Ashoka The Great
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- WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO MY FAMILY!! *cries excessively*
- 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 corpses? Are these marks of victory or defeat? Are these vultures, crows, eagles the messengers of death or evil?
- Follow my teachings, they will help you in life!
- This was the story of Ashoka, The Great....
- After the battle, he had went to see in person the damage he had caused. He was horrified to see how many lives of people he had taken. It was a brutal bloodbath.
- He saw burnt houses and scattered corpses which made him sick and he cried the famous monologue:
- After this incident, for the rest of his life, Ashoka pursued the path of non-violence(ahimsa). Hunting was limited, slaughtering of animals was abolished from the kingdom, Ashoka also promoted the concept of vegetarianism. He built universities, irrigation systems, hospitals, renovating the major roads in India, and he treated his subjects equally regardless of their religion, caste, etc. This change in him led people to call him Dhammashoka(Ashoka, follower of Dharma)
- A few Buddhist monks tended to Ashoka's wounds in secret so that the heir-apparent Susima would not learn of his injuries. At this time, Ashoka converted to Buddhism officially.
- After a while, Bindusara died and a 2 year long war erupted between Ashoka and his half brothers for the throne. Ashoka killed all of his brothers and prevailed to be victorious, becoming the third ruler of the Mauryan Empire.
- After becoming the king, he went on to conquer most of the Indian Subcontinent. At last, he had to conquer Kalinga, where all the important trade routes and sea routes existed, and which Chandragupta and Bindusara couldn't conquer.
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