AŠOKA (Pāli Ašoka). — Emperor of India, grandson of Candragupta, founder of the Maurya dynasty. He ascended the throne in 272 B.C., reigned until 233, and brought the Indian empire to its greatest extent through the conquest of the region of Kalinga. But, deeply anguished by the horrors of war, he converted to Buddhism, of which he was at first a lay adherent and later a monk. Throughout his life, in addition to spreading the doctrine of the Enlightened One, he devoted himself to rigorously applying its precepts both in himself and in each of his subjects. He adopted the name Piyadassi (Sanskrit Priyadariin, “the compassionate one”), the name by which he identified himself in the numerous edicts scattered throughout India, of which 34 are now known to us.
Public works, such as the planting of trees along the roads, the digging of wells and canals for irrigation, and the construction of shelters for travellers and hospitals; measures intended to form enlightened officials capable of properly attending to everything that could benefit the poor, the sick, and the elderly, to promote the welfare of their respective jurisdictions, and to mitigate and defer punishments for the spiritual good of the condemned; precepts of high morality, such as the imposition of obedience to parents and of a generous spirit toward one’s fellow human beings in their various social classes; the prohibition of animal sacrifice, with the consequent abolition of hunting expeditions, which he replaced with public pilgrimages; an exposition of the Buddha’s doctrine and an exaltation of important events in his life: all this, and more besides, known to us from the aforementioned edicts carved in rocks, columns, and caves, reveals the enlightened and beneficial work of the great Indian emperor.
To A. we owe the evidence concerning the Buddha’s birthplace (Rummindei), provided by an inscription on a column erected there and still existing, commemorating one of his pilgrimages to that locality.
Among his edicts, two are particularly worthy of mention: the 12th, in which he recommends the broadest spirit of tolerance toward every form of religion, and the 13th, in which he refers to the work he carried out to spread Buddhism throughout India and in the various countries beyond it (Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, Epirus, Cyrene), a task entrusted to the activity of missionaries.
A. built sanctuaries and cloisters and erected stūpa (monuments for the preservation of relics), particularly in places visited by the Buddha.
In 245 B.C., according to tradition, a council was held at Pāṭaliputta (Sanskrit Pāṭaliputra, modern Patna), the third after the Buddha’s death, convened by A. At this council, the canonical texts, after the doctrine had been purged of every heresy and brought back to the teachings of the “elders” (Pāli thera, Sanskrit sthavira), are said to have received their definitive codification.