Ashoka the great....

By Praveen A Gondhali
Related to Samrat Ashoka

1. Quote……

2. ASHOKA THE GREAT 300BCE – 232BCE By : Praveen A Gondhali

3. ASHOKA THE GREAT

4. INTRODUCTION The high point of the Mauryan empire Conquered the kingdom of Kalinga , 260 BC. Ruled through tightly organized bureaucracy Established capital at Pataliputra Policies of encouraging agriculture and trade Dedicated his life to Buddhism. Built Extensive roads. Conflict  How to balance Kautilya’s method of keeping power and Buddha’s demands to become a selfless person?

5. CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA ( FOUNDER & GRANDFATHER OF ASHOKA) BINDUSARA (Second king & father of Ashoka ) ASHOKA THE EMPEROR ( Third king ) MAURYA DYNASTY

6. CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA

7. Founder of Mauryan Dynasty in 322 BC. Gained power shortly after Alexander’s death. Was crowned king at Taxila . Had capital at Patliputra . His minister Chanakya wrote Arthashastra . CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA

8. Arthashastra

9. CHANAKYA

10. ASHOKA BELONG TO MAURYAN DYNASTY HE IS THE THIRD KING OF MAURYAN DYNASTY BACKGROUND INFORMATION

11. BIRTH OF ASHOKA REIGN BEGINS MARRIAGE CONVERSION DEATH IN TO BUDDHISM 300 272 284 263 232 BCE BCE BCE BCE BCE ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -  TIME LINE

12. PERSONAL INFORMATION Quickly grew into an excellent warrior His command on the mauryan army started growing day by day His elder brothers became suspicious of him being favoured as the next emperor. The eldest son of bindusara , prince susima , convinced him to send asoka to takshashila Went to kalinga , where he met a fisherwoman named kaurwaki .

13. RISE TO POWER Ashoka was stationed at ujjayini as governor. Bindusara's death in 273 bc led to a war over succession Ashoka was supported by his father's ministers. Ashoka managed to become the king by getting rid of the legitimate heir to the throne

14. THE KALINGA WAR AFTER THE KALINGA WAR LEGACY OF ASHOKA ASHOKA THE GREAT PART - I

15. ASHOKA THE GREAT PART - I

16. Conquest of Kalinga

17. Ashoka’s reign as emperor began with a series of wars. He conquered more lands and added them to his empire. The Kalinga War of 260BC was the worst of all. KALINGA WAR

18. KALINGA WAR

19. The huge loss of life and suffering witnessed on the battlefield made him turn away from war. So he was deeply influenced by Buddhism, and adopted the dharma principles. A change of heart

20. Began in the 8th year of Ashoka's reign, probably in 261 BC After a bloody battle, Ashoka tried to annex kalinga In the aftermath of the battle of kalinga the daya river running next to the battle field turned red with the blood of the slain 100,000 kalinga civilians and more than 10,000 of ashoka's own warriors were among those slain Continued.....

21. After the battle in a tour of city, he could see nothing except burnt houses and scattered corpses. This sight made him sick and he cried the famous monologue: What have I done? If this is a victory, what's a defeat then? Is this a victory or a defeat? Is this justice or injustice? Is it gallantry or a rout? Is it valor to kill innocent children and women? Do I do it to widen the empire and for prosperity or to destroy the other's kingdom and splendor? One has lost her husband, someone else a father, someone a child, someone an unborn infant.... What's this debris of the corpses? Are these marks of victory or defeat? Are these vultures, crows, eagles the messengers of death or evil? A Sudden Change of Heart

22. The mammoth loss of life and suffering witnessed on the battlefield made him turn away from war He felt that he was the cause of the destruction His queen, Devi, who was a Buddhist, left him after seeing the brutality at Kalinga Ashoka realized the consequences of wars and battles Continued…

23. AFTER THE KALINGA WAR ASHOKA THE GREAT PART – I I

24. Dharma Principles Spread of Buddhism Ashoka the Administrator AFTER KALING WAR

25. The main principals of dharma. Non violence. Tolerance of all sects. Obedience to parents. Respects for Brahmans, teachers & priests. Liberality towards friends. Humane treatment of servants. THE DHARMA PRINCIPAL

26. Ashoka built shrines and monasteries and inscribed Buddhist teaching on rocks and pillars in many places. He sent missionaries to countries. His own son Kunal became a monk & carried Buddhism to Sri Lanka. SPREAD OF BUDDHISM

27. SPREAD OF BUDDHISM

28. Kashmir -Gandhara Majjhantika Mahisamandala (Mysore) - Mahadeva Vanavasi (Tamil Nadu) - Rakkhita Maharattha (Maharashtra) - Mahadhammarakkhita "Country of the Yona" (Bactria/ Seleucid Empire) - Maharakkhita Himavanta (Nepal) - Majjhima Suvannabhumi (Thailand/ Myanmar) - Sona and Uttara Lankadipa (Sri Lanka) - Mahamahinda Aparantaka (Gujarat and Sindh) - Yona Dhammarakkhita He sent his missionaries to the following places: Missions to Spread Buddhism

29. Ashoka taught and convinced people to love and respect all living things. He insisted the on the recognition of the sancity of all human life. He abolished the the unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of animals. Ashoka banned sport hunting and thus protected wildlife. He became vegetarian & most people chose to become vegetarians on their own. ASHOKA THE ADMINISTRATOR

30. PART – III LEGACIES OF ASHOKA ASHOKA THE GREAT

31. * SYMBOLIC LEGACY * BOLLYWOOD LEGACY LEGACIES OF ASHOKA

32. ASHOKAN PILLAR

33. Indian government has adopted the famous lion capital from his pillar at Sarnath as official national emblem. SYMBOLIC LEGACY

34. INDIAN FLAG

35. After Ashoka’s death in 232 BCE the people of India decided to commemorate Ashoka by using his personal chakra. It can still be seen today on the Indian flag. The word chakra is sanskrit and it means cycle or a repeting process. INDIAN FLAG

36. ASHOK CHAKRA

37. The Edicts of King Ashoka The Rock Edicts - THE FOURTEEN ROCK EDICTS KALINGA ROCK EDICTS MINOR ROCK EDICTS THE SEVEN PILLAR EDICTS MINOR PILLAR EDICTS The pillars of Ashoka were erected by him during his reign in the 3rd century BC The Stupas of Sanchi are world famous and the stupa named SanchiStupa was built by Emperor Ashoka Ashoka's own words as known from his Edicts are: " All men are my children. I am like a father to them. As every father desires the good and the happiness of his children, I wish that all men should be happy always ”.

38. ROCK EDICTS OF AHOKA Elephant at Kalinga war site-Orissa Minor Rock Edict site- Madhya Pradesh Rock Edict at Junagadh Major Rock Edict at Girnar, Gujarat

39. DEATH & LEGACY Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years He had numerous wives and many heirs but most of their name are lost He had entrusted to Mahindra and Sanghamitra the job of making his state religion Ashoka died in 232 BC After his death, the Mauryan dynasty lasted just fifty more years

40. CONCLUSION Right from his childhood days Ashoka showed great promise in the field of weaponry skills as well as academics Although Ashoka was known as Cruel Ashoka but He felt that he was the cause of the destruction which made him turn away from war and adopt Buddhism In fact, he can be credited with making the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist policy. Buddhism received a significant boost of popularity when Ashoka converted to Buddhism. Throughout his life, 'Asoka the Great' followed the policy of nonviolence He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and renovating major roads throughout India. After this transformation, Ashoka came to be known as Dhammashoka Ashoka tried to make the lives better and Ashoka is honored today

41. BIBLIOGRAPHY