In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and their exalted majestic and so on. They shone for a brief moment and as quickly disappeared. But Asoka shines and shines brightly and bright star even unto this day.
The Indian history highlights emperor of the maurya Dynasty Asoka as Samrat implying the emperor of emperors. He is known to have ruled from 269B.C. TO 232 B.C. and stretched his empire from the present day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east and as far to the south including Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Asoka was born to the Mauryan emperor Bindusara and his queen Dharma and was the grandson of Chandragupta maurya founder of the mauryan dynasty. Legend is associated with the emperor that his birth had been predicted by Buddha in the story of the gift of dust. In his childhood he was trained with the royal military knowledge which led him turn to a fearsome hunter and he in no time grew into an excellent warrior general added to his repute. His wicked nature and bad temperament summarized his early life as an emperor and earned him the title depicting Asoka the fierce.
His post coronation period followed the war which is believed to have changed his life upside down. The exact reason for the battle is unknown. However it is believed that one of the Asoka brothers took refuge at Kalinga and this engaged Asoka.
While the early part of Ashoka's reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty, he became a follower of the Buddha's teachings after his conquest of Kalinga on the east coast of India in the present-day states of Odessa and North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. Kalinga was a state that prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy. With its monarchical parliamentary democracy it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata where there existed the concept of Rajdharma. Rajdharma means the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery and dharma. The Kalinga War happened eight years after his coronation. From his 13th inscription, we come to know that the battle was a massive one and caused the deaths of more than 100,000 soldiers and many civilians who rose up in defense; over 150,000 were deported. When he was walking through the grounds of Kalinga after his conquest, rejoicing in his victory(Success).
The mauryan dynasty lasted just fifty more years after his death. Ashoka is known to have left behind the first written language in India after the ancient harappan civilization. He died in 232 B.C. after doing a great idol of good kingdom and the world at large. To commemorate his rule and its implications the Indian government adopted the Ashoka chakra as its national symbol which can be seen will today on the national flag.
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