Ashoka, the famous Mauryan emperor, ruled a major part of the Indian sub-

continent in the third century before the Common Era. His conquests were only
rivalled much later by those of the imperial Mughals and the British Indian
Empire. However, the nature of his rule, as reflected in the orders issued by him,
surviving as Ashoka’s Edicts all over India, paint him as an unusually humane
ruler who strived for peace and equality amongst his subjects.

Though Ashoka’s earlier trysts with power were full of violence and hatred against
his opponents, his later trajectory of self-reformation from a blood-thirsty tyrant to
a compassionate ruler is studded with inspiration for modern Indians. Certain new
age truths find resonance in Ashoka’s life defying the double score of centuries
lying between him and us.

Self-reformation

The first truth emerging from Ashoka’s tale is the ability to transform one’s self
from bad to good, and good to better, by self-introspection. Had Ashoka not
introspected on his past doings, he would have never thought of reforming his
nature. The introspection included meditating on his faults and mending his ways
with drastic changes in his reaction to the same circumstances. Thus, while he
earlier preached war, the reformed Ashoka believed in peaceful communication.

Effective communication

The second major learning from Ashoka’s life is the use of latest communication
tools to express one’s thoughts, forcefully and effectively, an idea which would
certainly appeal to a generation hooked to social media. Ashoka’s Edicts were
etched not only in Brahmi, the chief script of his empire, but also in Aramaic (an
ancient Persian script), in Greek and in Kharosthi, the local script of North-West
India. By translating his message of peace in these many scripts and languages,
Ashoka managed to reach out to as many people as possible not only from his own
empire but also the foreign emissaries of Greek and Persian Empires.

Foreign policy
One cannot dismiss Ashoka’s smart use of foreign policy to ensure peace on
borders as he named five contemporary Greek rulers with whom he maintained
contact after his conquest of Kalinga. Ashoka seems to be the first Indian ruler to
make such international treaties to ensure peace through negotiation. Ashoka’s
peaceful relations with neighbours were most certainly an inspiration for India’s
first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, also the country’s first External Affairs
Minister, in formulating peaceful ties based on negotiation with our neighbouring
countries.

Conservation of wildlife

Ashoka’s policy of protection of animals from unwanted sacrifices began the

movement towards making vegetarianism an integral part of Indian life as the
major precepts of Buddhist (originally Jain) thought found their way into
mainstream lifestyles. Seen from the viewpoint of animal rights, Ashoka’s policy
makes eminent sense both in its appeal for compassionate treatment of
domesticated animals and conservation of wildlife in the world.

Equal law

Another striking feature of Ashoka’s four-decade long rule was the setting up of
one of the first welfare states in the ancient world with equal laws and punishments
for all its subjects. The emperor took an almost paternal interest in the welfare of
his populace, spending state funds on developing/improving water reservoirs
(Junagadh’s Girnar city had a dam built by Ashoka’s grandfather, Chandragupta
Maurya, which was expanded with additions of canals through Ashoka’s ‘Yavana’
Greek governor), highways lined with shade trees, frequent wells, orchards and
public guest houses for travellers.

A tolerant leader

Last but not least, Ashoka stands out as a beacon of tolerance to other ‘faiths’ or
divergent views in a period where heterodox faiths like Buddhism, Jainism and an
extinct faith, Ajivikas, rose to claim new followers. His sage advice of tolerance
comes out in an edict where he proclaims, “All sects deserve reverence for one
reason or another. By thus acting, a man not only exalts his own sect but also does
service to the sects of other people and humanity in general.” In an echo of the
current debate on Free Speech and tolerance, he further states, “The Beloved of
Gods (Devanampiya) considers the control of one’s speech, so as to not extol one’s
sect or disparage another on unsuitable (social) occasions, to be the basis of
concord in the society. Concord is to be commended so that men may hear one
another’s principles.” It is thus with good reason that the Indian Republic chose
Ashoka’s Lion Capital at Sarnath as its state emblem to reflect the same harmony
achieved by this great ruler in the remotest period of Indian History and effect a
continuity with his humane policies towards the people of the modern Indian
nation