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Ashoka
Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra. A patron of Buddhism, he is credited with playing an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia. Much of the information about Ashoka comes from his Brahmi edicts, which are among the earliest long inscriptions of ancient India, and the Buddhist legends written centuries after his death. Ashoka was son of Bindusara, and a grandson of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta. During his father's reign, he served as the governor of Ujjain in central India. According to some Buddhist legends, he also suppressed a revolt in Takshashila as a prince, and after his father's death, killed his brothers to ascend ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edicts Of Ashoka
The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who reigned from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expression ''Dhaṃma Lipi'' ( Prakrit in the Brahmi script: 𑀥𑀁𑀫𑀮𑀺𑀧𑀺, "Inscriptions of the Dharma") to describe his own Edicts. These inscriptions were dispersed throughout the areas of modern-day Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and provide the first tangible evidence of Buddhism. The edicts describe in detail Ashoka's view on dhamma, an earnest attempt to solve some of the problems that a complex society faced. According to the edicts, the extent of Buddhist proselytism during this period reached as far as the Mediterranean, and many Buddhist monuments were created. These inscriptions proclaim Ashoka's adherence to the Buddhist philosophy. The inscriptions show his efforts to develop the Buddhist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. Quote: "Magadha power came to extend over the main cities and communication routes of the Ganges basin. Then, under Chandragupta Maurya (c.321–297 bce), and subsequently Ashoka his grandson, Pataliputra became the centre of the loose-knit Mauryan 'Empire' which during Ashoka's reign (c.268–232 bce) briefly had a presence throughout the main urban centres and arteries of the subcontinent, except for the extreme south." The Maurya Empire was centralized by the conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, and its capital city was located at Pataliputra (modern Patna). Outside this imperial center, the empire's geographical extent was dependent on the loyalty of military commanders who controlled the armed cities sprinkling it. During As ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanchi
Sanchi is a Buddhist complex, famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at Sanchi Town in Raisen District of the State of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located, about 23 kilometres from Raisen town, district headquarter and north-east of Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh. The Great Stupa at Sanchi is one of the oldest stone structures in India, and an important monument of Indian Architecture. It was originally commissioned by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BCE. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over the relics of the Buddha. It was crowned by the '''chhatra, a parasol-like structure symbolising high rank, which was intended to honour and shelter the relics. The original construction work of this stupa was overseen by Ashoka, whose wife Devi was the daughter of a merchant of nearby Vidisha. Sanchi was also her birthplace as well as the venue of her and Ashoka's wedding. In the 1st century BCE, four elaborately carved tor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bindusara
Bindusara (), also Amitraghāta or Amitrakhāda (Sanskrit: अमित्रघात, "slayer of enemies" or "devourer of enemies") or Amitrochates (Greek: Ἀμιτροχάτης) (Strabo calls him Allitrochades (Ἀλλιτροχάδης)) was the second Mauryan emperor of India. He was the son of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta and the father of its most famous ruler Ashoka. Bindusara's life is not documented as well as the lives of these two emperors: much of the information about him comes from legendary accounts written several hundred years after his death. Bindusara consolidated the empire created by his father. The 16th century Tibetan Buddhist author Taranatha credits his administration with extensive territorial conquests in southern India, but some historians doubt the historical authenticity of this claim. Background Ancient and medieval sources have not documented Bindusara's life in detail. Much of the information about him comes from Jain legends focu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mother Of Ashoka
The information about Mother of Ashoka The Great (c. 3rd century BCE), the 3rd Mauryan emperor of ancient India, varies between different sources. Ashoka's own inscriptions and the main texts that provide information about his life (such as ''Ashokavadana'' and '' Mahavamsa'') do not name his mother. The ''Asokavadanamala'' names her Subhadrangi, while ''Vamsatthapakasini'' calls her Dharma (Pali: Dhamma). Different texts variously describe her as a Brahmin or a Kshatriya. Names Ashoka's own inscriptions do not mention his parents. The various Buddhist texts provide different names or epithets for Ashoka's mother: * Subhadrangi, in ''Asokavadanamala'', a text composed sometime after mid-11th century; not to be confused with ''Ashokavadana'' within ''Divyavadana'' * Dharma (Pali: Dhamma), in ''Vamsatthapakasini'' or ''Mahavamsa-tika'', a 10th-century commentary on ''Mahavamsa'' * Janapada-kalyani, in a ''Divyavadana'' legend; according to scholar Ananda W. P. Guruge, this is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanghamitta
Saṅghamittā (Saṅghamitrā in Sanskrit, nun's name Ayapali; 282 BC – 203 BC) was the eldest daughter of Emperor Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) and his first wife, Devi. Together with her brother Mahinda, she entered an order of Buddhist monks. The two siblings later went to Sri Lanka to spread the teachings of Buddha at the request of King Devanampiya Tissa (250 BC – 210 BC) who was a contemporary of Ashoka. Ashoka was initially reluctant to send his daughter on an overseas mission. However, because of the insistence of Sangamitra herself, he finally agreed. She was sent to Sri Lanka together with several other nuns to start the nun-lineage of Bhikkhunis (a fully ordained female Buddhist monastic) at the request of King Tissa to ordain queen Anulā and other women of Tissa's court at Anuradhapura who desired to be ordained as nuns after Mahindra converted them to Buddhism. After Sanghamittā’s contribution to the propagation of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and her establishin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dasharatha Maurya
