अशोक: चंडाशोक से धम्मशोक तक

Key dates

मुख्य घटनाएँ

1. c. 304 BCEअशोक का जन्म (परंपरा के अनुसार)
2. c. 268 BCEपाटलिपुत्र से शासन शुरू
3. c. 260 BCEकलिंग विजय — शिलालेख 13: 1 लाख मौतें, 1.5 लाख बंदी
4. इसके बादधम्म के शिलालेख और स्तंभ: मृत्युदंड खत्म करने, इलाज और सब धर्मों के सम्मान की बात
5. c. 232 BCEअशोक की मृत्यु
6. 19वीं सदीजेम्स प्रिंसेप ने भूली हुई ब्राह्मी लिपि फिर पढ़ी

What the sources say

Facts & sources

• Ashoka (c. 304 – 232 BCE) was the third Maurya emperor and ruled from c. 268 BCE from Pataliputra. His empire stretched from present-day Afghanistan to present-day Bangladesh.
• According to the Ashokavadana, his father Bindusara disliked him for his rough skin. Even so, an ascetic saw that Ashoka would be the next king. Legends disagree on where he was sent: the North Indian tradition says Takshashila, the Sri Lankan tradition says Ujjain.
• Legends say he took the throne by killing his brothers: 99 in the Mahavamsa and 100 in the Dipavamsa, while the Ashokavadana says Susima was tricked into a charcoal pit. Historians think these numbers are exaggerated, though he may have killed one or several brothers.
• The Ashokavadana calls him 'Chandashoka' and describes 500 ministers beheaded and a torture prison called 'Ashoka's Hell'. Scholars see these stories as exaggerations by Buddhist authors who wanted his conversion to look like a miracle.
• In his 8th regnal year (c. 260 BCE) he conquered Kalinga. Major Rock Edict 13 records 100,000 killed and 150,000 captured, and expresses deep remorse. However, this edict is missing in the Kalinga region itself.
• Accounts of his conversion conflict. The Sri Lankan tradition says the monk Nigrodha, the son of a brother Ashoka had killed, converted him before Kalinga. His own edicts suggest a gradual change in the years after the war.
• Legends credit him with 84,000 stupas or viharas. His dhamma pillars and edicts promoted the end of the death penalty, medical care for humans and animals, and respect for all faiths. The Sri Lankan tradition says his children Mahinda and Sanghamitta went to Sri Lanka, but historians debate this.
• The Ashokavadana also claims he committed violence after his conversion, but scholars call these stories sectarian fabrications. The Brahmi script was later forgotten until James Prinsep studied it in the 19th century. Today India's State Emblem and the Ashoka Chakra come from his legacy.

Source: Ashoka (Wikipedia) and the texts it cites. Legends are told as legends.