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17:52
Ashoka the Great - Rise of the Mauryan Empire Documentary
Kings and Generals
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May 11, 2026
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Transcript
0:06
The Third Century BC was a notoriously violent
time, filled with titanic clashes and amazing
0:13
personalities. Alexander’s conquests gave
way to a period of constant warfare amongst
0:19
his Seleucid, Ptolemaic and Antigonid successors,
while the rising Roman juggernaut began a
0:25
series of conquests to unite the Italian Peninsula,
and fought its Carthaginian Rival, paving
0:31
the way for future dominance. India during
this period was also experiencing revolutionary
0:38
change, which culminated in the rise of the
Mauryan Empire and the reign of Ashoka the
0:43
Great.
0:45
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1:37
In 326 BC, Alexander the Great crossed the
Hindu Kush mountains and entered India for
1:44
the first time, calling his veteran army to
a halt at the Indus River, and demanding that
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1:50
two rival kings in the region - Omphis and
Porus - to come to him and submit. Omphis
1:56
of Taxila surrendered to Alexander, but Porus
of Paurava resisted, and forced Alexander
2:02
into a climactic battle at the Hydaspes River,
which he won nonetheless.
2:08
Wishing to conquer all India, Alexander marched
onward, but his army mutinied at the Hyphasis
2:14
River, and he was forced to withdraw to Babylon.
Their refusal to march on was in part due
2:20
to rumours of a massive Indian kingdom, possessing
innumerable legions, further to the east.
2:26
This was the Nanda Empire centered on the
Magadha region, which supposedly fielded a
2:31
colossal force of 250,000 infantry, cavalry,
chariots and war elephants. Though he had
2:39
retreated, Alexander’s conquests had destabilised
northern India, a fact which would play a
2:45
key role in what was to come.
Once the historical shroud falls away once
2:51
again, we see in 320 BC that it was a man
named Chandragupta Maurya who stood victorious.
2:59
This Indian conqueror’s origins are not
clear, but less favourable Brahman sources
3:04
state that he was a shudra - a peasant or
serf - whilst more favourable Buddhist texts
3:09
designate him as a member of the prestigious
kshatriya - or warrior caste. He likely knew
3:15
about Alexander’s stunning conquests, and
was given a crash course in ancient warfare,
3:21
tactics and geopolitics, which he would use
to conquer his own empire.
3:26
Having gathered followers, he initially attacked
the Nanda Empire’s capital, but failed a
3:31
few times. Then he changed his tactics and
conquered the northwestern lands, which had
3:37
been weakened by Alexander, using his subsequent
control of these prosperous regions to cut
3:42
off supplies to the capital, resulting in
the fall of Nanda dynasty.
3:48
After he established his realm he fought,
decisively defeated and made an alliance with
3:53
Seleucus, famously gifting him 500 war elephants
in exchange for peace and the hand of Seleucus’
4:00
daughter in marriage. Chandragupta’s successor,
Bindusara, continued his father’s wise domestic
4:06
and foreign policies, such as his friendship
with Seleucus and his religious tolerance.
4:12
In addition, he thrust south into the Deccan
plateau and expanded the Empire.
4:18
It is the second of Bindusara’s three sons
who is the subject of this video - Ashoka,
4:24
whose eldest brother was Susima, and whose
younger brother was Tissya. It seemed as though
4:30
the future Mauryan emperor at this point had
no chance of ever inheriting the throne. For
4:36
one, his mother, Subhadrangi, was a commoner,
while the crown prince and favourite child
4:42
Susima’s mother was a royal princess. Nevertheless,
Indian princes were often sent to govern faraway
4:49
provinces, and Ashoka was no different. At
the age of 18, the young Mauryan royal was
4:55
sent to the cosmopolitan silk road hub of
Taxila to quell a revolt, a task which he
5:00
supposedly accomplished quickly.
The nature of Taxila as a scholarly and cosmopolitan
5:06
settlement, where intellectual debates were
often had amongst different faiths, would
5:11
have improved Ashoka’s knowledge of the
world, as well as making him more tolerant
5:15
and sophisticated. His next appointment was
at the important city of Ujjaini - capital
5:21
of Avanti province. The high quality of the
governorship that Ashoka provided is shown
5:27
by the fact that he was entrusted with this
station - that of administering a crucial
5:32
region connecting the capital city and the
coast.
5:35
It was in this new station that Ashoka fell
in love with Devi, the daughter of a trader.
5:41
Interestingly, she was a member of the ‘Sakya’
clan, the clan of Siddhartha [Sidd’art-ha]
5:45
Gautama - the Buddha himself. It is widely
thought that she was a Buddhist upon bearing
5:51
Ashoka his two children: their son Mahendra
and their daughter Sanghamitra.
