ASHOKA – THE EMPEROR

WHO GAVE UP WAR

CLASS -6
HISTORY
LESSON -7
LEARNING OUTCOMES
• After this lesson, students will be able to understand : 
• Expansion of an empire
• Ashoka
• Political administration
• Describe Asoka's rise to power 
• Explain the events of Asoka's life before and after his transformation 
• Discuss how Asoka's conversion to Buddhism impacted the faith and the
Mauryan Empire 
•Dateline
•320 BCE: Chandragupta
Maurya finds the Mauryan
Empire
•304 BCE: Ashoka is born
•262 BCE: Kalinga War takes
place
•232 BCE: Death of Ashoka
Ashoka's Empire
•The Mauryan empire was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 320 BCE, under
the aegis of Chanakya (also known as Kautilya and the author of Arthashastra,
India's greatest book on public administration). Chandragupta defeated the Nanda
king Dhanananda and then unified the Indian sub-continent into a single empire.
•He was succeeded by his son Bindusara, and after Bindusara came one of the
greatest kings to rule India, Ashoka the Great. 
•There were many cities in his empire, including the capital Pataliputra (modern-day
Patna), Ujjain, Taxila, Kandahar, etc. Taxila was on the north-western border of
the empire, while Ujjain was the gateway from the south to the north. These
were highly developed cities, and merchants and government officials lived there.
•Smaller towns and villages were populated by farmers, traders, and herdsmen, and
in the forest regions, tribals lived on hunting and gathering.
•People across the empire spoke different languages, wore different clothes, and ate
different kinds of food.
 EMPIRE AND KINGDOM
Meaning of Ashoka –

The meaning of Ashoka in Sanskrit is 'without sorrow'.

When many kingdoms come together as a republic or are unified in war by a king,

the result is an empire.
And just as kingdoms are ruled by kings, empires are ruled by emperors.

But an emperor is far superior to a king. So an empire may have many

kings but only one emperor.

As empires are larger in size, they need large armies to protect their

people and assure smooth administration.
ASHOKA THE KING -
• Ashoka tried to spread his message among his people through
inscriptions written in Prakrit, using the Brahmi script.
• Ashoka declared war against Kalinga (modern-day coastal
Orissa). But the aftermath was so horrifying that
Ashoka decided to give up fighting.
• He is the only king who gave up conquest after winning a war.
Mauryan Administration

•The area around Pataliputra was directly under the rule of the emperor, and officials were appointed to collect

taxes from merchants, farmers, and herdsmen in the towns and villages.

•Officials were paid salaries and their job was to see to it that the laws of the state are followed. 

•Messengers and spies always kept a watch on those officials, and everyone was ultimately under the watchful

eye of the emperor.

•Other major cities were called provinces, and they were administered by governors who were

mostly members of the royal family.

•Mauryans also controlled the trade routes between all these cities, and taxes and tributes were collected

regularly.

•According to the Arthashastra, the north west was famous for blankets, and the south for gold and gems.

These resources might also have been collected as tributes.

•Although forests were more or less independent, they had to pay tributes in the form of

elephants, honey, timber, and wax.
ASHOKA’S WAR IN KALINGA -

• Kalinga is the ancient name of coastal Orissa (see Map 5,

page 68). Ashoka fought a war to conquer Kalinga.
However, he was so horrified when he saw the violence
and bloodshed that he decided not to fight any more wars.
He is the only king in the history of the world who gave up
conquest after winning a war.
ASHOKA DHAMMA -
•Ashoka's dhamma (way of life) did not involve any worship to god or sacrifices, and he thought
that his duty towards his subjects was like that of a father towards his son.
•There were many challenges in his empire, such as people followed different religions, animals were
sacrificed, slaves and servants were ill-treated, there were quarrels between families and
neighbours, and Ashoka worked hard to manage them.
•He appointed officials called Dhamma Mahamatta who travelled and spread Ashoka's dhamma,
and sent messengers to different countries such as Egypt, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Greece to spread his
dhamma.
•Ashoka also got his message inscribed on rocks and pillars, out of which his 13 rock edicts are the
most famous.
•This lesson wants to teach us about...

•The main difference between a kingdom and an empire is that an empire is...

•Ashoka gave up war, because...

•People living in forests were more independent than people living in towns,
because...

•Chandragupta was always afraid that someone will kill him, because...
•Differences between tributes and taxes are...

•Ashoka spread Buddhist ideals, because...

•Ashoka declared war against Kalinga, because...