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The son of Binder Sar and the grandson of Chander Gupta Maurya achieved greater name and fame than his father and grandfather. He is not only one of the greatest kings of India but also of the entire world. He was born in 273 B.C. and died in 232 B.C.
After the death of his father, Binder Sar - the king of Patli Putra, Ashok's elder brother Suman contended for the throne. But most of the ministers and prime minister Radha Gupt, in particular were against Suman. They considered Ashoka more capable and discreet. Therefore they helped him attain the reins of powers.
Ashoka had already gained experience of administration during his father's rule. Therefore, he had no difficulty in managing the state affairs when he ascended the throne. The first thing that he did was to restore peace in the kingdom. It took him full three years to do so. In fact the coronation ceremony was performed when he had established peace in his kingdom.
Ashoka was a great philanthropist. He used to take his meal after feeding many thousands of Brahmins. He had a very busy schedule of work, which started very early in the morning and went upto midnight. He remained very active and kept himself informed of the latest goings on in the land.
People were very honest during his reign. The incidents of theft were unheard of. People had religious bent of mind and were truthful. Science had also made a good progress. Technology, medicine and surgery had also developed appreciably.
Ashoka had a vast stretch of land under him to rule over. On the north side was snow-capped Himalayas, besides Nepal and Kashmir. His southern boundaries extended upto Mysore State. In the north-west were Baluchistan and Afghanistan. In the east flowed river Brahamputra, while in the west were Saurashtra and Junagarh, which formed part of his kingdom. In fact his empire was more extensive than the Moghals', or the Britishers'. It was a vast empire and needed the capabilities of a person like Ashoka to rule over it.
Kalinga war brought great fame to Ashoka. It is, in fact, due to this war that he became Ashoka - the great. It was not so because he won the war, but because he gave up fighting after winning this war. It was because of the transformation that occurred in him. It was because of the reaction that war had on his mind.
Kalinga was a small kingdom between Godawari and Mahanadi near the Bay of Bengal. Its land was fertile and its people were prosperous. They were very brave and patriotic people. According to Magasthenese Kalinga had an infantry of 60000 men, 10000 horsemen and about 600 elephants. Its independence was an eyesore to Ashoka. In the eighth year of his rule Ashoka surrounded Kalinga on all the four sides. In fact on the three sides his territory was already protruding towards Kalinga, it was only on the fourth side that navy had to be sent to surrounded it fully.
The people of Kalinga refused to submit. They were ready to die but not prepared to lose their independence. At last the inevitable happened. A fierce battle ensued, which lasted for many days. Many persons were killed, wounded and crippled. Many women were widowed and many children were orphaned. About a lakh and a half were made prisoners of war. There were sorpses all around. Suddenly Ashoka's conscience was jolted. A great transformation came in him. Now he was a different Ashoka. He started hating violence. Kalinga was the first and the last war waged by Ashoka.
 Ashoka embraced Budhism. According to one version he got initiation from his sister - Anandiji, while according to an other version he got it from his nephew i.e. brother's son. It brought him spiritual awakening and his entire course of life was changed. He contemplated welfare measures for the people. He was not a religious bigot. He was tolerant and wanted all religions to develop.
In his view, religion meant doing good needs and keeping away from sins. According to him kindness, charity, truth and purity constituted religion. By doing good deeds he meant serving parents, brahmins, saints and the aged and sick people, respecting and obeying teachers and treating lonely people with love and humility. It also meant observing norms of good conduct.
He propagated such principles of Budhism as were non-controversial. He got them engraved on the pillars throughout the length and breadth of his empire. These pillars were normally more then forty feet high and were very heavy. The language of these edicts is Prakrit. He wanted to raise the moral standard of the people through religious preaching. He sent religious teachers not only in the four corners of his kingdom but abroad also. It was mainly due to his efforts that Budhism spread in many Asian countries.
In tune with his religious fervour, he plunged himself in welfare measures for his people. He opened hospitals and dispensaries where the rich and the poor alike could get free treatment. Similarly there were dispensaries for birds and animals. Gardens and parks were laid out throughout the empire. Inns were constructed for the travelers; shady trees were planted alongside the roads. Walls and tanks were sunk for the benefit of the people, since he believed in non-violence, he banned animal sacrifice.
Though he hated violence and observed law of Piety i.e. Dharma in his personal life, yet it does not mean that he was lenient in administration. He was a hard task-master and never hesitated from awarding suitable punishment to the corrupt and guilty.
Ashoka has attained unprecedented fame not only in India but also in the whole world. He is truly a world figure. The government of India has rightly honoured his memory by adopting 'Ashoka Chakra' as national symbol.
