The story of Ashoka the Great
Asoka was born in 304 BC. C., son of the Maurya emperor Bindusara and a queen of relatively lower rank, Dharma. The legend associated with the emperor says that his birth had been foretold by the Buddha, in the story of ‘The Gift of Dust’. The Buddhist Emperor Ashoka had only one younger brother, Vitthashoka, but several older half-siblings. Since his childhood, Ashoka showed great promise in the field of weapons skills, as well as academics.
Asoka quickly became an excellent warrior general and cunning statesman. His command in the Maurya army began to grow day by day and because of this his older brothers suspected that Bindusara favored him as the next emperor. Bindusara’s eldest son, Prince Susima, convinced him to send Asoka to Takshashila province (in Sindh) to control an uprising caused by the formation of different militias. However, by the time Ashoka arrived in the province, the militias welcomed him with open arms and the uprising ended without a fight. This particular success of Asoka made his older siblings, especially Susima, feel more insecure.
Susima began inciting Bindusara against Ashoka, who was then sent into exile by the emperor. Asoka went to Kalinga, where he met a fisherwoman named Kaurwaki. He fell in love with her and later made Kaurwaki her second or third wife. Soon, the province of Ujjain began to witness a violent uprising. Emperor Bindusara recalled Ashoka from exile and sent him to Ujjain. The prince was wounded in the ensuing battle and was treated by Buddhist monks and nuns. It was in Ujjain that Asoka was first introduced to the life and teachings of the Buddha. In Ujjain he also met Devi, his personal nurse, who later became his wife.
The following year, Bindusura fell seriously ill and was literally on his deathbed. A group of ministers, led by Radhagupta, asked Ashoka to take over the crown. In the fight that followed his ascension, Ashoka attacked Pataliputra, now Patna, and killed all of his brothers, including Susima. After becoming King, Ashoka launched brutal attacks to expand his empire, which lasted around eight years. Around this time, his Buddhist queen, Devi, gave birth to Prince Mahindra and Princess Sanghamitra.
The Battle of Kalinga (now Orissa) became a turning point in the life of ‘Asoka the Great’. The exact reason for the battle is unknown. However, it is believed that one of Ashoka’s brothers took refuge in Kalinga and this angered Asoka, who launched a brutal assault on the province. The entire province was looted and destroyed and thousands of people were killed.
It is said that after the Battle of Kalinga ended, King Asoka took a tour of the city. He couldn’t see anything except burned houses and scattered corpses. This was the first time in his life that Emperor Ashoka realized the consequences of wars and battles. It is said that even after he returned to Patliputra, he was haunted by the scenes he saw in Kalinga. Even his queen, Devi, who was a Buddhist, left him after seeing the brutality in Kalinga.
It was during this time that he embraced Buddhism under the Brahmin Buddhist sages, Radhaswami and Manjushri. After adopting Buddhism, Asoka began to spread its principles throughout the world, even as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. In fact, he can be credited with the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist policy.
The Buddhist Emperor Asoka built thousands of Stupas and Viharas for Buddhist followers. One of his stupas, the Great Sanchi Stupa, has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ashoka’s Pillar at Sarnath has a capital of four lions, which was later adopted as the national emblem of the modern Indian republic. Throughout his life, ‘Asoka the Great’ followed the policy of non-violence or ahimsa. Even the killing or mutilation of animals was abolished in his kingdom. He promoted the concept of vegetarianism. The caste system ceased to exist in his eyes and he treated all his subjects as equals. At the same time, each and every person was granted the right to freedom, tolerance and equality.
