Ashoka the Great
Ashoka the Great: United Ambition And Peace
(Pha^.t tu+? go.i Ashoka la` Vua A Du.c)
Paul Katzeff
Tue Dec 20, 7:00 PM ET
Ashoka the Great had a choice of roles: murderous despot or compassionate ruler. In ancient India, the former was more likely to succeed.
But he chose compassion as a ruling tool -- and it paid off big. Known as one of Asia's greatest rulers, he eventually controlled territory larger than today's India. As a convert to Buddhism, he led the way for the religion's spread across Asia, from China to Indonesia and Japan, notes Ashoka scholar Pankaj Mishra. He eventually established a regime whose policy was benevolence, nonviolence and tolerance of varied creeds.
For that enlightened outlook, he remains highly regarded by historians. H.G. Wells, the British author, wrote that countless monarchs have come and gone through the centuries. "(But the name of Ashoka) shines, and shines almost alone, (like) a star."
It wasn't that way at the beginning: Ashoka wasn't raised to be kind. His family initially prepared Susima, his oldest brother, as heir to his father's throne. Ashoka was schooled to further his family interests as a brutal military governor.
Yet Ashoka ascended to the top through a combination of cunning and
persistence.
The roots of his rise go back to Alexander the Great's invasion of Asia. That onslaught peaked with Alexander's victory in 326 B.C. at the battle of Hydaspes, fought in what is now northern Pakistan.
The Macedonian militarist was ready to march farther east. But his bloodied army mutinied, triggering the Greek's retreat. The formerly fierce rulers of northwest India were weakened by the clash.
That power vacuum was soon filled by an ambitious leader from farther south, Chandragupta Maurya. Maurya united the whole of northern India and established India's Mauryan dynasty. His son Bindusara extended the empire.
Ashoka -- whose name is sometimes spelled Asoka -- was born to Bindusara in 304 B.C. Susima was groomed to rule. But Ashoka's intellect and warrior skills made him his grandfather's favorite grandson, according to the Sanskrit "Ashoka Avadana," or "Story of Ashoka."
Learning from his grandfather and studying other leaders, he developed into a strong general and a shrewd statesman. And he successfully commanded several regiments of the Mauryan army. With each triumph, he gained respect from the kingdom's ministers.
Fearing Ashoka, Susima tried several times to get his younger brother out of the picture. Bindusara died in 272 B.C. Soon after, Ashoka and his wife, Devi, were expecting a child, which made him more of a threat to Susima. So Susima sent an assassin to kill Ashoka's wife and unborn child. But in a colossal blunder, the assassin murdered Ashoka's mother instead.
Enraged, Ashoka led an army and seized the throne.
Change Of Direction
Over the next eight years he expanded his empire. Eventually it stretched from present-day Bangladesh in the east to what is now Iran and Afghanistan in the west. In the south, it extended almost to the bottom of modern India.
One thorn was the small nation of Kalinga. The east-coast state gave refuge to one of Ashoka's surviving brothers, according to folklore. In 269 B.C., Ashoka attacked with the largest army ever seen in India.
He lost 10,000 soldiers. But Kalinga suffered 100,000 dead. Another 150,000 were taken prisoner.
A day after the war's end, Ashoka roamed the city of burned houses and corpses. According to legend, he was so revolted by his own bloodshed that he converted to Buddhism right there on the battlefield.
Ashoka began to make Buddhist practices the law of his state. A key plank in his platform was a policy of nonviolence.
He abolished the death penalty, according to Oxford University scholar Richard Gombrich. And he reformed his nation's judicial system, Ven Dhammika wrote in "The Edicts of King Ashoka." Punishment was also made consistent.
He abolished royal hunting and animal sacrifices in his capital, according to author Sanderson Beck. He banned sports involving the killing of animals and animal fighting, and built animal hospitals for animals. Understanding that an educated populace meant improvements for the country, he built universities so people could study and advance themselves.
He built roads and water transit systems to foster trade and irrigation networks to nurture agriculture. He spent state money to import and cultivate medicinal herbs.
While Ashoka encouraged social tolerance, he was no bleeding heart. The one-time merciless warrior applied his new policies with an eye toward their practical value. For instance, instead of turning conquered states into vassals, he treated them as allies. It wasn't only kind -- it was a way to win their support.
He encouraged children to be tolerant of parents and vice versa. The wealthy were told to treat servants kindly. Everyone was coached to treat others with generosity.
Ashoka knew the public liked these policies.
Getting The Word Out
He was even a master of the third century B.C.'s version of public relations.
To ensure people throughout his empire knew his edicts, he had them inscribed into stone tablets and pillars. Like long-lasting billboards, the messages were erected all over India to tell the public about his goals and laws, Beck wrote.
To draw attention, the pillars were often dramatically adorned. Their power as tools of communication is still clear today.
The Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath was made of sandstone, 50 feet high. The figures of four lions were carved at the top. The lions are now part of modern India's state seal.
Ashoka also knew the value of connecting with his people.
"(His) edicts were written in his own words rather than in the stylistic language in which royal ... proclamations in the ancient world were usually written," Dhammika wrote.
Their tone conveyed Ashoka's personality as well as his orders, Dhammika wrote -- firm but fair.
Ashoka achieved greatness not by conquering others, wrote Anuradha Seneviratna in "King Asoka and Buddhism:" The once bloodthirsty ruler earned fame by making the most difficult conquest of all -- the conquest of himself.
Posted by markrogow at March 28, 2008 03:07 PM