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