Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ASHOKA: AN ENLIGHTENED EMPEROR
Apart from the Mughals and then the British many centuries later, no other power controlled more Indian territory
than the Mauryan empire. It's therefore fitting that it provided India with one of its most significant historical fig-
ures.
Emperor Ashoka's rule was characterised by flourishing art and sculpture, while his reputation as a
philosopher-king was enhanced by the rock-hewn edicts he used both to instruct his people and to delineate the
enormous span of his territory.
Ashoka's reign also represented an undoubted historical high point for Buddhism: he embraced the religion in
269 BC, declaring it the state religion and cutting a radical swath through the spiritual and social body of Hin-
duism. The emperor also built thousands of stupas and monasteries across the region. Ashoka sent missions
abroad, and he is revered in Sri Lanka because he sent his son and daughter to carry Buddha's teaching to the is-
land.
The long shadow this emperor of the 3rd century BC still casts over India is evident from the fact that the cent-
ral design of the Indian national flag is the Ashoka Chakra, a wheel with 24 spokes. Ashoka's standard, which
topped many pillars, is also the seal of modern-day India (four lions sitting back-to-back atop an abacus decorated
with a frieze and the inscription 'truth alone triumphs') and its national emblem, chosen to reaffirm the ancient
commitment to peace and goodwill.
