Ashoka Emperor

Ashoka (IAST: Aśoka;English pronunciation: /əˈʃoʊkə/; 304–232 BCE),^[4] was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent fromc. 268 to 232 BCE.^[5] One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over a realm that stretched from the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan to the modern state of Bangladesh in the east. It covered the entire Indian subcontinentexcept parts of present-day Tamil Naduand Kerala. The empire's capital wasPataliputra (in Magadha, present-dayBihar), with provincial capitals at Taxilaand Ujjain.

In about 260 BCE, Ashoka waged a bitterly destructive war against the state of Kalinga (modern Odisha).^[6] He conquered Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had done.^[7] He embracedBuddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he himself had waged out of a desire for conquest. "Ashoka reflected on the war in Kalinga, which reportedly had resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations, ending at around 200,000 deaths."^[8] Ashoka converted gradually to Buddhism beginning about 263 BCE.^[6] He was later dedicated to the propagation of Buddhism across Asia, and established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha. "Ashoka regarded Buddhism as a doctrine that could serve as a cultural foundation for political unity."^[9] Ashoka is now remembered as a philanthropic administrator. In the Kalinga edicts, he addresses his people as his "children", and mentions that as a father he desires their good.

Ashoka's name "Aśoka" means "painless, without sorrow" in Sanskrit(the a privativum and śoka "pain, distress"). In his edicts, he is referred to as Devānāmpriya (Pali Devānaṃpiya or "The Beloved of the Gods"), andPriyadarśin (Pali Piyadasī or "He who regards everyone with affection"). His fondness for his name's connection to the Saraca asoca tree, or the "Ashoka tree" is also referenced in theAshokavadana.

H.G. Wells wrote of Ashoka in his bookThe Outline of History: "Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and graciousnesses and serenities and royal highnesses and the like, the name of Ashoka shines, and shines, almost alone, a star." Along with the Edicts of Ashoka, his legend is related in the 2nd-century CEAshokavadana ("Narrative of Ashoka", a part of Divyavadana), and in the Sri Lankan text Mahavamsa ("Great Chronicle"). The emblem of the modernRepublic of India is an adaptation of theLion Capital of Ashoka.

Source: wiki