Ashoka the Great:
The Emperor Who Chose Compassion Over Conquest
In 261 BCE, Ashoka Maurya fought the Battle of Kalinga. His forces killed approximately 100,000 people, deported another 150,000, and won decisively. Then he stood on the battlefield, looked at what he had done, and decided he would never fight a war of conquest again.
What followed was one of the most extraordinary transformations in political history. The emperor who had built the Maurya Empire into one of the largest in the ancient world — stretching from Afghanistan to Bangladesh — spent the remaining 35 years of his reign spreading the Dhamma: non-violence, compassion, religious tolerance, and welfare for all living beings.
We know this not from hagiography but from his own words — carved in stone across his empire in multiple languages. The Ashokan edicts are the oldest surviving Indian royal inscriptions and the most direct record of any ancient Indian ruler's thinking.
Ashoka's Edicts — His Words, Carved in Stone
"Medical treatment was established for humans and animals. Where medicinal herbs and roots were not available, they were imported and planted. Wells were dug and trees planted on roads for the use of animals and men."
The first state-funded animal hospitals and road infrastructure in recorded history.
"After the Kalinga conquest, Beloved-of-the-Gods came to feel a strong inclination towards the Dhamma. Now Beloved-of-the-Gods feels deep remorse for having conquered Kalinga. Indeed, Beloved-of-the-Gods is deeply pained by the killing, dying, and deportation that take place when an unconquered country is conquered."
The most remarkable public confession of remorse by any ruler in the ancient world.
"All religions deserve reverence for one reason or another. By thus acting, a man exalts his own religion and at the same time does service to the religions of others."
Written in 240 BCE. A formal state policy of religious tolerance.
What Ashoka Built
• Hospitals for humans and animals across the empire — the earliest state-funded medical system
• Trees planted along roads every half-kilometre for shade and fruit
• Wells dug along every road for travellers
• Rest houses built along major routes
• Buddhist monasteries and stupas across India, Sri Lanka, and Central Asia
• The Dhamma Mahāmātras — officers appointed specifically to ensure the welfare of all religions
Source: Ashokan Edicts (Rock Edicts II, V, VII; Pillar Edicts I–VII) — translated by Ven. S. Dhammika, Buddhist Publication Society (1993)
Ashoka's Legacy in Modern India
India's national emblem is the Lion Capital of Ashoka — four Asiatic lions standing back to back, originally atop an Ashokan pillar at Sarnath. The Ashoka Chakra — the 24-spoked wheel on the Indian flag — comes from the same pillar.
H.G. Wells wrote in The Outline of History (1920): "Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history, the name of Ashoka shines, and shines almost alone, a star."
Sources
- • Ashokan Edicts, translated by Ven. S. Dhammika, Buddhist Publication Society (1993)
- • Romila Thapar, Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas, Oxford University Press (1961)
- • H.G. Wells, The Outline of History, Cassell (1920)
- • Archaeological Survey of India — Ashokan Pillar documentation
ॐ
Start learning Sanskrit — free, forever
Stories from the Rāmāyaṇa, Mahābhārata, and Bhagavad Gītā. Grammar, shlokas, etymology. 10 minutes a day. No sign-up needed to begin.
Free · No credit card · Works on mobile