Transcript Slide 1

ASHOKA
THE EMPEROR WHO GAVE UP THE WAR
Done by : ANNATH
ROSHNI
TGT (SST)
THE LION CAPITAL
The lions that we see on our notes and
coins have a long history. They
were carved in stone, and placed on top of
a massive stone pillar at Sarnath.
Asoka was one of the greatest rulers known
to history and on his instructions
inscriptions were carved on pillars, as well
as on rock surfaces.
THE LION CAPITAL
The empire that Asoka ruled was founded
by his grandfather, Chandragupta
Maurya, more than 2300 years ago.
Chandragupta was supported by a wise
man named Chanakya or Kautilya.
Many of Chanakya’s ideas were written
down in a book called the Arthashastra
When members of the same family become rulers one after another,
the family is often called a dynasty. The Mauryas were a dynasty with
three important rulers — Chandragupta, his son Bindusara, and
Bindusara’s son, Ashoka.
Ashoka was born to
the Mauryan emperor Bindusara and a
relatively lower ranked wife of his,
Dharmā [or Dhammā]. He was the
grandson of Chandragupta Maurya,
founder of Mauryan dynasty.
Empress Subhadrangī was a Brahmin of
the Ajivika sect, and was found to be a
suitable match for Emperor Bindusara.
Though a palace intrigue kept her away
from the emperor, this eventually ended,
and she bore a son.
It is from her exclamation "I am now without
sorrow," that Ashoka got his name.
Ashoka had several elder siblings, all of
whom were his half-brothers from other
wives of Bindusara.
The Divyāvadāna tells a similar story, but
gives the name of the queen as
Janapadakalyānī
The Ashokavadana states that his
mother was an queen named
Subhadrangī, the daughter of
Champa of Telangana.
He had been given the royal military
training knowledge which was greatly
apparent as he was known as a fearsome
hunter, and according to a legend, killed
a lion with just a wooden rod. He was
very adventurous and a trained fighter,
who was known for his skills with the
sword. Because of his reputation as a
frightening warrior and a heartless
general, he was sent to curb the riots in
the Avanti province of the Mauryan
empire.
The Ashoka Chakra is
a depiction of the
Buddhist Dharmachak
ra, represented with
24 spokes. It is so
called
because
it
appears on a number
of edicts of Ashoka,
most
prominent
among
which
is
the Lion Capital of
Sarnath.
ASHOKA IN BUDDHISM
Around the year 260 Ashoka
fought great battles and imposed
his rule on people southward
along the eastern coast of India –
an area called Kalinga. The
sufferings created by the war
disturbed Ashoka. He found relief
in Buddhism and became an
emperor with values that differed
from those of his father,
grandfather
and
others.
Buddhism benefited from the
association with state power that
Hinduism had enjoyed – and that
Christianity would enjoy under
Constantine the Great.
KALINGA WAR
Kalinga War was a war fought between the Maurya
Empire under Ashoka the Great and the state
of Kalinga, a feudal republic located on the coast of
the present-day Indian state of Orissa and nothern
parts of Andhra pradesh.The Kalinga city is capital
of Kalinga kingdom, it is situated in present day
Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh. . The Kalinga war, the
only major war Ashoka fought after his accession to
throne, is one of the major and bloodiest battles in
the history of World. Kalinga put up a stiff
resistance, but they were no match for Ashoka's
brutal strength. The bloodshed of this war is said to
have prompted Ashoka to adopt Buddhism.
However, he retained Kalinga after its conquest and
incorporated into the Maurya Empire.
Q
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S
T
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Q. 1. What do you mean by an empire ?
Ans. Large kingdom where different types of people live in different
parts of the kingdom is known as empire.
Q. 2. What are provinces ?
Ans. Big cities of an empire. Empires were divided into provinces to
administer them efficiently.
Q. 3. Who wrote Arthashastra ?
Ans. Chanakya wrote Arthashastra
Q. 4. What was important about South India during Mauryan period ?
Ans. South India was important for its gold and precious stones.
Q. 5. Who was Megasthenes ?
Ans. Megasthenes was an ambassador who was sent to the court of
Chandragupta by the Greek ruler Selcucur Nicator.
Q. 6. Which language and script was used for Ashoka’s inscriptions ?
Ans. Ashoka’s inscriptions were in Prakrit and were written in the
Brahim script.
Q
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T
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Q. 1. Explain the term tribute.
Ans. Tributes were the payments that was not collected regularly but at
the times when it was possible tribute could be in the form of a variety
of things.
Q. 2. Why Ashoka gave up wars ?
Ans. Ashoka had fought a famous war called Kalinga. Although he had
won the war but the violence and bloodshed of the war made him
restless. So he decided to give up wars.
Q. 3. What was Ashoka’s dhamma ?
Ans. Ashoka’s dhamma was not a new religion. Ashoka was inspired by
the teaching of Buddha and his dhamma contained mostly the teaching
of Buddhism. He considered it was his duty to solve the problems of his
subjects by instructing them. So he appointed dhamma mahamatta to
teach people about dhamma.
Q. 4. How are empires different from kingdoms ?
Ans. Emperors need more resources than kings because empires are
larger than kingdoms, and need to be protected by big armies.
Q
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Q.Who is the son of Chandragupta Maurya?
Ans. Bindusara
Q. Who is the son of Bindusara?
Ans. Ashoka
Q. Who followed Buddhism in the mauryan dynasty?
Ans. Ashoka
Q. Which war made Ashoka change in his life?
Ans. Kallinga War.
THANK YOU