Clues from the Edicts of King Ashoka History Assignment - 550 Words

Clues from the Edicts of King Ashoka History Assignment (Essay Sample) Content: Clues from the Edicts of King Ashoka(Authors Name)(Course Name No)(Date of Submission)Clues from the Edicts of King AshokaAlthough many Buddhist writings seem to have a total legend of King Ashoka, the account of a remorseless and savage lord who changed over to Buddhism and later set up a rule of righteousness, conclusive chronicled records of his time remains deficient. Many scholars in the historical literature regard King Ashoka, the third ruler of the Indian Mauryan Empire, as one of the most outstanding monarchs in world history. Ashoka ruled between 268 BCE and 232 BCE; a period which saw him became the model of the monarchy in theBuddhistculture. Under Ashoka the Great, Indias human population rose up to 30 million people; a figure significantly higher than any other the existingHellenistickingdoms.During his times, Ashoka advocated for some specific elements and practices that guided and enabled him to control the Mauryan Empire in a competent but cruel mann er. Key amongst these were the aspects of unity, respect for each other, security, peaceful coexistence, and policy abiding actions to create a just and humane society.[PBS . The Story of India: The Power of Ideas. n.d. . Accessed September 19, 2017. /thestoryofindia/timeline/2/.] Ashoka applied military power to develop the empire. He drafted and implemented sadistic rules against criminals. Key amongst these were imprisonment and torture. Ashoka ordered that all prisoners found culpable of criminal offenses should face illusory and unimagined tortures and that nobody, regardless of their political statuses, should ever leave the penitentiary alive. Consequently, most criminals dreaded such terms, creating a state of order in the Kingdom.[Ibid1] The Dharma policy of Ashoka has always been paralleled to his changeover to Buddhism. Many scholars like Pradhanmantri credit him with the promotion of the doctrines of the Buddhist sect. According to Pradhanmantri, there existed diverse re ligious conceptions and practices in Mauryan Empire. However, the supporters of such sects as Ajivikism, Jainism, and Buddhism were held in disdain by the Brahmanas sect, who could hardly tolerate other religions. Conflicts between these religious factions then made it hard for the ruler (Ashoka) to ensure peaceful coexistence within the society. Another factor which fueled this state of affairs was the presence of a huge population of foreigners in the northwestern region of the Kingdom. Certainly, maintaining order and creating unity in such a diversely composed society is not an easy task to roll. This explains why King Ashoka chose to use Edicts.[Pradhanmantri. The Story of India: The Power of Ideas. YouTube. December 20, 2013. Accessed September 19, 2017. /watch?v=63Jw0Ky6ZpQ.] Given the state of affairs in the Kingdom, Ashokas only available option was to unify all his subjects through a shared set of beliefs and practices. Unity was the only way to reform the Kingdom. Reasona bly, it was against this conception that Ashoka adopted the Dharma policy to eliminate not only sectarian conflicts but also social tension. Dharma was neither a new political philo...