5:57
This relatively peaceful life would come to
an end when, in 274 BC, Emperor Bindusara
6:03
passed away. What happened next is the subject
of much debate, but it is thought that a brief
6:10
four-year civil war occurred between Ashoka
and his brothers. By acting decisively and
6:16
swiftly occupying the capital city, and because
he was supported by his father’s ministers,
6:22
Ashoka reigned victorious over his brother
and was crowned as Emperor in 270 BC - the
6:28
same year Hannibal Barca was born in Carthage.
After he had ascended to the throne, Ashoka
6:35
continued a policy of expansion and conquest.
One of the reasons for this persistent policy
6:40
of warfare was that, in this period, all Indian
rulers wished to be regarded as the chakravartin
6:47
- the king of kings by their royal rivals.
Practical and economic reasons were also important,
6:54
as taxes were the Mauryan Empire’s main
source of revenue. The more land a king conquered,
7:00
the more taxes he gained. However, the more
administrative and military expenses would
7:05
also pile up, leading to an endless cycle
of violence.
7:10
So it was that in the year 262 BC, the massive
Mauryan army marched into the Kingdom of Kalinga.
7:16
Their past successes would likely have made
them confident of an easy victory, but the
7:22
king and his army faced a tough, grinding
conflict against a doggedly courageous enemy.
7:28
It is said that Ashoka eventually won the
war not because Kalinga surrendered, but because
7:33
the carnage was so terrible. After the final
battle, the victorious monarch stood amongst
7:39
his dead and dying foes on the battlefield.
Most monarchs would have simply rejoiced in
7:44
the grim victory, but Ashoka, in this moment,
felt horror and remorse; it ended up being
7:51
the key moment of his life.
Supposedly, ‘One hundred and fifty thousand
7:56
were there from captured, one hundred thousand
were slain and many times that died’ from
8:01
famine and disease. More than just being horrified
by the direct results of the devastation he
8:07
had wrought, Ashoka also was acutely aware
of the tragedy that struck those left behind
8:13
- the young sons left without a fathers and
poor mothers who had been robbed of their
8:17
sons, their families and loved ones.
The educated and sensitive Ashoka appears
8:23
to have been made truly aware of the real
cost of war, even admitting publicly what
8:29
no victorious ruler ever had before, that
he felt ‘remorse on having conquered Kalinga’,
8:36
declaring that ‘even one-hundredth or one
thousandth part of those who were slain, died
8:41
or captured in Kalinga is considered regrettable
by the Beloved of the Gods’. This was clearly
8:47
not the same man speaking who had annihilated
his brother and had seized the throne by blood.
8:53
Rather, it was a changed man, finally admitting
to his mistakes and thinking on the futility
8:59
and tragedy of war. Henceforth, said the king,
he was not going to be provoked into bearing
9:05
arms again, and also dedicated his life and
huge wealth towards building a society where
9:11
people lived by the rules of virtue and good
moral behavior.
9:16
This abrupt change of heart gradually led
Ashoka to the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama
9:22
- the Buddha - who had preached the same values
of peace, nonviolence and benevolence two
9:27
centuries earlier. Ashoka had likely known
of Buddhism from an early age, as his wife
9:33
was an adherent of the Buddha’s teachings
and the faith was popular with certain segments
9:38
of the population. However, he was the first
king in history to convert to this apparently
9:45
revolutionary religion.
Contrary to what popular legends depict, Ashoka
9:50
did not instantly convert to Buddhism after
his change of heart on the field of war, but
9:56
thoughtfully and practically chose a slow
path which would benefit both him and the
10:01
welfare of his subjects. Particular care was
taken to remain tolerant of the two other
10:06
dominant Indian religions - the Hindu Brahmanic
faith and Jainism. In one of his major edicts,
10:14
carved on a rock, he stated that should one
blame other religions, or over-glorify one’s
10:20
own religion, they are instead doing harm
to it, an act which should not be done.
10:25
He began to study under Buddhist monks and,
two years later, was accepted into the Sangha,
10:31
the Buddhist Order. His tutor was a monk named
Bhikku Upagupta of Mathura, who took the king
10:38
on a pilgrimage of all the important sites
in their shared faith, such as: Lumbini, where
10:43
Siddhartha Gautama had been born, Bodh Gaya,
where he had achieved enlightenment, Sarnath,
10:49
where he had delivered his first lecture,
and Kushinagar, where he had died and gained
10:55
Nirvana.
At all of these places and more, Ashoka erected
11:00
pillars and carved rocks with his edicts and
royal orders. These proclamations were routinely
11:06
read out to the illiterate population by the
empire’s officials, and appeared to be personal
11:11
messages from Ashoka himself, clearly in his
own words. It is also as though the king’s
11:17
voice speaks to us 2,500 years later when
we read them today.
11:22
His change in faith also changed his role
as the king. Rather than desiring material
11:29
gain which so many kings had in the past,
he now sought that his ‘children obtain
11:34
every kind of welfare both in this and the
next world’, and dictated that reporters
11:40
could come to him with the people’s business
wherever he might be, at whatever time.
