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Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka, and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was Emperor of Magadha from c. 268 BCE until his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynasty. 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.
Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor of Magadha in Ancient India. The ancient Greco-Roman writers called him Amitrochates, a name likely derived from his Sanskrit title Amitraghāta.
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia based in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The empire was centralized by the conquest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain; its capital city was located at Pataliputra. Outside this imperial centre, the empire's geographical extent was dependent on the loyalty of military commanders who controlled the armed cities scattered within it. During Ashoka's rule, the empire briefly controlled the major urban hubs and arteries of the subcontinent excepting the deep south. It declined for about 50 years after Ashoka's rule, and dissolved in 185 BCE with the assassination of Brihadratha by Pushyamitra Shunga and foundation of the Shunga dynasty in Magadha.
Pushyamitra Shunga or Pushpamitra Shunga was the founder and the first ruler of the Shunga Empire which he established to succeed the Maurya Empire. His original name was Puṣpaka or Puṣpamitra and the confusion between Puṣyamitra and Puṣpamitra arose because of the erroneous readings of 'p' and 'y' in the manuscripts.
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 ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the expression Dhaṃma Lipi to describe his own Edicts. These inscriptions were dispersed throughout the areas of modern-day India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and provide the first tangible evidence of Buddhism. The edicts describe in detail Ashoka's policy 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.
Brihadratha was the 9th and last Emperor of the Mauryan Dynasty. He ruled from 187 to 185 BCE, when he was overthrown and assassinated by his General, Pushyamitra Shunga, who went on to establish the Shunga Empire. The Mauryan territories, centred on the capital of Pataliputra, had shrunk considerably from the time of Ashoka to when Brihadratha came to the throne.
Kaurvaki was the "Second Queen Consort" of the third Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka The Great. She was Ashoka's fourth wife and 2nd queen consort. She was the mother of Ashoka's fourth son, Prince Tivala.
Kunala was the Crown Prince and second son of 3rd Mauryan Emperor Ashoka and Empress 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.
Tishyaraksha or Tissarakkhā was the fifth and 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 was very jealous of the attention paid by Ashoka to the Bodhi-tree, and caused it to be killed by means of poisonous thorns.
The Ashokavadana is an Indian Sanskrit-language text that describes the birth and reign of the third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. It glorifies Ashoka as a Buddhist emperor whose only ambition was to spread Buddhism far and wide.
Susima was the crown prince of the Maurya Empire of ancient India and the eldest son and heir-apparent of the second Mauryan emperor Bindusara. He was next in line for his father's throne, but was defeated in a succession conflict by his younger half-brother, Ashoka, who eventually succeeded Bindusara as the third Mauryan emperor.
The Major Rock Edicts of Indian Emperor Ashoka refer to 14 separate major Edicts of Ashoka which are significantly detailed and represent some of the earliest dated rock inscriptions of any Indian monarch. These edicts are preceded chronologically by the Minor Rock Edicts.
Aparanta, or Aparantaka was a geographical region of ancient India. It corresponded to the northern part of the Konkan region on the western coast of India. English civil servant-turned-historian J. F. Fleet believed that the Aparanta region included Kathiawad, Kutch, and Sindh, beside Konkan. However, historical records make it clear that the extent of Aparanta was much smaller.
Vitashoka or Tissa was a prince of the Maurya Empire as the only full-brother of Ashoka, and the only brother left alive by Ashoka. According to Divyavadana, he was a follower of Jainism and used to criticize the Buddhist monks for living a comfortable life. He was made to sit on the throne by the courtiers. When Ashoka found out about that, he persuaded Vitashoka to become a Buddhist.
Dhamma is a set of edicts that formed a policy of the 3rd Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great, who succeeded to the Mauryan throne in modern-day India around 269 B.C.E. Ashoka is considered one of the greatest kings of ancient India for his policies of public welfare.
Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat is a 2015 Indian historical drama TV series that aired on Colors TV from 2 February 2015 to 7 October 2016. The show was created and written by author and screenwriter Ashok Banker. It stars Mohit Raina as Ashoka with Siddharth Nigam portraying the young version of the character.
Jalauka was, according to the 12th century Kashmiri chronicle, the Rajatarangini, a King of Kashmir, who cleared the valley of oppressing Mleccha. Jaluka was reputed to have been an active and vigorous king of Kashmir, who expelled certain intrusive foreigners, and conquered the plains as far as Kannauj. Jalauka was devoted to the worship of the Hindu god Shiva and the Divine Mothers, in whose honour he and his queen, Isana-devi, erected many temples in places which can be identified.Ashoka’s death his mighty empire had fragmented into as many as four or five regional kingdoms each ruled by his sons or grandsons, among them Jalauka in Kashmir, who reversed his father’s policies in favour of Shaivism and led a successful campaign against the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, themselves seeking to take advantage of the power vacuum in north-west India to reclaim Taxila.
The Minor Pillar Edicts of Indian Emperor Ashoka refer to 4 separate minor Edicts of Ashoka inscribed on columns(Pillars of Ashoka) at 5 locations which are among the earliest dated inscriptions of any Indian monarch. A full English translation of the Edicts was published by Romila Thapar.
King Ashoka, of the Gonandiya dynasty, was a king of the region of Kashmir according to Kalhana, the 12th century CE historian who wrote the Rajatarangini.
Asandhamitra was an empress and 1st chief consort of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. She was Ashoka's second wife and first empress consort
References
- ↑ Nayanjot Lahiri 2015, p. 26.
- 1 2 Ananda W. P. Guruge 1993, p. 19.
- 1 2 3 Radhakumud Mookerji 1962, p. 2.
- ↑ Joel Tatelman 2013, pp. 8–10.
- ↑ Upinder Singh 2008, p. 332.
- ↑ Nayanjot Lahiri 2015, p. 323"In the Ashokavadana, Ashoka's mother is not named."
- ↑ Ananda W. P. Guruge 1993, p. 29: "Asoka's mother (that is, the unnamed Brahman girl of exquisite beauty from Campā )"
- ↑ John S. Strong 1989, pp. 204–205.
- 1 2 3 Romila Thapar 1961, p. 26.
- ↑ Romila Thapar 1961, p. 20.
- ↑ John S. Strong 1989, p. 204.
- ↑ Nayanjot Lahiri 2015, pp. 31–32.
- 1 2 John S. Strong 1989, p. 205.
- 1 2 Nayanjot Lahiri 2015, p. 37.
- ↑ John S. Strong 1989, pp. 206–27.
- ↑ Nayanjot Lahiri 2015, p. 34.
- ↑ Playing onscreen mother was a challenge: Pallavi Subhash, IBN Live, 31 January 2015, archived from the original on 2 February 2015
Bibliography
- Ananda W. P. Guruge (1993). Aśoka, the Righteous: A Definitive Biography. Central Cultural Fund. ISBN 978-955-9226-00-0.
- Joel Tatelman (2013). The Glorious Deeds of Purna: A Translation and Study of the Purnavadana. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781136814938.
- John S. Strong (1989). The Legend of King Aśoka: A Study and Translation of the Aśokāvadāna. Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0616-0 . Retrieved 30 October 2012.
- Nayanjot Lahiri (2015). Ashoka in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-05777-7.
- Radhakumud Mookerji (1962). Aśoka (3rd revised ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 978-81-208-0582-8.
- Romila Thapar (1961). Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. Oxford University Press. OCLC 736554.
- Upinder Singh (2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0.