This makes it necessary to exercise caution while relying on them for historical information. These legends appear in texts that are not contemporary to Ashoka and were composed by Buddhist authors, who used various stories to illustrate the impact of their faith on Ashoka. Much of the information about Ashoka comes from Buddhist legends, which present him as a great, ideal king. Some other inscriptions, such as the Sohgaura copper plate inscription, have been tentatively dated to Ashoka's period by a section of scholars, although others contest this. An inscription discovered at Sirkap mentions a lost word beginning with "Priy", which is theorised to be Ashoka's title "Priyadarshi", although this is not certain. For example, he finds a mention in the 2nd century Junagadh rock inscription of Rudradaman.
Ī small number of other inscriptions also provide some information about Ashoka. Strong, it is sometimes helpful to think of Ashoka's messages as propaganda by a politician whose aim is to present a favourable image of himself and his administration, rather than record historical facts. In the words of American academic John S. Even on the topic of dhamma, the content of these inscriptions cannot be taken at face value.
However, these inscriptions are focused mainly on the topic of dhamma, and provide little information regarding other aspects of the Maurya state and society. Īshoka's Major Rock Edict at Junagadh contains inscriptions by Ashoka (fourteen of the Edicts of Ashoka), Rudradaman I and Skandagupta.Īshoka's inscriptions are the earliest self-representations of imperial power in the Indian subcontinent. So, for example, while Ashoka is often attributed with building many hospitals during his time, there is no clear evidence that any hospitals existed in ancient India during the 3rd century BC or that Ashoka was responsible for commissioning the construction of any. These sources often contradict each other, although various historians have attempted to correlate their testimony. Information about Ashoka comes from his own inscriptions other inscriptions that mention him or are possibly from his reign and ancient literature, especially Buddhist texts. 7 Kalinga war and conversion to Buddhism.Wells wrote, "Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and graciousnesses and serenities and royal highnesses and the like, the name of Ashoka shines, and shines, almost alone, a star." His fondness for a tree is the reason for his name being connected to the "Ashoka tree" or Saraca asoca, and this is referenced in the Ashokavadana. In his edicts, he is referred to as Devānāmpriya (Pali Devānaṃpiya or "the Beloved of the Gods"), and Priyadarśin or Priyadarshi (Pali Piyadasī or "He who regards everyone with affection"). His Sanskrit name " Aśoka" means "painless, without sorrow" (the a privativum and śoka, "pain, distress"). The emblem of the modern Republic of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka.
īeyond the Edicts of Ashoka, biographical information about him relies on legends written centuries later, such as the 2nd-century CE Ashokavadana (" Narrative of Ashoka", a part of the Divyavadana), and in the Sri Lankan text Mahavamsa (" Great Chronicle"). He is remembered for erecting the Ashoka pillars and spreading his Edicts, for sending Buddhist monks to Sri Lanka and Central Asia, and for establishing monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. According to an interpretation of his Edicts, he converted to Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he had waged out of a desire for conquest and which reportedly directly resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations. He patronized Buddhism during his reign.Īshoka waged a particularly destructive war against the state of Kalinga (modern Odisha), which he conquered in about 260 BCE. Ashoka, after the war of Kalinga, got upset with the bloodshed and vowed to never fight again. The empire's capital was Pataliputra (in Magadha, present-day Patna), with provincial capitals at Takshashila (later Taxila) and Ujjain. It covered the entire Indian subcontinent except for parts of present-day Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. Considered by many to be one of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka expanded Chandragupta's empire to reign over territory stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east. Ashoka promoted the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. Ashoka ( / ə ˈ ʃ oʊ k ə/ Brāhmi: 𑀅𑀲𑁄𑀓, Asoka, IAST: Aśoka), also known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, son of Bindusara, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c.
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