"In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and
emperors who call themselves "their highnesses," "their
majesties", and "their exalted majesties" and so on. They shone
for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines and shines
brightly like a bright star, even unto this day."Ashoka was the first
ruler to unify all of India. He was also the first Buddhist King who after his
conversion to Buddhism attempted to embrace nonviolence and Buddhist principles
as part of royal policies Today, he is considered one of India's greatest
leaders. Ashoka the Great ruled India from 273 BC until 232 BC. Despite the
acclaim held by H.G. Wells, for many Americans, Ashoka is not well known. This
hub is an effort to elucidate the achievements of this historical figure. This
is targeted to those who are not familiar with Ashok. Ashoka was born in 304
BC. He was the son of the Mauryan Emperor Bindusara. He had one younger brother
and also older half-brothers. Early on, he showed great promise. When he
started showing success as a military leader, his older brothers began to fear
that Ashoka would ascend to the throne. When an uprising occurred in the
Takshashila province, Prince Susima suggested to his father that Ashoka would
be the best person to deal with it. When news reached the province that Ashoka
was coming, the fighting stopped. The militia who had started the revolt
welcomed Ashoka's arrival. With this victory, Susima became more concerned
about Ashoka. He portrayed him as power hungry and ambitious. Soon,
he had convinced his father to exile Ashoka to Kalinga. In Kalinga, Ashoka
fell in love with Kaurwaki who worked as a fisherwoman. She would later
be one of his many wives. His exile was soon ended when there was an uprising
in Ujjain Province. Emperor Bindusara now called Ashoka back from exile
and sent him to Ujjain. This time there was a great battle and Ashoka was
seriously hurt. During his recovery, he was overseen by Buddhist monks and
nuns. It was during this time that he first learned about Buddhism.
He fell in love with his nurse Devi. She too would become one of his
wives. The year after the battle at Ujjain, the Emperor Bindusara became
very sick. It was clear that he would die. Soon, a war broke out between all of
his sons over who would succeed the emperor. After a series of battles, Ashoka
killed many of his brothers. He thus attained the throne in 274 BC. For the
first eights years of his rule, he became famous for his brutaiity and his
desire to expand the Mauryan Empire.His nickname at this time was Chandashoka
which means "cruel Ashoka". So, when Ashoka was in his eighth year of
rule, his wife Devi gave birth two twins: Prince Mahindra and Princess
Sanghamitra.He also learned that one of his brothers was hiding in Kalinga.
Ashoka was outraged that any place would aid his brother. He launched a full
invasion of the province. In the fighting, thousands of people were killed and
large areas of land were ravaged. After the battle, Ashoka decided to look over
the destruction. The place that he had once been exiled now lay in utter
collapse with houses burned down and many bodies still unburied. It was said
that this was the first time that Ashoka saw the direct impact of war.
According to legend, upon seeing the utter devastation, he said: "What
have I done?" For the rest of his life, he would not forget the
horror that he saw on this day. It is said that his wife Devi accompanied him
at Kalinga. She was so bothered by what she saw that she left his side. She ran
away and never returned. Devi was Buddhist and perhaps this in combination with
Ashoka's memory of learning about Buddhist principles led him to change his
ways. From this point on, he embraces Buddhism. He took on the Buddhists
Radhaswami and Manjushri as his teachers. He decided that he would base the
rest of his rule on Buddhist principles. Ashoka now reversed course. He set
free all of his prisoners and returned their property. There is a story that
the pregnant wife of one of his brothers escaped the palace before she could be
killed. The baby survived and was brought up by Buddhist monks and nuns. When
the boy was 13, he was discovered by Ashoka who learned the boy's identity.
Ashoka, at this time, felt so much shame that he moved the boy and his mother
to live in the palace. At this time, he got a new name. Instead of Chandashoka,
he became known as Dharmashoka which means "pious Ashoka."Ashoka now
begins a massive public works project where he orders the creation of thousands
of Buddhist buildings. He builds stupas which are mounds that house Buddhist
relics and he builds viharas which are Buddhist monasteries. He orders the
construction of roadhouses for travelers which are free of charge.He created
edicts which protect wildlife against sport hunting and he promotes the
vegetarianism. He initiates the building of universities, irrigation systems,
and hospitals.He signs peace treaties with many of the neighbouring kingdom
even though with India's resources, he would have little trouble to conquer
them outright.Ashoka takes the very innovative position of protecting minority
interests in India. He required nonviolence as well as loerance of all other
religions and all opinions."Dharmashoka also defined the main principles
of dharma as nonviolence, tolerance of all sects and opinions, obedience to
parents and other religious teachers and priests, liberality toward friends,
humane treatment of servants, and generosity towards all."Ashoka ruled for
over 40 years. 50 years after his death, the Mauryan Empire came to an end. He
had numerous wives and many heirs but most of their names are lost. Buddhism
did not, of course, stay the state religion of India. Still, empowered by
Ashoka, Buddhism quickly spread outside of India's borders into Southeast Asia.
Today, the Ashokra Chakra, the Wheel of Dharma, is featured on the national
flag of India. Ashoka used this image on many of his constructions.
The wheel has 24 spokes which represent:
1.
Love
2.
Courage
3.
Patience
4.
Peacefulness
5.
Kindness
6.
Goodness
7.
Faithfulness
8.
Gentleness
9.
Self-control
10.
Selflessness
11.
Self sacrifice
12.
Truthfulness
13.
Righteousness
14.
Justice
15.
Mercy
16.
Graciousness
17.
Humility
18.
Empathy
19.
Sympathy
20.
Godly knowledge
21.
Godly wisdom
22.
Godly moral
23.
Reverential fear of God
24.
Hope/trust/faith in the goodness of God
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