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Reign: - 273 BC-232 BC
Full name: - Ashoka Maurya
Born: - 304 BC Pataliputra (Modern Day, Patna)
Died: - 232 BC Pataliputra
Buried: - Ashes immersed in Ganges River, possibly at Varanasi Predecessor Bindusara
Emperor: - Mahindra
Successor: - Dasaratha Maurya
Consort: - Maharani Devi
Consort: - Rani Kaurwaki
Wife/wives: - Rani Tishyaraksha
Royal House: - Maghada
Dynasty: - Mauryan dynasty, Magadha (India)
Father: - Bindusara
Mother: - Rani Dharma
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Embrace of Buddhism
Ashoka The Great was a Hindu by birth but later converted to Buddhism after the battle of Kalinga. According to legend, one day after the war was over Ashoka ventured out to roam the eastern 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?" Upon his return to Pataliputra, he could get no sleep and was constantly haunted by his deeds in Kalinga. The brutality of the conquest led him to adopt Buddhism under the guidance of the Brahmin Buddhist sages Radhaswami and Manjushri and he used his position to propagate the relatively new philosophy to new heights, as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. When the war against Kalinga ended, Asoka's warriors had killed over 100,000 people. He was filled with sorrow. He gave up war and violence, thus becoming almost the exact opposite of his grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya. He freed his prisoners and gave them back their land. He declared in his edicts:
“There is no country, except among the Greeks, where these two groups, Brahmans and ascetics, are not found, and there is no country where people are not devoted to one or another religion. Therefore the killing, death or deportation of a hundredth, or even a thousandth part of those who died during the conquest of Kalinga now pains Beloved-of-the-Gods. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods thinks that even those who do wrong should be forgiven where forgiveness is possible.”
Legend has it that there was another factor that lead Ashoka to Buddhism. A Mauryan princess who had been married to one of Ashoka's brothers (who Ashoka executed) fled her palace with a maid, fearing for her unborn child. After much travel, the pregnant princess collapsed under a tree in the forest, and the maid ran to a nearby ashram to fetch a priest or physician to help. Meanwhile, under the tree, the princess gave birth to a son. The young prince was brought up by the Brahmins of the ashram and educated by them. Later, when he was around thirteen years old, he caught the eye of Ashoka, who was surprised to see such a young boy dressed as a sage. When the boy calmly revealed who he was, it seemed that Ashoka was moved by guilt and compassion, and moved the boy and his mother into the palace.
Meanwhile Maharani Devi, who was a Buddhist, had brought up her children in that faith, and apparently left Ashoka after she saw the horrors of Kalinga. Ashoka was grieved by this, and was counselled by his nephew (who had been raised in the ashram and was more priest than prince) to embrace his dharma and draw away from war. Prince Mahindra and Princess Sanghamitra, the children of Maharani Devi, abhorred violence and bloodshed, but knew that as royals war would be a part of their lives. They therefore asked Ashoka for permission to join the Buddhist Sangha, which Ashoka reluctantly granted. The two siblings established Buddhism in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka).
From that point Ashoka, who had been described as "the cruel Ashoka" (Chandashoka), started to be described as "the pious Ashoka" (Dharmashoka). He propagated the Vibhajjavada school of Buddhism and preached it within his domain and worldwide from about 250 BC. Emperor Ashoka undoubtedly has to be credited with the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist policy.
Policy
Emperor Asoka's edicts tell of a supposed immense public works program. He built thousands of Stupas and Viharas for Buddhist followers (the Asokavadana says 84,000 such monuments were built). 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. 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. Enormous resthouses were built through the empire to house travellers and pilgrims free of charge. 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 weaker kingdoms surrounding his, which could so easily be overthrown, were instead made to be well-respected allies. In all these respects, Ashoka far exceeded even modern-day world leaders.
He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and people alike, and renovating major roads throughout India. However, there are historians who dispute the claim that Ashoka built any hospitals at all, and argue that it is based on a mistranslation, with references to 'rest houses' (way stations) being mistaken for hospitals. The error is thought to have occurred because similar edicts and records talk of Ashoka importing medicinal supplies. Dharmashoka also defined the main principles of dharma (dhamma in Pāli) as nonviolence, tolerance of all sects and opinions, obedience to parents, respect for the Brahmins 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.
In the Maurya Empire, citizens of all religions and ethnic groups also had rights to freedom, tolerance, and equality. The need for tolerance on an egalitarian basis can be found in the Edicts of Ashoka, which emphasize the importance of tolerance in public policy by the government. The slaughter or capture of prisoners of war was also condemned by Ashoka.Slavery was also non-existent in ancient India, if one considers Dalits to be free.
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Kundali