Dasharatha Maurya () was the 4th Mauryan emperor from 232 to 224 BCE. He was a grandson of Ashoka The Great and is commonly held to have succeeded him as the imperial ruler of India. Dasharatha presided over a declining imperium and several territories of the empire broke away from central rule during his reign. He had continued the religious and social policies of Ashoka. Dasharatha was the last ruler of the Mauryan dynasty to have issued imperial inscriptions—thus the last Mauryan Emperor to be known from epigraphical sources. Dasharatha died in 224 BCE and was succeeded by his cousin Samprati. Background Dasharatha was a grandson of the Mauryan ruler Ashoka.Asha Vishnu; ''Material Life of Northern India: Based on an Archaeological Study, 3rd Century B.C. to 1st Century B.C. Mittal Publications''. 1993. . pg 3. He is commonly held to have succeeded his grandfather as imperial ruler in India although some sources including the Vayu Purana have given different names and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karuvaki
Karuvaki was the second queen of the third Mauryan emperor, Ashoka. She was also the mother of Ashoka's son, Prince Tivala. Life Karuvaki is mentioned in the Queen Edict wherein her religious and charitable donations were recorded as per her wishes. This gives an image of her being a self-possessed and strong-willed consort, who wanted an act of philanthropy recorded as specifically hers. The edict also identifies her as mother to their son, Prince Tivala (also referred to as Tivara), who is the only son of Ashoka mentioned by name in his inscriptions. Despite the fact that Ashoka had many queens, Kaurwaki is the only queen of Ashoka, who was named in his inscriptions and edicts. Queen's Edict The Queen's Edict on the Allahabad Pillar refers to the charitable deeds of Karuvaki: In popular culture * Karuvaki was portrayed by Kareena Kapoor in the 2001 Bollywood film, ''Aśoka''. * Saumya Seth portrays Karuvaki in Colors TV's 2015 historical drama, '' Chakravartin Ashoka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kunala
Kunala (IAST: ) (263 BC – ?) was a son of Emperor Ashoka and Queen Padmavati and the presumptive heir to Ashoka, thus the heir to the Mauryan Empire which once ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent. After the departure of Mahendra, Ashoka's eldest son, he was supposed to be the heir to the empire, but was blinded by his step-mother, Tishyaraksha, at a young age in jealousy. While he was not able to take the throne, his son, Samprati, became his heir. Kunala also served as the Viceroy of Taxila during the reign of his father, having been appointed to the position in 235 BC. Significance of name Kunala also means "bird with beautiful eyes", "someone who sees beauty in everything" or "one with beautiful eyes". Early life Due to the death of his birth mother, Padmavati, within a few months of his birth, he was raised by Ashoka's chief queen consort Asandhimitra, who loved him like her own son. Due to this, Asandhimitra is often mistaken to be his birth mother. At the ag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empire that reached its peak under the reign of his grandson, Asoka, from 268 BCE to 231 BCE. The nature of the political formation that existed in Chandragupta's time is not certain. The Mauryan empire was a loose-knit empire. Quote: "The geography of the Mauryan Empire resembled a spider with a small dense body and long spindly legs. The highest echelons of imperial society lived in the inner circle composed of the ruler, his immediate family, other relatives, and close allies, who formed a dynastic core. Outside the core, empire travelled stringy routes dotted with armed cities. Outside the palace, in the capital cities, the highest ranks in the imperial elite were held by military commanders whose active loyalty and success in war determi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tishyaraksha
Tishyaraksha or Tissarakkhā (c. 3rd century BCE) was the last wife of the third Mauryan emperor, Ashoka. According to the ''Ashokavadana'', she was responsible for blinding Ashoka's son and heir presumptive Kunala. She married Ashoka four years before his death. She was very jealous of the attention paid by Ashoka to the Bodhi-tree, and caused it to be killed by means of poisonous thorns. Early life It is believed that Tishyaraksha was possibly born in Gandhara region and was a favourite maid of Ashoka's chief queen, Asandhimitra, and after her mistress died, she went to Pataliputra becoming a great dancer and charmed Ashoka with her dance and beauty. Later, she became his concubine and during the later life of Ashoka she took care of his health as well. Kunala It is also believed that due to the age difference between her and Ashoka, she was attracted towards Kunala, a son of Ashoka who was religious in nature. Kunala regarded Tishyaraksha as his mother due to her place in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devi (wife Of Ashoka)
Maharani Devi (full name: Vedisa-Mahadevi Sakyakumari) was, according to the Sri Lankan chronicles, the first wife and Queen of the third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka The Great. She was also the mother of Ashoka's first two children—his son, Mahendra, and daughter, Sanghamitra—both of whom played important roles in the spread of Buddhism to other countries. She is also remembered for the Sanchi Stupa. Origin According to the Ceylonese chronicles, Ashoka's first wife was the daughter of a merchant of Vedisagiri (present-day Vidisha), Devi by name, whom Ashoka had married while he was Viceroy at Ujjain. The ''Mahabodhivamsa'' (a Ceylonese source) calls her Vedisa-Mahadevi and a Sakyani or a Sakyakumari as being the daughter of a clan of the Shakyas who had immigrated to ''Vedisa nagaram'' out of fear of Vidudabha menacing their mother country. This would make her a relative of the Buddha's family or clan, as he also belonged to a clan of the Shakyas. Marriage Devi and Ashoka sh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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