11:47
Despite all of this piety and benevolence,
we must always keep in mind that Ashoka was
11:52
an emperor above all else, not a religious
teacher or a philosopher. He had the duty
11:57
of running an Empire, and this was not always
a job which led to peaceful outcomes. There
12:03
was a serious danger that once Ashoka’s
supposed pacifism had been announced, the
12:09
provinces would rebel and neighboring kings
would invade, sensing weakness in the Mauryan
12:14
leadership. However, the Emperor, while he
had given up on aggressive conquest, would
12:20
reluctantly but fiercely defend his empire,
and refused to disband his army. Every rebellion
12:26
would still be put down brutally, and any
foreign invader would be met with devastating
12:32
military force, a fact which he made clear.
To his own subjects he also remained an almost
12:39
stern, father-like figure, benevolent and
caring but willing to inflict severe punishment
12:44
if necessary - though his engravings almost
appear to plead with his people not to force
12:50
him to inflict these penalties. For example
the ‘forest people’, or ‘Adivasi’,
12:56
were told that despite Ashoka’s remorse,
he still had the power and will to punish
13:01
them for their injustices if necessary. They
should, he said, ‘be ashamed of their wrongs’
13:07
lest they be killed. Overall, historian A.L.
Basham stated that while Ashoka could seemingly
13:14
be a bit naive, he was still indefatigable,
strong willed and imperious.
13:20
Ashoka also worked hard to change the attitude
of his subjects; not to force Buddhism onto
13:27
them, but to spread his universally ‘right’
values. The Emperor, who had previously enjoyed
13:33
pleasure trips of hunting and had wielded
a mighty sword, now went on dhammayatras,
13:39
or pious pilgrimage tours, during which he
visited holy sites and met his subjects. He
13:45
frequently talked to local people to make
sure they were happy, and would hear their
13:49
compliments or complaints about local officials.
In this way he was the first Indian king to
13:56
think of the welfare of the poor, rather than
just using them for tax revenue. As he stated,
14:02
‘the finest conquest is the conquest of
Right, and not Might.’
14:07
The values he sought to spread were known
as Ashoka’s dharma, a complex term which
14:13
essentially were rules of good behavior in
this particular context. For example, Ashoka
14:19
wished that people should be obedient to parents
and teachers, should behave properly towards
14:24
holy men, relatives, servants, friends and
the poor, and should be kind and generous
14:29
to the old and vulnerable. Nonviolence towards
all living creatures, be they humans, birds
14:36
or animals was practiced. One edict in particular
goes into detail about how the Imperial kitchens
14:43
will no longer slaughter vast amounts of animals
for food.
14:47
In addition to preaching these noble virtues
to his people, Ashoka also sought to try his
14:52
best to live by the same tenets. This was
exemplified by his thoughtfulness in the construction
14:58
and renovation of infrastructure. He ordered
that shade trees be planted along roads for
15:04
shelter from the sun and rains, that mango
groves be planted in order to provide food,
15:10
and that watering places be dug to quench
a traveler’s thirst.
15:14
In 253 BC a great gathering of Buddhist monks
was held at Pataliputra, hosted by the king
15:22
himself. At this, the third Buddhist council,
a momentous decision was taken to send teams
15:28
of bhikshus, Buddhist monks, to other foreign
kingdoms in order to spread the teachings
15:33
of the Buddha. These missionaries are said
to have reached as far as Kashmir, Gandhara,
15:39
the Greek Hellenistic kingdoms, North Africa,
Burma and Sri Lanka. One of the travellers
15:45
was a man named Dharmarakshita, and is designated
as a ‘Yona’, or ‘Ionian’ in the texts,
15:51
so it is possible he was a Greek convert.
The most famous missionary of the period however,
15:57
was Prince Mahendra - Ashoka’s firstborn
son. In 249 BC, Mahendra journeyed to Sri
16:05
Lanka - then called Tamraparni - at the invitation
of King Devanampiya Tissa, an admirer of Ashoka
16:12
and a man who wished to learn more of Buddhist
principles. The subsequent mission to this
16:17
realm was so successful that it gradually
became a Buddhist country and remains so even
16:23
today. Such was the legacy of Ashoka the Great.
When he died in 232 BC, he was 72 years old,
16:32
and had reigned for 38 glorious years. Though
his death would instigate the long decay of
16:39
his earthly Mauryan Empire, which fell after
another half century, Ashoka had ruled over
16:45
the largest indigenous empire in Indian history
with wisdom, efficiency and most importantly,
16:52
compassion. Buddhism in the 21st century is
a world religion because the first steps to
16:58
spread it to the world were made by Ashoka
himself.
17:02
Gradually, as the centuries progressed after
Ashoka’s death, the faith travelled along
17:07
the Silk Roads as far as Tibet, China and
even Japan, despite its decline in the predominantly
17:13
Hindu land of its birth. Writer H.G. Wells
stated that ‘Ashoka shines and shines brightly
17:20
like a bright star’ among the thousands
of other kings and majesties ‘even unto
17:26
this day’.
17:28
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— end of transcript —
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