Document A
Use the map to gather evidence about Asoka
1. How many people died in total as a result of Asoka’s invasion of Kalinga?
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2.
How many people were forced to leave Kalinga after the battle? Why would Asoka force
people to leave?
3.
What river basin is located in Kalinga territory? Why might Asoka want to control this river?
4.
Based on what you know about the geography of India, besides control of the river, why is
Kalinga a strategically important area?
5.
On your 2-column chart, list all the possible evidence from this document to support the idea
that Asoka is enlightened or ruthless. Be specific!
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Document B
This source is from the historian Michael Wood who was quoted in a 2009 PBS documentary entitled
The Story of India.
When the war in Kalinga was over…and the people were conquered, Asoka felt inside him a
great crisis, a stirring for meaning and a remorse (guilt). Asoka goes on a pilgrimage seeking a guru,
a teacher. And by the riverbank he met a Buddhist monk and the monk told him to sit beneath the
Bodhi tree where the Buddha had found enlightenment. And there the power of ideas and the power
of the state came together in a uniquely Indian way. It was a rejection of the path of violence and of a
whole way of understanding history. While he was here, Asoka gave rich gifts to the poor. He
consulted with local communities about proper governance, about good conduct…forming in his
mind now was a political order the sort of which had never been conceived of before in the history of
the world.
1. According to this historian, how did Asoka feel after conquering Kalinga?
2. Who did Asoka seek after conquering Kalinga?
3. In what way did Asoka imitate the Buddha?
4. According to this historian, how did Asoka’s ideas change as he sat under the Bodhi tree?
5. How did Asoka treat his people after his conversion?
6. Add the evidence from this document to your 2-column chart.
Document C
This document shows the opinion of another historian. It comes from a book published in 1997 titled
Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas by Romila Thapar, Oxford University Press.
The conquest of Kalinga was of importance both to the strategy and the economy of the
Mauryan Empire…It stood in the way of the southern (trade) routes from the Ganges valley, and it
was also a powerful maritime (sea) area, which if included within the empire would provide a
convenient source of income.
Kalinga was conquered in the ninth year of Asoka’s reign. After this conquest, Asoka ceased
to indulge in wars of aggression. This…was not because he completely forsook (gave up) the idea of
war as a means to an end, though he claims to have done so, but because with the conquest of Kalinga
the consolidation of the empire was complete. Furthermore, there was now no opposing power
within the empire. The people on the frontier were generally too weak to consider a war against
him…and the kingdoms of southern India were on friendly terms with the Mauryan Empire, judging
from the edicts.
1. Why was Kalinga economically important?
2. Asoka is often portrayed in history as stopping his violent wars because of his conversion to
Buddhism. According to this historian, that opinion is not accurate. Rather, he believes Asoka had
other reasons to stop his warfare. In his opinion, what were the 2 reasons Asoka really stopped
fighting?
3. Add the evidence from this document to your 2-column chart.
Document D
These excerpts are taken from the 33 edicts (official announcements) that Asoka placed around the
kingdom around the year 250 BCE. Some were on carved on walls or borders and they are known as
Rock Edicts. Others were engraved on large pillars and are known as Pillar Edicts. These edicts are
thought to be written by Asoka himself to explain his thoughts on the best way to govern.
Rock Edict II
Medicinal herbs whether useful to man or to beast, have been brought and planted wherever they did
not grow; similarly, roots and fruit have been brought and planted wherever they did not grow.
Along the roads, wells have been dug and trees planted for the use of men and beasts.
1. Why would Asoka want medicinal plants, roots, and fruit to be planted where they did not
normally grow?
2. What did Asoka do to help people and animals that were traveling?
Rock Edict VI
...I consider that I must promote the welfare of the whole world, and hard work and the dispatch of
business are the means of doing so. Indeed there is no better work than promoting the welfare of the
whole world. And whatever may be my great deeds, I have done them in order to discharge my debt
to all beings.
3. Asoka says he is not only concerned with his Empire but with the well-being of the whole
world. He says he is working hard and promoting business as a way to help everyone. What
other reason might he have to promote business?
4. Asoka thinks he owes all beings a debt. Why might he think that?
Rock Edict XII
The faiths of others all deserve to be honored for one reason or another. By honoring them, one
exalts one’s own faith and at the same time performs a service to the faith of others.
5. Based on this edict, how did Asoka feel about other religions?
Pillar Edict IV
I have decreed that prisoners who have been convicted and sentenced to death shall be granted a
respite of three days when their relatives may appeal to the officials for the prisoners’ lives.
6. How did Asoka punish convicted criminals?
7. Is Asoka showing compassion by allowing relatives a 3-day period to appeal for the lives of a
prisoner?
8. Add all the evidence from this document to your 2 column notes.
Document E
This is an excerpt from the edicts of Asoka, around 250 BCE. In the edict, Asoka refers to himself as
the “Beloved of the Gods”
Rock Edict XIII
Today if a hundredth or a thousandth part of those people who were killed or died or were
deported when Kalinga was annexed were to suffer….it would weigh heavily on the mind of the
Beloved of the Gods.
The Beloved of the Gods believes that one who does wrong should be forgiven as far as it is
possible to forgive him. And the Beloved of the Gods wishes friendship with the forest tribes of his
empire, but he warns them that he has power even in his remorse (guilt) and he asks them to repent,
lest they be killed.
1. 11 years later when this edict was written, how did Asoka feel about the conquest of Kalinga?
2. Does Asoka feel all people should be forgiven?
3. Asoka wants the forest tribes to ‘repent’ (apologize for a wrong doing). What do you think the
forest tribes did that made Asoka unhappy?
4. Asoka says he wants to be friends with the forest tribes but what will happen if the tribes resist?
5. Add this evidence to your 2 column notes.
Document F
1.
2.
3.
4.
How many major rock edicts did Asoka create?
Many of the major rock edicts are found near the edges of the empire. Why might that be?
What does the map tell you about Asoka’s level of commitment to spreading his message?
Add this evidence to your 2 column notes.
Document G
Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of India after they gained their independence from the
British in 1947. Nehru had great respect for Asoka and spoke about the reasons why he admired
him.
Asoka’s pillars of stone with their inscriptions would speak to me in their magnificent
language and tell me of a man who, though an emperor, was greater than any king or emperors. This
astonishing ruler, beloved still in India and in many other parts of Asia, devoted himself to the spread
of Buddha’s teachings, to righteousness and goodwill, and to public works for the good of the people.
He was no passive spectator of events, lost in contemplation (thinking) and self-improvement. He
labored hard at public business and declared he was ready for it.
1.
2.
3.
Nehru says Asoka was greater than any other king or emperor. He says Asoka did not just
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think only of himself. Instead, how did Asoka act?
Asoka is still admired outside of India and by modern day Indian leaders. Does that support
the idea that he was an enlightened ruler or a ruthless conqueror?
Add this evidence to your 2-column notes.