Ashoka

Ashoka was born around 304 BCE, probably in Pataliputra, as the son of Emperor Bindusara and grandson of Chandragupta, founder of the Maurya Empire. His own inscriptions do not name his ancestors; that information comes from the Puranas and from Buddhist chronicles. His birth year is an estimate, derived from the dating of his reign.

His inscriptions say nothing about his youth; what seems to be known comes from legends recorded centuries later. According to the Sri Lankan chronicles he was viceroy of Ujjain, which is partly supported by the Saru Maru inscription; North Indian texts mention Taxila. His marriage to Devi of Vidisha also comes only from the Sri Lankan tradition.

According to the legends his succession was disputed: the Sri Lankan chronicles have him kill nearly a hundred half-brothers, a number historians regard as exaggerated. Rock Edict 5 mentions officials who supervise the families of his brothers and sisters, which may indicate that several brothers survived the transfer of power; scholars disagree about this. His consecration is said to have followed four years after his accession.

Ashoka took the throne around 268 BCE. In his eighth regnal year (c. 261 BCE) he conquered Kalinga. Rock Edict 13 mentions some 150,000 deported and 100,000 killed, while many times more perished; he speaks of deep remorse. The figures come from the edict itself and cannot be verified independently. The edicts from Kalinga itself omit that passage.

Afterwards, according to his edicts, he devoted himself to dhamma: moral conduct, non-injury to living beings, respect for parents and teachers, and tolerance between religious groups. He appointed dhamma-mahamattas, officials who looked after the welfare of, among others, the elderly, the poor and religious communities, and had wells dug, trees planted and medical facilities provided for people and animals.

He had his messages carved in Prakrit on rocks and free-standing pillars, in the Brahmi script and in the north-west in Kharosthi; Greek and Aramaic inscriptions also stand in the west. Rock Edict 13 mentions envoys to Hellenistic kings such as Antiochus II, Ptolemy II and Antigonus II. The edicts give little information about other aspects of government.

On his link with Buddhism the edicts are clear: in Minor Rock Edict 1 he calls himself a lay follower (upasaka), according to Rock Edict 8 he visited the Bodhi tree, and he had a pillar erected at Lumbini. At the same time he donated caves to the Ajivikas and calls Brahmins and other ascetics worthy of respect. His dhamma was therefore broader than Buddhism alone.

The Maurya Empire covered most of the Indian subcontinent, from present-day Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east, with Pataliputra as its capital. Only the southernmost parts remained outside it, held by among others the Cholas and Pandyas. There were contacts with Hellenistic kingdoms in the west.

In the third century BCE, alongside Brahmanical ritual, there were various ascetic movements (shramanas), such as Buddhism, Jainism and the Ajivikas. Buddhism was one of these communities and had existed for a few centuries. 'Dhamma' could mean 'law, duty, righteousness'; in the Greek inscription from Kandahar it is translated as eusebeia (piety).

His inscriptions are the earliest surviving self-representations of imperial power in the Indian subcontinent. They show a state concerned with moral conduct, animal protection and social provisions. Historians point out that the texts may be propaganda: they show mainly how Ashoka wished to be seen and say little about practice.

Buddhism benefited from his support, but its extent is disputed. Later legends (the Ashokavadana and Mahavamsa) tell of 84,000 stupas or monasteries, a Third Buddhist Council and missions, including his son Mahinda to Sri Lanka. The council and missions appear only in the Sri Lankan chronicles, not in his edicts. Epigraphic research points to a large role for merchants and guilds.

Only legends give information about Ashoka's last years. The Sri Lankan tradition has him die in his thirty-seventh regnal year, around 232 BCE; the Ashokavadana relates that he gave the sangha his last possession. The Maurya Empire weakened in the decades after him and the dynasty ended around 185 BCE.

The image of the cruel 'Chandashoka' transformed by Buddhism into the righteous 'Dharmashoka' comes from Buddhist legends such as the Ashokavadana, recorded centuries after his death. Many historians see literary glorification in this. The edicts themselves point to a gradual development: remorse after Kalinga and, a few years later, closer ties with the sangha.

The Brahmi script was forgotten, so Ashoka's edicts remained unreadable for centuries; in the 1830s James Prinsep deciphered it. Since then Ashoka has counted among India's best-known rulers; the Lion Capital of Sarnath is India's state emblem and the Ashoka Chakra is on the flag. The image with this dossier is a relief from Sanchi of the first century BCE or CE, not a portrait from his time.