PRESENTED BY…..
Subhasish Das
Dept.- EE
Class Roll No.- 11/EE/4019
WBUT Roll No.- 14801611055
WBUT Registration No.111480110461
TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Family Background
Personal
Information
Rise to Power
Questionable
Hereditary Succession
Early Life as
Emperor
Conquest of Kalinga
A Sudden Change of
Heart
Buddhist Conversion
Mission to Spread
Buddhism
Death and Legacy
The Edicts of King
Ashoka
Conclusion
Bibliography
The 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?
Born in 304 BC to the mauryan emperor bindusara
and his queen, dharma [or dhamma].
The grandson of chandragupta maurya, founder of
mauryan dynasty.
Although dharma was of priestly lineage, the fact
that she was not royal by birth made her a very lowstatus consort in the harem.
Had several elder siblings, whom were his halfbrothers from other wives of bindusara.
One younger sibling, vitthashoka, another son of
dharma.
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.
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
Tricking him into entering a pit filled with live
coals.
Bindusara became gravely ill
Ashoka killed 99 of his brothers, sparing only
one, named tissa
The coronation happened in 269 BC, four years
after his succession to the throne
Eliminated his own brothers so that he could
succeed his father
Ashoka was anointed the new emperor or ruler of
the mauryan empire in 274 BC
He is said to have been of a wicked nature and bad
temper
Built hell on earth, an elaborate and horrific
torture chamber
Earned him the name of chand ashoka
(sanskrit), meaning ashoka the fierce
Expanded his empire over the next eight years
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?
Continued…..
•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
The brutality of the conquest led Ashoka to adopt
Buddhism
Embraced buddhism under the brahmin buddhist sages,
radhaswami and manjushri
He made buddhism his state religion around 260 BC
 Can be credited with making the first serious attempt to
develop a Buddhist policy
Propagated and preached it within his domain and
worldwide from about 250 BC
He sent his missionaries to the following places:
 KashmirMaharakkhita
Gandhara
Himavanta
Majjhantika
(Nepal) - Majjhima
Mahisamandala Suvannabhumi
(Mysore) (Thailand/
Mahadeva
Myanmar) - Sona
Vanavasi (Tamil and Uttara
Nadu) - Rakkhita Lankadipa (Sri
Maharattha
Lanka) (Maharashtra) - Mahamahinda
Mahadhammarakk Aparantaka
hita
(Gujarat and
"Country of the Sindh) - Yona
Yona" (Bactria/
Dhammarakkhita
Seleucid Empire) -
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
The Edicts of King Ashoka
 The Rock Edicts THE FOURTEEN ROCK EDICTS
KALINGA ROCK EDICTS
MINOR ROCK EDICTS
THE SEVEN PILLAR EDICTS
MINOR PILLAR EDICTS
The pillars of Ashoka were erected by him during his reign in the 3rd
century BC
The Stupas of Sanchi are world famous and the stupa named
SanchiStupa was built by Emperor Ashoka
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”.
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
Right 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
Buddhism
In 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