Ashoka the Emperor who gave up War

Chandragupta Maurya was the founder of the Mauryan empire. He defeated Dhananda the last Nanda ruler. His court was adorned by wise men like Kautilya and ambassadors like Megasthenes. Many of Chanakya's ideas were written down in a book called theArthashastra. Megasthenes was sent to the court of Chandragupta by the Greek ruler of West Asia named Seleucus Nicator. He has given a lot of information regarding the King and the capital city of Pataliputra.

Tribute was collected not on regular basis and people gave it more or less willingly, taxes were collected on regular basis and it was compulsory for the people to pay them

Ashoka was the most famous Mauryan ruler.

1. He was the first ruler who tried to spread his message to the people through inscriptions.
2. He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning a war.
3. He followed a religious policy of his own and formulated the famous policy of Dhamma.

Taxes were collected from farmers, herders, crafts persons and traders, who lived in villages and towns in the area. They were collected by officials appointed by the emperor.

There were several cities in the empire such as the capital city Pataliputra, Taxila, and Ujjain.

Chandragupta, his son Bindusara, and Bindusara's son, Ashoka were three important rulers of the Mauryan dynasty.

People who lived in the forest areas were more or less independent, but they were expected to provide elephants, timber, honey and way to Mauryan officials.

According to Megasthenes, Pataliputra was a beautiful city surrounded by a huge wall. It had 570 towers and 64 gates. The houses had two or three storeys and were made of wood and mud brick. The palace of the king was made of wood with stone carvings. It was surrounded with gardens and enclosures for keeping birds.

Ashoka conveyed his message through inscriptions and his officials.

According to the account of Megasthenes, the emperor appeared in public with grand royal processions. He was carried in a golden palanquin. Elephants guarding were decorated with gold and silver. The king was surrounded by armed women, as he was afraid someone might kill him. He never slept in the same bedroom for two nights. He had special servants who would taste his food before the king ate it

The Lion capital is carved in stone. The Wheel "Ashoka Chakra" is found in both our National Flag and the Lion capital.

It was originally placed atop the Ashokan pillar at Sarnath, now in the state of Uttar Pradesh. There are four lions in this Lion capital.

Ashoka's dhamma was not related to the worship of any god or performance of sacrifice. He considered that it was his responsibility, just like a father has towards his children, to instruct the people of the empire so as to reduce conflicts among them. He was inspired by the teachings of the Buddha.

Ashoka fought a war to conquer Kalinga. It was his last war. He decided to give up fighting wars after the victory over Kalinga, because he was horrified by the violence and bloodshed in that. He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up conquest after winning a war.

The Mauryan empire was one of the largest empires to rule the Indian subcontinent. In the Mauryan empire, there were several cities such as the capital Pataliputra, Taxila and Ujjain. Taxila was a gateway to the northwest, including Central Asia, while Ujjain lay on the route from north to south India. Merchants, officials and crafts persons probably lived in these cities.

Ashoka was the most famous Mauryan ruler. He was the first ruler who tried to take his message to the people through inscriptions. Most of his inscriptions were in Prakrit and were written in Brahmi script.

The most famous war fought by Ashoka was the War of Kalinga. The blood and violence compelled him to abandon the fights on a large scale. The War of Kalinga diverted him to the teachings of Buddha. He is the only king in the history who gave up conquest after winning the war.

Tributes were gifts that were given to the rulers by people with free will, taxes on the other hand were levied by the state administration and had to be paid. The taxes were the main source of revenue for the state.

Ashoka's edicts propagate Dhamma vis-vis Buddhism. Dhamma lays down principals of disciplined living and how to be a good human being.

These are names of books, one in Sanskrit and two in Sinhalese which describe the life and times of Ashoka.

Dhamma Mahamattas, as the term implies spread the word of Dhamma amongst the people. They saw the carving of the edicts and even read them out to people who were unable to read it.

Administration was decentralized. Provinces had governors and only the area in the immediate proximity of the capital was under the direct supervision of the emperor. Spies too were deployed to monitor the functioning of officials.

The army was a deterrent for anyone who thought of attacking the far flung frontiers of Ashoka's empire.

The Sarnath lions are our National emblem and the Ashoka chakra occupies the palce of pride on our National Flag.