ALL ABOUT THE GREAT ASHOKA

1. 300 BCE – 232 BCE
Presentation by:-
Svabhiman Singh(131MC00230)
THE ICFAI UNIVERSITY, DEHRADUN

3. ASHOKA BELONGS
TO MAURYAN DYNASTY
HE IS THE THIRD KING
OF MAURYAN DYNASTY

4. Birth of
Asoka
300
BCE
Marriage
284 BCE
Conversion
to Buddhism
263 BCE
Reign
begins
272 BCE
Death in
232 BCE
Brief-:

5. CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYACHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA
(Founder & grand father of Ashoka)
BINDUSARA
(Second king & father of Ashoka)
ASHOKA THE EMPEROR
(Third king)

6. Founded Mauryan Dynasty
in 322 BC
Gained power shortly after
Alexander ‘s death.
Was crowned King at TaxilaTaxila
Had capital at Pataliputra
His minister Chanakya
wrote Arthashastra

7. Asoka married a commoner called Karuwaki, she was
a fisher.
He met her before his reign when he was sent to
Taxshila to subdue an uprising as a general of the
Mauryan empire.
Due to Ashoka’s success in the quelling of the
uprising and his growing popularity, his step-brothers
forced him into exile to prevent him from obtaining
the throne.
Asoka however returned two years later being
summoned by the emperor to quell another uprising.
ASOKA'S PERSONAL LIFE-:

8. HOW THE ASOKA'S REIGN BEGIN-:
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 260 BC
was the worst of all.

9. After the battle in a tour of city, he could see nothing except burnt
houses and scattered corpses.This sight made him sick.
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-:

10. The main principles of dharma (dhamma)
nonviolence,
tolerance of all sects,
 obedience to parents,
respect for Brahmans , teachers & priests
 liberality towards friends,
humane treatment of servants,
THE DHARMA PRINCIPLE-:

11. Ashoka built shrines and
monasteries and inscribed
Buddhist teachings 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-:

12. MISSIONS TO SPREAD BUDDHISM-:
 Kashmir-Gandhara
Mahisamandala (Mysore) - Mahadeva
Vanavasi (Tamil Nadu) - Rakkhita
Maharattha (Maharashtra) -
Mahadhammarakkhita
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:

13. THE EDICTS OF KING ASHOKA-:
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”.

14. 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

15. Indian government has
adopted the famous lion
capital from his pillar at
Sarnath as official
national emblem.
LEGACIES OF ASHOKA-:
1.Symbolis legacy

16. 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 repeating
process.
INDIA'S FLAG-:

17. Asoka’s chakra is also know as the wheel of the dharma
and it symbolizes the 24 virtues in Buddhism. Some of
these 24 virtues include: love, patience, peacefulness,
courage, justice and mercy.
ASHOKA'S WHEEL OF LAW-:

18. The film-ASHOKA- was
directed by Santosh SivanSantosh Sivan
and stars Shahrukh KhanShahrukh Khan
as AshokaAshoka and KareenaKareena
KapoorKapoor
as KaurwakiKaurwaki, a princess
of Kalinga.Kalinga.
BOLLYWOOD-:

19. 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.
Throughout his life, 'Asoka the Great' followed the policy of nonviolence .
Ashoka tried to make the lives better and Ashoka is honored today.

20.  "