Ashoka the great

Quote……

ASHOKA THE GREAT300BCE – 232BCE

By : Praveen A Gondhali

ASHOKA THE GREAT

INTRODUCTIONThe high point of the

Mauryan empire Conquered the kingdom of

Kalinga, 260 BC.Ruled through tightly

organized bureaucracy Established capital at

Pataliputra Policies of encouraging

agriculture and trade Dedicated his life to

Buddhism.Built Extensive roads.Conflict How to balance

Kautilya’s method of keeping power and Buddha’s demands to become a selfless person?

CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA ( FOUNDER & GRANDFATHER OF ASHOKA)

BINDUSARA (Second king & father of Ashoka )

ASHOKA THE EMPEROR ( Third king )

MAURYA DYNASTY

CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA

Founder of Mauryan Dynasty in 322 BC.

Gained power shortly after Alexander’s death.

Was crowned king at Taxila.

Had capital at Patliputra.

His minister Chanakya wrote Arthashastra.

CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA

Arthashastra

CHANAKYA

ASHOKA BELONG TO MAURYAN DYNASTY

HE IS THE THIRD KING OF MAURYAN DYNASTY

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

BIRTH OF ASHOKA REIGN BEGINS MARRIAGE CONVERSION DEATH IN

TO BUDDHISM

300 272 284 263 232BCE BCE BCE BCE BCE

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -

TIME LINE

PERSONAL INFORMATION Quickly grew into an excellent warrior

His command on the mauryan army started growing day by

day

His elder brothers became suspicious of him being

favoured as the next emperor.

The eldest son of bindusara, prince susima, convinced him

to send asoka to takshashila

Went to kalinga, where he met a fisherwoman named

kaurwaki.

RISE TO POWER Ashoka was stationed at ujjayini as governor.

Bindusara's death in 273 bc led to a war over

succession

Ashoka was supported by his father's ministers.

Ashoka managed to become the king by getting

rid of the legitimate heir to the throne

THE KALINGA WAR

AFTER THE KALINGA WAR

LEGACY OF ASHOKA

ASHOKA THE GREAT PART - I

ASHOKA THE GREAT PART - I

Conquest of Kalinga

Ashoka’s reign as emperor began with a series of wars.

He conquered more lands and added them to his empire.

The Kalinga War of 260BC was the worst of all.

KALINGA WAR

KALINGA WAR

The huge loss of life and suffering witnessed on the battlefield made him turn away from war.

So he was deeply influenced by Buddhism, and adopted the dharma principles.

A change of heart

Began in the 8th year of Ashoka's reign, probably in 261

BC

After a bloody battle, Ashoka tried to annex kalinga

In the aftermath of the battle of kalinga the daya river

running next to the battle field turned red with the blood of

the slain

100,000 kalinga civilians and more than 10,000 of

ashoka's own warriors were among those slain

Continued.....

After the battle in a tour of city, he could see nothing except burnt houses and scattered corpses.

This sight made him sick and he cried the famous monologue:

What have I done? If this is a victory, what's a defeat then? Is this a victory or a defeat? Is this justice or injustice? Is it gallantry or a rout? Is it valor to kill innocent children and women? Do I do it to widen the empire and for prosperity or to destroy the other's kingdom and splendor? One has lost her husband, someone else a father, someone a child, someone an unborn infant.... What's this debris of the corpses? Are these marks of victory or defeat? Are these vultures, crows, eagles the messengers of death or evil?

A Sudden Change of Heart

• The mammoth loss of life and suffering witnessed on

the battlefield made him turn away from war

• He felt that he was the cause of the destruction

• His queen, Devi, who was a Buddhist, left him after

seeing the brutality at Kalinga

• Ashoka realized the consequences of wars and battles

Continued…

AFTER THE KALINGA WAR

ASHOKA THE GREAT PART – I I

Dharma Principles

Spread of Buddhism

Ashoka the Administrator

AFTER KALING WAR

The main principals of dharma. Non violence. Tolerance of all sects. Obedience to parents. Respects for Brahmans, teachers & priests. Liberality towards friends. Humane treatment of servants.

THE DHARMA PRINCIPAL

Ashoka built shrines and monasteries and inscribed Buddhist teaching on rocks and pillars in many places.

He sent missionaries to countries. His own son Kunal became a monk &

carried Buddhism to Sri Lanka.

SPREAD OF BUDDHISM

SPREAD OF BUDDHISM

Kashmir-Gandhara Majjhantika

Mahisamandala (Mysore) - Mahadeva

Vanavasi (Tamil Nadu) - Rakkhita

Maharattha (Maharashtra) - Mahadhammarakkhita

"Country of the Yona" (Bactria/ Seleucid Empire)

- Maharakkhita Himavanta

(Nepal) - Majjhima

Suvannabhumi (Thailand/ Myanmar) - Sona and Uttara

Lankadipa (Sri Lanka) - Mahamahinda

Aparantaka (Gujarat and Sindh) - Yona Dhammarakkhita

He sent his missionaries to the following places:

Missions to Spread Buddhism

Ashoka taught and convinced people to love and respect all living things.

He insisted the on the recognition of the sancity of all human life.

He abolished the the unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of animals.

Ashoka banned sport hunting and thus protected wildlife.

He became vegetarian & most people chose to become vegetarians on their own.

ASHOKA THE ADMINISTRATOR

PART – III LEGACIES OF ASHOKA

ASHOKA THE GREAT

* SYMBOLIC LEGACY

* BOLLYWOOD LEGACY

LEGACIES OF ASHOKA

ASHOKAN PILLAR

Indian government has adopted the famous lion capital from his pillar at Sarnath as official national emblem.

SYMBOLIC LEGACY

INDIAN FLAG

After Ashoka’s death in 232 BCE the people of India decided to commemorate Ashoka by using his personal chakra. It can still be seen today on the Indian flag.

The word chakra is sanskrit and it means cycle or a repeting process.

INDIAN FLAG

ASHOK CHAKRA

The Edicts of King Ashoka The Rock Edicts -

THE FOURTEEN ROCK EDICTSKALINGA ROCK EDICTSMINOR ROCK EDICTSTHE SEVEN PILLAR EDICTSMINOR PILLAR EDICTS

The pillars of Ashoka were erected by him during his reign in the 3rd century BCThe Stupas of Sanchi are world famous and the stupa named SanchiStupa was built by Emperor AshokaAshoka'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”.

ROCK EDICTS OF AHOKA

Elephant at Kalinga war site-Orissa

Minor Rock Edict site- Madhya Pradesh

Rock Edict at Junagadh Major Rock Edict at Girnar, Gujarat

DEATH & LEGACY Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years

He had numerous wives and many heirs but most of their

name are lost

He had entrusted to Mahindra and Sanghamitra the job of

making his state religion

Ashoka died in 232 BC

After his death, the Mauryan dynasty lasted just fifty more

years

CONCLUSIONRight from his childhood days Ashoka showed great promise in the field of weaponry skills as well as academics Although Ashoka was known as Cruel Ashoka but He felt that he was the cause of the destruction which made him turn away from war and adopt BuddhismIn fact, he can be credited with making the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist policy. Buddhism received a significant boost of popularity when Ashoka converted to Buddhism. Throughout his life, 'Asoka the Great' followed the policy of nonviolence He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and renovating major roads throughout India. After this transformation, Ashoka came to be known as Dhammashoka Ashoka tried to make the lives better and Ashoka is honored today

BIBLIOGRAPHY