Who was Emperor Ashoka?

Ashoka (in Pali, Asoka) was an emperor of the Maurya dynasty who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent in the third century BCE. He is remembered as a ruler who turned to Buddhism and tried to govern according to the Dharma, a word he used for moral conduct and right living.

The Kalinga war

Ashoka inherited a large empire and expanded it by conquest. About eight years into his reign he conquered Kalinga, on India's east coast. In one of his own inscriptions he says that a very large number of people were killed, deported or died in the war, and that he felt deep remorse. After this he devoted himself to the Dharma and became a lay follower of the Buddha.

The edicts

Ashoka had messages carved on rocks and on tall stone pillars across his empire. These are the edicts of Ashoka, among the earliest readable written records in India. They were rediscovered and deciphered in the nineteenth century.

The edicts encourage respect for parents and teachers, kindness to servants, generosity, truthfulness and restraint in killing animals. They urge tolerance between religious groups, saying that people should honour other faiths as well as their own. Ashoka describes building wells, planting shade trees and providing medical care for people and animals. A few edicts speak directly to the Buddhist Sangha and name passages he recommended for study.

Spreading Buddhism

According to Buddhist tradition, Ashoka supported the Sangha generously, built many stupas, and sent teachers to other regions. The Sri Lankan chronicles say his son Mahinda, a monk, took Buddhism to Sri Lanka, and his daughter Saṅghamittā, a nun, took a cutting of the Bodhi tree there. Historians treat some details of these accounts with caution, but it is clear that Buddhism spread widely in and after his reign.

Symbols that remain

The lion capital from one of Ashoka's pillars, at Sarnath, is the national emblem of India. The wheel on India's flag comes from the same pillars, and recalls the wheel of the Dharma.

Why he matters

Ashoka is often held up as a model of a ruler guided by ethics. His edicts are a rare record of an ancient king reflecting on violence, regret and the wish to do better. For Buddhists, he also stands for the role lay supporters have played in keeping the teachings alive.