273232 BC PRESENTED BY Subhasish Das Dept EE Class Roll No 11EE4019 WBUT Roll No 14801611055 WBUT Registration No 111480110461 TABLE OF CONTENT Introduction Family Background ID: 272585
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The Reign of Ashoka(273-232 BC)
PRESENTED BY…..
Subhasish Das
Dept.- EE
Class Roll No.- 11/EE/4019
WBUT Roll No.- 14801611055
WBUT Registration No.- 111480110461Slide2
TABLE OF CONTENTIntroductionFamily BackgroundPersonal InformationRise 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
BibliographySlide3
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?Slide4
FAMILY BACKGROUNDBorn 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 low-status consort in the harem.
Had several elder siblings, whom were his half-brothers from other wives of bindusara.
One younger sibling, vitthashoka, another son of dharma.Slide5
PERSONAL INFORMATIONQuickly grew into an excellent warriorHis 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.Slide6
RISE TO POWERAshoka was stationed at ujjayini as governor.Bindusara's death in 273 bc led to a war over successionAshoka 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.Slide7
Questionable Hereditary SuccessionBindusara became gravely illAshoka killed 99 of his brothers, sparing only one, named tissaThe coronation happened in 269 BC, four years after his succession to the throneEliminated his own brothers so that he could succeed his fatherSlide8
Early Life as EmperorAshoka was anointed the new emperor or ruler of the mauryan empire in 274 BCHe 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 yearsSlide9
Conquest of KalingaSlide10
Continued.....Began in the 8th year of Ashoka's reign, probably in 261 BCAfter a bloody battle, Ashoka tried to annex kalingaIn 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 slainSlide11
A Sudden Change of HeartAfter 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?Slide12
Continued…..The mammoth loss of life and suffering witnessed on the battlefield made him turn away from warHe felt that he was the cause of the destructionHis queen, Devi, who was a Buddhist, left him after seeing the brutality at KalingaAshoka realized the consequences of wars and battlesSlide13
BUDDHIST CONVERSIONThe brutality of the conquest led Ashoka to adopt BuddhismEmbraced buddhism under the brahmin buddhist sages, radhaswami and manjushriHe 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 BCSlide14
Missions to Spread Buddhism Kashmir-Gandhara MajjhantikaMahisamandala (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 DhammarakkhitaHe sent his missionaries to the following places:Slide15
DEATH & LEGACYAshoka ruled for an estimated forty yearsHe had numerous wives and many heirs but most of their name are lostHe had entrusted to Mahindra and Sanghamitra the job of making his state religionAshoka died in 232 BC
After his death, the Mauryan dynasty lasted just fifty more yearsSlide16
The Edicts of King Ashoka The Rock Edicts - THE FOURTEEN ROCK EDICTSKALINGA ROCK EDICTSMINOR ROCK EDICTSTHE SEVEN PILLAR EDICTSMINOR PILLAR EDICTSThe 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 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
”.Slide17Slide18
ROCK EDICTS OF AHOKAElephant at Kalinga war site-Orissa
Minor Rock Edict site- Madhya Pradesh
Rock Edict at Junagadh
Major Rock Edict at Girnar, GujaratSlide19
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 todaySlide20
BIBLIOGRAPHY