Question

Who is the only king in the history of world who gave up conquest after winning a war?

• A. Chandragupta Maurya
• B. Bindusara
• C. Ashoka
• D. Harshavardhana

Answer 1

Answer:

C. Ashoka

Ashoka

• Ashoka was the most important among the kings of the Maurya dynasty with Magadha as the capital.

• Our national emblem is taken from the pillar erected by Emperor Ashoka at Saranath. The Dharma Chakra of Ashoka is kept at the centre of our national flag.

• Ashoka also built the stupa at Sanchi.

• To ensure peace and harmony in his empire, Ashoka adopted the policy of Dhamma (Prakrit form of Sanskrit word Dharma). It aimed at maintaining peace in the nation by promoting unity and tolerance among the people.

• The ideals of Dhamma are: Obey parents, Respect gurus, Denounce animal sacrifice, Express tolerance towards every religion, Show kindness towards fellow creatures

• Ashoka was inspired by Buddhism to proclaim Dhamma.

• Ashoka adopted Buddhism after the Kalinga war & he gave up wars.

• He played a significant role in propagating Buddhism in different parts of the world.

• Ashoka, conveyed his directions, decisions, and dhamma to his subjects through stone edicts. In the Dhamma edict of Ashoka, he is referred as 'Piyadassi or 'Devanampiya'

• Social stratification based on Chaturvarnya doctrine prevailed during Mauryan period.

• In order to propagate and make people aware of his ideas and rules, Ashoka erected edicts in various parts of the country and made inscriptions on rocks. The edicts can be classified as major rock edicts, minor rock edicts and pillar edicts.

• Most of the edicts of Ashoka were written in Brahmi script. The script was deciphered in 1837 by James Prinsep. Some of these edicts, found in the northwestern part of India, were written in the Kharoshti script. This was due to the influence of the Persian language that existed there. Those edicts found from Afghanistan were in Aramaic and Greek scripts. Most of the edicts were in the Prakrit language.

• Ashoka sent officers to different parts of the country and other countries to propagate Dhamma. He sent his son Mahendra and his daughter Sangamitra to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Ashoka installed stupas containing the relics and left overs of Buddha in various parts of the country. Eg: Sanchi stupa.