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.
According to semi-legendary narratives, preserved in various variants, Chanakya assisted the first Mauryan emperor Chandragupta in his rise to power and the establishment of the Maurya Empire. According to these narratives, Chanakya served as the chief advisor and Prime Minister of the both emperors Chandragupta Maurya and his son Bindusara.
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 with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sources for the written records of the Mauryan times are partial records of the lost history of Megasthenes in Roman texts of several centuries later, the Edicts of Ashoka, which were first read in the modern era by James Prinsep after he had deciphered the Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts in 1838, and the Arthashastra, a work first discovered in the early 20th century, and previously attributed to Chanakya, but now thought to be composed by multiple authors in the first centuries of the common era.
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.
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 Emperor of Magadha. 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 Mauryan emperor to have issued imperial inscriptions—thus the last Mauryan emperor to be known from epigraphical sources.
As̅oka is a 2001 Indian Hindi-language epic historical drama film directed and co-written by Santosh Sivan. It is a dramatized version of the early life of emperor Ashoka, of the Maurya Empire, who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent in the 3rd century BCE. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan as the titular character alongside Kareena Kapoor, Rahul Dev, Danny Denzongpa, Hrishitaa Bhatt with Ajith Kumar in a special appearance. It was produced by Gauri Khan, Juhi Chawla and Radhika Sangoi. The screenplay was written by Santosh Sivan and Saket Chaudhary and the dialogue by Abbas Tyrewala. It was originally released as Ashoka: The Great in India.
Samprati was the 5th Emperor of the Maurya Empire. He was the grandson of 3rd Mauryan Emperor Ashoka and the son of Kunala.He succeeded his cousin, 4th Mauryan Emperor Dasharatha, as emperor of the Maurya Empire. According to Jain tradition he built 1,50,000 Jain derasars and made 1,50,00,000 Jain idols. He was also believed to have taken an oath to dig the foundation of a new Jinalaya every day and would not do navakrashi (breakfast) until it was completed.
Kunala was the Crown Prince and second son of 3rd Mauryan 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.
The History of Bihar is one of the most varied in India. Bihar consists of three distinct regions, each has its own distinct history and culture. They are Magadha, Mithila and Bhojpur.Chirand, on the northern bank of the Ganga River, in Saran district, has an archaeological record dating from the Neolithic age. Regions of Bihar—such as Magadha, Mithila and Anga—are mentioned in religious texts and epics of ancient India. Mithila is believed to be the centre of Indian power in the Later Vedic period. Mithila first gained prominence after the establishment of the ancient Videha Kingdom. The kings of the Videha were called Janakas. A daughter of one of the Janaks of Mithila, Sita, is mentioned as consort of Lord Rama in the Hindu epic Ramayana. The kingdom later became incorporated into the Vajjika League which had its capital in the city of Vaishali, which is also in Mithila.
A chakravarti is an ideal universal ruler, in the history, and religion of India. The concept is present in Indian subcontinent cultural traditions, narrative myths and lore. There are three types of chakravarti: chakravala chakravarti, an emperor who rules over all four of the continents ; dvipa chakravarti, a ruler who governs only one of those continents; and pradesha chakravarti, a monarch who leads the people of only a part of a continent, the equivalent of a local king. Dvipa chakravarti is particularly one who rules the entire Indian subcontinent. The first references to a Chakravala Chakravartin appear in monuments from the time of the early Maurya Empire, in the 4th to 3rd century BCE, in reference to Chandragupta Maurya and his grandson Emperor Ashoka.
Pataliputra, adjacent to modern-day Patna, Bihar, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE, as a small fort near the Ganges river. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at the confluence of two rivers, the Son and the Ganges. He shifted his capital from Rajgriha to Pataliputra due to the latter's central location in the empire.
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.
Ashok Kumar is a 1941 Indian Tamil-language historical drama film directed by Raja Chandrasekhar. Based on a legend involving the Mauryan emperor Ashoka The Great, his son Kunala and Ashoka's second wife Thishyarakshai, it stars M. K. Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Chittoor V. Nagayya and P. Kannamba. The film was released on 17 September 1941.
Chandragupta is a board wargame designed by Stephen R. Welch and released in 2008 by GMT Games as part of the Great Battles of History (GBoH) series of games on ancient warfare. Chandragupta simulates battles fought by the Mauryan Dynasty in ancient India, and in so doing, attempts to illuminate the features, challenges, and unique attributes of the Indian military system and culture during this period.
Maharani Devi was, according to the Sri Lankan chronicles, the first wife of the third Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. 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.
Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat is a 2015 Indian historical drama TV series that aired on Colors TV from 2 February 2015 to 7 October 2016. with Siddharth Nigam portraying the young version of the character.
The information about the mother of Ashoka, 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 do not name his mother. The Asokavadanamala names her Subhadrangi, while Vamsatthapakasini calls her Dharma. Different texts variously describe her as a Brahmin or a Kshatriya.
Chandra Nandini is an Indian Hindi-language historical drama television series that aired on StarPlus from 10 October 2016 until 10 November 2017. It was produced by Ekta Kapoor under her banner Balaji Telefilms and directed by Ranjan Kumar Singh. Starring Rajat Tokas as Chandragupta Maurya and Shweta Basu Prasad as a princess Nandni, the story is loosely based on the life of Chandragupta Maurya.
Chandragupta Maurya is an Indian historical television show that aired on Sony TV from 14 November 2018 to 30 August 2019. Written by Raj Routh, the show is based on the life of Chandragupta Maurya, the first Mauryan emperor and founder of the Maurya Empire. The show is produced by Siddharth Kumar Tewary's One Life Studios.
