300 BCE – 232 BCE

Presentation by:-Svabhiman Singh(131MC00230)THE ICFAI UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

ASHOKA BELONGS TO MAURYAN DYNASTY

HE IS THE THIRD KING OF MAURYAN DYNASTY

Birth of Asoka

300 BCE

Marriage

284 BCE

Conversion to Buddhism

263 BCE

Reign begins

272 BCE

Death in

232 BCE

Brief-:

CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA

(Founder & grand father of Ashoka)

BINDUSARA

(Second king & father of Ashoka)

ASHOKA THE EMPEROR

(Third king)

Founded Mauryan Dynasty in 322 BCGained power shortly after Alexander ‘s death.Was crowned King at TaxilaHad capital at PataliputraHis minister Chanakya wrote Arthashastra

Asoka married a commoner called Karuwaki, she was a fisher.

He met her before his reign when he was sent to Taxshila to subdue an uprising as a general of the Mauryan empire.

Due to Ashoka’s success in the quelling of the uprising and his growing popularity, his step-brothers forced him into exile to prevent him from obtaining the throne.

Asoka however returned two years later being summoned by the emperor to quell another uprising.

ASOKA'S PERSONAL LIFE-:

HOW THE ASOKA'S REIGN BEGIN-:

Ashoka's reign as emperor began with a series of wars . He conquered more lands and added them to his empire.

The Kalinga War of 260 BC was the worst of all.

After the battle in a tour of city, he could see nothing except burnt houses and scattered corpses.This sight made him sick.

The huge loss of life and suffering witnessed on the battlefield made him turn away from war. So he was deeply influenced by Buddhism, and adopted the dharma principles

A CHANGE OF HEART-:

The main principles of dharma (dhamma) nonviolence, tolerance of all sects, obedience to parents, respect for Brahmans , teachers & priests liberality towards friends, humane treatment of servants,

THE DHARMA PRINCIPLE-:

Ashoka built shrines and monasteries and inscribed Buddhist teachings on rocks and pillars in many places.He sent missionaries to countries.His own son Kunal became a monk & carried Buddhism to Sri Lanka

SPREAD OF BUDDHISM-:

MISSIONS TO SPREAD BUDDHISM-:

Kashmir-GandharaMahisamandala (Mysore) - Mahadeva Vanavasi (Tamil Nadu) - Rakkhita Maharattha (Maharashtra) - Mahadhammarakkhita Himavanta (Nepal) - Majjhima Suvannabhumi (Thailand/ Myanmar) - Sona and Uttara Lankadipa (Sri Lanka) - Mahamahinda Aparantaka (Gujarat and Sindh) - Yona Dhammarakkhita

He sent his missionaries to the following places:

THE EDICTS OF KING ASHOKA-:The 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 AshokaAshoka'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

Indian government has adopted the famous lion capital from his pillar at Sarnath as official national emblem.

LEGACIES OF ASHOKA-:

1.Symbolis legacy

After Ashoka’s death in 232 BCE the people of India decided to commemorate Ashoka by using his personal chakra. It can still be seen today on the Indian flag.The word chakra is sanskrit and it means cycle or a repeating process.

INDIA'S FLAG-:

Asoka’s chakra is also know as the wheel of the dharma and it symbolizes the 24 virtues in Buddhism. Some of these 24 virtues include: love, patience, peacefulness, courage, justice and mercy.

ASHOKA'S WHEEL OF LAW-:

The film-ASHOKA- was directed by Santosh Sivan and stars Shahrukh Khan as Ashoka and Kareena Kareena KapoorKapoor as Kaurwaki, a princess of Kalinga..

BOLLYWOOD-:

CONCLUSION-: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.Throughout his life, 'Asoka the Great' followed the policy of nonviolence .Ashoka tried to make the lives better and Ashoka is honored today.

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