Confronted by the destruction he had caused, there amongst the corpses and broken shields,
Ashoka the Fierce seems to have melted away, a once violent and fiery mind, quenced.
In order to cope with his sorrow Ashoka turned to Buddhism, at this point in world history
more of a philosophical sect than anything resembling a religion.
Ashoka, inspired primarily by Buddhism but probably by the other philosophies floating
around India at the time, embraced peace, respect, and spirituality.
He became the 3rd century BC version of a hippy essentially.
To spread his message Ashoka issued an order to have enormous stone pillars and slabs dragged
across his realm and erected at important locations.
Upon these edicts his words were carved, informing his people of their emperor’s change of
heart and his desire that he and they live righteous and good lives.
He emphasised non-violence, respect for all religions, and what could be called rights
for all humans and animals.
This was a huge project, writing was new to India at this time along with huge stone constructions.
These pillars would not only awe citizens but even needed government officials to be
stationed nearby just to read them aloud.
Making it the first kind of mass communication in India.
And you can feel genuine personality seep from these rocks.
For example Rock Edict 13 contains an actual confession of remorse about Kalinga.
And the text is pretty interesting.
it reads like this,
“Indeed, Beloved-of-the-Gods is deeply pained by the killing, dying and deportation that
take place when an unconquered country is conquered.
But Beloved-of-the-Gods is pained even more by this -- that Brahmans, ascetics, and householders
of different religions who live in those countries, and who are respectful to superiors, to mother
and father, to elders, and who behave properly and have strong loyalty towards friends, acquaintances,
companions, relatives, servants and employees -- that they are injured, killed or separated
from their loved ones.
Even those who are not affected (by all this) suffer when they see friends, acquaintances,
companions and relatives affected.
These misfortunes befall all (as a result of war), and this pains Beloved-of-the-Gods.”
And these edicts not only act as a way for Ashoka to confess his sins but also as a way
to spread the philosophy of the Emperor’s new found pacifism.
War doesn’t only affect those that fight, but all members of society.
So just after a successful campaign when most rulers would have been planning their next
campaign and feasting, Ashoka was instead instituting radical reforms.
He would repay his debt to humanity.
Hospitals were built across the land.
Special botanical gardens were constructed to ensure a steady supply of medicine.
Roads were built, wells were dug, and trees planted to provide shade to weary travellers.
Veterinary clinics were established, meat was banned on certain holidays, and the mistreatment
of animals now carried a heavy sentence.
The Maurya Empire under Ashoka was probably the first to provide animals with guaranteed
rights and probably influenced India’s special relationship with meat today.
Even though he embraced Buddhism, Ashoka did not push it on his people.
Who mostly followed Brahmanism a kind of proto-Hinduism.
Ashoka insisted on tolerance for all religions.
Again here’s another quote,
“Whoever praises his own religion, due to excessive devotion, and condemns others with
the thought "Let me glorify my own religion," only harms his own religion.
Therefore contact (between religions) is good.”
And a lot of these reforms seem to have been genuine.
We don’t hear of any more conflict during Ashoka’s reign.
While Rome and Carthage were beating each other to bloody pulps in the Mediterranean,
Ashoka’s Empire maintained friendly relations with its fellow Indian Kingdoms to the south
and the Greeks and Iranians in the West.
Under Ashoka’s rule India entered a glittering golden age, his pillars acting as the prime
example.
These pillars measured between 12-15 meters tall and weighed up to 50 tons.
They are how we rediscovered the legacy of Ashoka.
Who as a Buddhist Emperor in what was to become a Hindu land was mostly forgotten until British
and Indian scholars deciphered the text on the then recently discovered Pillars, transforming
Ashoka from a random name in the history of Indian rulers into the exceptional figure
we know today.
Of all of Ashoka’s stone works the most famous is probably the Lion Capital at Sarnath.
Made of perfectly cut sandstone and polished so well that from a distance it appears to
be shining metal.
It is a fantastic example of the architecture that flourished under Ashoka.
It even impressed foreign states hundreds of years later, and thousands of kilometers
away inspiring replicas as far afield as Wat Umong in Thailand.
When India became an independent republic on the 26th of January 1950 it was Ashoka’s
4 lions from Sarnath that were chosen as the new nation’s symbol on that very same day.
Ashoka reigned for a peaceful 36 years and died in 232 BC, had he not left the pillars
behind we may never have known of his spectacular reign.
Because after his death his empire would crumble in about 50 years and would be overthrown
by a non-Buddhist dynasty.
Records of his deeds were only maintained by Buddhist monks who all but disappear from
India in the coming centuries.
If Ashoka was so great and his rule so enlightened why did succeeding rulers not follow in his
peaceful footsteps, why was he all but forgotten.
It has been argued by some that his rule might not have been as enlightened or peaceful as
we think and may all just be ancient propaganda.
It should be noted that at this time and even today, the Indian subcontinent is a massive
hodge-podge of different religions, peoples, and ethnicities.
The empire Chandragupta conquered and Ashoka expanded was one of the most diverse in the
world.
So was Ashoka just some Machiavellian type character that spotted the practicality of
adopting a peaceful facade in order to stitch together his divided population?
Were his conversion and pillars just tricks to make people behave.
I’m a fan of looking at history sideways and trying to see the other side of common
narratives so let’s give it a try.
Even though he didn’t go to war again during his reign, Ashoka did still maintain an active
military and on one of his edicts even make a clear threat towards the forest peoples
living on his border.
He promised that there would be violence if they did not accept his peace.
And while we saw that confession earlier Ashoka did not give the Kalingans their land back,
and his remorseful edicts were placed nowhere near Kalinga.
I think it’s important to note all these things because Ashoka sometimes gets painted
as being flawless.
And painting him as flawless doesn’t do him justice.
But looking at the sources we do have he comes off asas an extreme realist.
He saw the carnage at Kalinga and decided to try ruling in another way.
Instead of crushing dissent he would encourage diversity and cooperation instead.
By pushing for respect, tolerance, and generosity he tried to persuaded society to function
rather than force it too.
Which was a very modern way of thinking for a ruler of the ancient world.
Most sources we have on Ashoka are buddhist and he’s probably the most important person
in Buddhism after well...the Buddha.
The reason for this is because after his conversion Ashoka dispersed missionaries across Asia,
Africa, and Europe.
Spreading the religion out of India and creating a global religion, a legacy that continued
long after his pillars had sank into the Earth.
The life of Ashoka and his peaceful aspirations are one of the greatest sources of inspiration
for Indians today.
His greatest lies not only in that he shunned violence after a great victory.
But also by how singular an event in world history his change of heart was and how that
should really make us think about all the other people we study and respect in world
history.
Is Ashoka commendable for changing or is everyone else condemnable for not doing so?
These are the fun questions history throws at us.
There are thousands of stone columns spread across our world heralding the likes of the
Akkadians or Romans crushing so and so rebellion or enslaving so and so city but only Ashoka’s
pillars stand alone, speaking
of kindness.