РефератыИностранный языкAsAshoka Indian Ruler Essay Research Paper One

Ashoka Indian Ruler Essay Research Paper One

Ashoka Indian Ruler Essay, Research Paper


One of the greatest rulers of India’s history is Ashoka (Asoka). Ruling


for thirty-eight years (274 B.C.-232 B.C.), he was generally mentioned


in his inscriptions as Devanampiya Piyadasi (”Beloved of the gods”). As


the third emperor of the Mauryan dynasty, he was born in the year 304


B.C. His greatest achievements were spreading Buddhism throughout his


empire and beyond. He set up an ideal government for his people and


conquered many lands, expanding his kingdom. The knowledge of Ashoka’s


early reign is limited because little information was found. His edicts


and inscriptions allowed us to understand his reign and empire, and


have an insight into the events that took place during this remarkable


period of history. Eight years after he took his throne, Ashoka’s


powerful armies attacked and conquered Kalinga (present day Orissa).


Although he had conquered many other places, this violent war was the


last war he ever fought and a turning point of his career. He was


disgusted by the extreme deaths of numerous civilians, especially the


Brahmans. All these misfortunes brought Ashoka to turn into a religious


ruler compared to a military ruler. As he turned to Buddhism, he


emphasized dharma (law of piety) and ahimsa (nonviolence). He realized


he could not spread Buddhism all by himself and therefore appointed


officers to help promote the teachings. These officers were called


Dhamma Mahamattas or “Officers of Righteousness”" They were in charge


of providing welfare and happiness among the servants and masters.


Preventing wrongful doings and ensuring special consideration was also


their duty. Emphasizing his role as king, he paid close attention to


>welfare, the building of roads and rest houses, planting medicinal


trees, and setting up healing centers. In order to pursue ahimsa,


Ashoka gave up his favorite hobby of hunting and forbade the killing of


animals, spreading vegetarianism throughout India. Furthermore, his


soldiers were taught the golden rule- to behave to others the way you


want them to behave to you, which is the basic law of life. In the


nineteenth century, a large number of edicts written in Brahmi script


carved on rocks and stone pillars were discovered in India, proving the


existence of Ashoka. These edicts, found scattered in more than 30


places throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan, are mainly


concerned with moral principles Ashoka recommended, his conversion to


Buddhism, his personality and his success as a king. The Minor Edicts


is a summary of Ashoka’s instruction of dharma, which talks about the


purity of thoughts, kindness, thruthfulness, reverence, and other good


morals of life. The Fourteen Rock Edicts were the major edicts, and


issued the principles of the government. Some of these edicts tell of


animal sacrifices, the principles of dharma, the Kalinga War, and


religious toleration. There is also record of Ashoka’s famous statement


of “All men are my children”. The Seven Pillar Edicts deals with some


achievements of Samudragupta. Ashoka died in the thirty-eighth year of


his reign, 232 B.C. The Buddhist ideas no longer inspire the government


and at the same time, his descendents quarrel over the successions. In


addition, the army, having become less warlike, was no longer able to


defend the empire from invasion. In less than fifty years after his


death, the Maurya Empire collapsed and fell into pieces.

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