Asoka

• Ashoka Bundusara Maurya was born to Mauryan emperor Bindusara and his queen "Dharma" (the queen was not royal blood)

•Bon as Devanampriya Priyadarshi Samrat Ashoka, in 304 BC, in Pataliputra (close to modern-day Patna), to the second emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty, Bindusara, and Maharani Dharma.

•The grandson of the founder of Mauryan Dynasty, Chandragupta Maurya, he had several half-brothers from his father’s other wives.

•Born into a royal family, he was good at fighting since childhood and received royal military training. Besides, he was also excellent at hunting, evident from his ability to kill a lion with only a wooden rod.

•Considered a fearless and heartless military leader, he was deputed to curb the riots in the Avanti province of the empire.

•He was appointed the Viceroy of Avanti province in 286 BC after suppressing the uprising at Ujjain

•After his father Bindusara’s death in 272 BC, a two-year long fierce battle broke out between Ashoka and his half brothers. According to Dipavansa and Mahavansa (Buddhist texts), he killed his 99 brothers, sparing just Vitashoka or Tissa, to capture the throne.

•While he ascended the throne in 272 BC, he had to wait for four years for his coronation in 269 BC to become the third ruler of the Mauryan Empire.

•He was supported by his father’s ministers, especially Radhagupta, who played a major role in his victory and was appointed the Prime Minster after Ashoka became the emperor.

• Dhammashoka (Sanskrit), meaning Ashoka, the following of Dharma

• During the remaining portion of Ashoka's reign, he pursued an official policy of non-violence (ahimsa)

• The unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of animals was abolished. Wildlife was protected by the king's law against sport hunting. Limited hunting was permitted for consumption reasons but Asoka promoted vegetarianism.

• Asoka wanted to help make his people smarter and have an easier way of life by building universities for study, and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture.

• Asoka did nto care about his subjects' religion, policitics or caste, treated them as equal.

• After his transformation, Asoka came to be known as Dhammashoka (Sanskrit), meaning Asoka, the follower of Dharma.

• Asoka embraced Buddhism from the prevalent Vedic tradition after witnessing the mass deaths of war of Kalinga, which he had waged out of desire for conquest.

• Asoka was later dedicated to the propogation of Buddhism across Asia and established monuments marking several significant sites of Gautamma Buddha.

• Asoka in human history is often refferred to as the emperor of all ages. Asoka was a devotee of ahimsa (non-violence), love, truth, tolerance and vegetarianism. Asoka is remembered in history as a philantropic adminstrator and a conqurer.

•His name "asoka" means "without sorrow" in Sanskrit. In his edicts, he is referred to as "The Beloved of the Gods" and "He was regards everyone with affection"

• Another title of his is Dhamma "Lawful, Religious, Rigteous."

•He attacked Kalinga in 261 BC to further extend his Empire and conquered it successfully, only to be shocked to see the massive destruction caused in terms of both property and human lives.

•He was successful in acquiring the Godavari-Krishna basin and Mysore in the south, though the southernmost territories of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Sri Lanka remained out of his reach.

•Even though the predecessors of Ashoka ruled over a vast empire, the kingdom of Kalinga on the northeast coast of India (present-day Odisha and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh) never came under the control of the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka wanted to change this and invaded Kalinga for the same.

•The bloody war at Kalinga left over 100,000 soldiers and civilians dead and more than 150,000 deported. This large-scale killing of humans sickened Ashoka so much that he vowed never to fight again and started practicing non-violence.

•According to Buddhist sources, he was so influenced by the teachings of Buddhism that he converted into a Buddhist and made it his state religion.

•He issued a series of edicts that laid down the basic rules for formulating policies in his empire. These were announced through edicts and inscriptions in local dialects on pillars and rocks.

•A number of Buddhist monks were sent across India and other countries, like Afghanistan, Syria, Persia, Greece, Italy, Thailand, Vietnam, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, China, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma, to spread Buddhism.