Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire

In antiquity, dozens of independent kingdoms divided the Indian subcontinent. Their people spoke different languages and practiced their own customs and faiths. Then in 326 BCE, Alexander the Great marched his army through the mountain passes and invaded the region.

Chandragupta Maurya

Shortly after Alexander’s death three years later, a young soldier of a low caste named Chandragupta Maurya led a rebellion that drove out the Greek invaders. Within twenty years, Chandragupta’s Mauryan Empire stretched from the Bay of Bengal in eastern India across the northern plains through the Hindu Kush into modern-day Afghanistan. For the first time, one ruler controlled most of the subcontinent.

Maintaining Control

It was not India’s size but its cultural diversity that made the Mauryan Empire difficult to govern. Chandragupta divided his empire into smaller regions called provinces. He placed each province under the rule of a prince or another member of the royal family. Chandragupta’s administrative system was so efficient that later conquerors of India kept parts of it intact for centuries.

To maintain control and protect his life, Chandragupta took extreme precautions. Spies sent him secret reports from every province. He never slept in the same bed two nights in a row, and servants tasted all his food for poison.

Chandragupta Becomes a Jain

Later in his life, Chandragupta Maurya sought enlightenment by becoming a Jain, a religion that forbids harming any living creature. According to legend, the emperor stepped down from his throne to travel south with Jain monks. He spent his final years as an ascetic, giving up all power and luxury.

Ashoka Takes Power

A generation later, the death of Chandragupta’s son sparked a brutal civil war among the emperor’s grandsons. Ashoka (pronounced uh-SHO-kuh) emerged victorious after massacring his brothers.

Once in power, Ashoka built an elaborate palace filled with flowers, trees, and ornaments. Buddhist legends say that deep inside the palace, Ashoka built a torture chamber where the emperor imposed cruel punishments upon anyone who challenged his authority.

The Battle of Kalinga

Ashoka’s army defeated the rival kingdom of Kalinga (pronounced kuh-LING-guh). The brutal conquest killed 100,000 people and drove 150,000 more from their homes. When Ashoka rode out across the battlefield to celebrate his victory, the sight of the carnage filled him with deep remorse.

The Transformation

The emperor then had a spiritual transformation. He renounced war and became a devout Buddhist. He practiced ahimsa (pronounced uh-HIM-sah), refusing to harm any living creature. Ashoka outlawed animal sacrifices and gave up eating meat.

Outreach

Ashoka built Buddhist shrines throughout his empire. The emperor sent missionaries abroad to spread his new faith. While Buddhism eventually declined on the Indian subcontinent, Ashoka’s efforts helped make it a major religion across China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

Ashoka spent the next 32 years of his rule emphasizing human charity and respect for all living things. He ignored the caste system and ordered judges to apply the law fairly throughout his empire. To improve daily life, he directed workers to build trade roads, dig roadside wells, and provide medical care for both people and animals.

Words in Stone

Most of what we know about Ashoka’s rule comes from the words he ordered carved into rocks and stone pillars throughout his empire. The inscriptions promoted Buddhist teachings, outlined royal laws, and explained how the emperor governed. Many of these stone monuments still stand today, more than 2,200 years later.

The Mauryan Empire Ends

The emperors who followed Ashoka were weak. After his death, the caste system reasserted itself as the empire gradually shrank. In 185 BCE, an assassin killed the last Mauryan ruler, bringing an end to the dynasty that first united the subcontinent.