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LURE - THRU THE AGES
E t e r n a l I n d i a
encyclopedia
sent Buddhist missionaries including his son
Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra to
Ceylon; he took pride in calling himself as
Devanampriya Priyadarshi
(beloved of god);
His Dharma or law of piety contained
Samyama
or (mastery of sense),
Bhavasuddhi
(purity of thought),
Kritagnata
(gratitude),
Drida Bhakti
(steadfastness of Devotion),
Daya
(kindness),
Dana
(charity),
Shaucha
(purity),
Sathya
(truthfulness),
Sushrusa
(service),
Sampratipatti
(support)
and
Apichiti
(reverence); he left his famous edicts in
many parts of India - minor rock edicts,
Bhabru rock edict, two Kalinga rock edicts, 14
rock edicts, 7 pillar edicts, 4 minor pillar
edicts, and 3 cave inscriptions; was kind
towards animals, stopped the slaughter of
animals, erected the famous pillars some 17 m.
in height and 50 tonnes in weight made of fine
grained, polished sandstone; his Samath pillar
is famous and its capital is the National
emblem of independent India. His empire
extended upto Afghanistan (Hindukush),
Baluchistan and Makara, Sind, Kutch, the Swat
valley, Kashmir, Nepal and the whole of India
proper, excepting Assam (V. A. Smith).
Wars
*
Capture of Pataliputra and defeat of Nan -
das by Chandragupta Maurya.
*
Defeat of Seleucus by Chandragupta
Maurya.
*
Conflict between Asoka and his brother
Susima.
*
The great war of Kalinga and the capture of
Kalinga.
Impact
*
The victories of Chandragupta over the
Greek garrisons and the war with Nandas
resulted in the establishment of Mauryan
empire in India
*
The Kalinga war fought by Asoka resulted
in great carnage and his conversion to Bud-
dhism. He renounced war and this was the
cause for the decline of the empire after
Asoka.
Foes
- Nandas.
Strengths
*
The superb military skill of Chandragupta
Maurya.
*
Effective Prime Ministership of Chanakya.
*
Character and rule of Asoka.
Weakness
*
Asoka's policy of renunciation of war and
no more territorial expansion; Asoka's pro-
Buddhist policy offended Brahmanas.
Decline
*
Although Asoka was a great emperor, the
Mauryan empire could not be saved from
disintegration especially due to the weak
successors of Asoka Maurya.
*
The fall of the Mauryans was also due to a
Brahmanical reaction against the pro-Bud-
dhist policy of Asoka (Prof. N.K. Shastri).
Renewed Greek incursions of India.
*
Extreme centralisation of administration
(Dr. R. Thapar)