Ashoka was the grandson of the first Mauryan leader Chandragupta Maurya. He supposedly grew up with 101 brothers who were constantly fighting for the favor of their father the King Bindusara. Because of his acumen as an administrator and ability as a soldier, Ashoka was appointed to be Governor of two troublesome regions of India, Ujjain and Taxila, that were frequently in rebellion. Due to his success and palace intrigues, Ashoka gained the right to take over the throne at the death of his father. There are some sources that say that he killed all of his brothers to gain power, yet this might be as much legend as truth.Early Reign
As his grandfather Chandragupta, Ashoka started his reign by expanding his empire through wars of conquest. In these wars he showed little mercy to the conquered people. Following the advice included in the Arthasastra, Ashoka felt a ruler should rule with an iron fist. This policy was so successful that Ashoka's rule extended throughout the subcontinent except for the Southern region inhabited by the Dravidians and the Southeast Kingdom of Kalinga. See a map of Ashoka's kingdom before the war with Kalinga and after.The war with the people of Kalinga marked a turning point in the reign of Ashoka. This war was as brutal and bloody as any India had seen to that point. 100, 000 people were killed, 150,000 were wounded and thousands were taken as slaves.1 Ashoka was so disgusted by the carnage that he turned away from war and accepted Buddhism.
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Rock Edicts and Enlightened Rule
When Ashoka turned against war, he started to rule according to the Buddhist doctrine of Dharma. Dharma in Sanskrit means "duty". According to this doctrine, Ashoka also accepted the Buddhist views on religious toleration, non-violence (ahimsa) and the equality of various castes. This form of rule was new to India and has rarely been seen except for the example of the rule of the Dalai Lama in Tibet.One of the favorite activities of Indian Kings and local Rajas for many years was an annual hunt during which the leader would, as one author puts it, "venture atop their lead elephant for the mass slaughter of all that moved and roared within the contracting drum-beating net of their servants."2 Ashoka due to his Buddhist beliefs could not kill other living things, so he changed the custom to a yearly tour of his realm to spread the message of Dharma. This was quite significant since it is one of the first attempts by a leader to unify the various peoples of the subcontinent through peaceful means.
To remind people of the laws at other times, Ashoka commissioned the building of large stone pillars or rock edicts which had many of the laws of the land. These stone edicts, were not just laws such as the Twelve Tablets of Rome, but were also Religious instruction as to the ways of Dharma. The Rock Edicts were probably written or from the words of Ashoka himself. The language is very personal and he tries to convince the people throughout of his sincerity and good will. He often referred to his remorse for the Kalinga war and his humanitarian work (building of hospitals, improving roads and infrastructure and rest homes for travelers, panting of shade trees and digging of wells along travel routes ) as signs of the sincerity of his conversion. The message on the pillars was meant not only for the people within his kingdom, but also for those neighboring it. He was trying to tell those who lived outside that he had not desire to expand into their territories. These pillars were written in many different languages depending on where they were located.3
Significance Today
The British historian H.G. Wells has written: "Amidst the tens
of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd
the columns of history ... the name of Ashoka shines, and shines almost
alone, a star."4
1. http://www.itihaas.com/ancient/ashoka-profile.html
2. Wolpert, p. 36.
3. Much of the information on the contents of the rock edicts
come from this extraordinary site. http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html
4. http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html