficient administrator. His empire was divided into five provinces, with capitals at Taxila, Ujjain, Tosali, Suvarnagiri and Patilaputra. A kumara or prince governed each province. These were sub-divided into groups of several villages. Each village was headed by a Gramika. At the center, ministers of state (mantris) dealt with the judiciary and taxation. Ashoka issued Sasanasad, which translated as ordinancs. However, he appears to have listened to people's concerns and consulted not only his ministers but common people as well. He was very concerned that justice be fair, and he made the system much more open than it had been before. Death sentences were commuted. Time was allowed for appeals. "It is my desire", he said, 'that there should be uniformity in law and uniformity in sentencing. He wrote:

I even go this far, to grant a three-day stay for those in prison who have been tried and sentenced to death. During this time their relatives can make appeals to have the prisoners' lives spared. If there is none to appeal on their behalf, the prisoners can give gifts in order to make merit for the next world, or observe fasts." Pilar Edict Nb4 (S. :Dhammika).

The degree to which a leader invests in the welfare of the most vulnerable in any society or organization is a good measure of the quality of their leadership. Thus, Ashoka's unusual concern for prisoners is testimony to the depth and profundity of his own belief in the possibility of transformation, so that even those guilt of heinous crime should be given an opportunity for renewal.

Public funds were spent on major projects, including agriculture to feed the poor, to dig wells and also to plant trees so that people could benefit from the shade they gave in the hottest conditions. Art and culture flourished. Both show signs of Greek and Persian influence and both were conscripted to help the spread of Buddhism. There is, of course, evidence that cultural influence was not one way traffic. Ashoka provided free medical care for people and animals. During 399-414C.E., the Chinese scholar Fa-Hien traveled to India in search of great Buddhist books of discipline and reported seeing works of art, rock cut caves, palaces and exemplary buildings from Ashoka's period. There appears to have been a sophisticated civil service. A characteristic of Mauriyan art was the mirror-like finish to the pillars, which has survived centuries of exposure to wind and sun.

Legacy as Pioneer of Inter-religious Dialogue

Ashoka combined personal and state ethics and tried to bridge divides in his multi-cultural empire. He wrote, "You Are True to Your Own Beliefs If You Accord Kindly Treatment to Adherents of Other Faiths. You Harm Your own Religion by Harassing Followers of Other Creeds," a lesson that too few have yet leant (Rock Text 3). He believed that his code of reverence and compassion was based on universal values. He did not merely advocate tolerance and co-existence but believed that discussion could result in the mutual enrichment of all religions; "Therefore concord alone is commendable, for through concord men max, learn and respect the conception of Dharma accepted by others"(Rock Edict 12). While he officially promoted Buddhism, he also assigned 'different officials to deal with 'the affairs of different religions' (Pillar Edict 7). His fourteen point code aimed to hold inner morality and outer action in harmony. He turned away from the kingship of power, compulsion and self-interest and dared to believe that he could construct a different kind of kingdom, based on causing no one harm. It has been suggested that no greater or better kingdom has yet been known among men. In Kalinga Rock Edict One, he instructed his judicial officers, warning them that they would not be promoted unless they furthered his desire:

All men are my children. What I desire for my own children, and I desire their welfare and

happiness both in this world and the next, that I desire for all men. You do not understand

to what extent I desire this, and if some of you do understand, you do not understand the

full extent of my desire.

Indian writer, Gita Mehta (1995), suggests that contemporay nuclear-bomb possessing India can profitably emulate Ashoka's example testifies to the enduring value of Ashoka's legacy and political polity;

Peaceful coexistence, religious tolerance, social welfare, ecological responsibility, education, impartial justice, respect :for all living things-is it possible that these were practiced over such a huge land mass occupied by so many :millions of people two-and-a-half millennia ago? And if they were possible then, why can't they be practiced now? The :question is still asked in modern India (25).

External links

King Asoka and Buddhism. Historical and Literary studies

[2] English translation of the Edicts of Ashoka

[3] for the Ashokaavadaana

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Bennett, Clinton In Search of Jesus: Insider and Outsider Imahes, NY and London: Continuum, 2001 ISBN 0 8264 4916 6
• Dhammika, S The Edicts of King Ashoka (The Wheel Publication No 386/7), Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society, 1993 ISBN 955 24 0104 6
• Mehta, Gita 'Ashoka: Beloved of the Gods', 21- 25Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Winter 1998
• Strong, John S Legend of King Asoka, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2nd ed 2002 ISBN 8120806166
• Swearer, Donald. Buddhism and Society in Southeast Asia.Chambersburg, PA: Anima Books, 1981. ISBN 0890120234.
• Wells, H. G. 'Asoka', chapte 29, A Short History of the World, NY: Macmillan, 1922

Film

• Asoka (2002) DIRECTED BY Santosh Sivan Arclightz and Films Pvt. Ltd., Dreamz Unlimited

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