-Explore national symbols and their meanings
-Understand the significance of Emperor's Ashola's reign
-Learn about Buddhism and non-violence
-Prompt discussion about religion and government
Edicts Of Ashoka from the PBS series 'Story of India'
Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi from UNESCO
-What was happening in other parts of the world such as Greece and China when the Mauryan Empire was at its peak under Emperor Ashoka is the 3rd century BCE?
-Create your own edicts. Where would you place them and what would they say?
Ashoka
Keywords: Emperor Ashoka, national symbols, Buddhism, edicts, Maurya, Mauryan Empire, Brahmi Script, dhamma, dharma, Jataka tales, world history, giant empires, religion, non-violence, religion and governement, social justice, human rights
Emperor Ashoka (302-232 BCE) was the third king of the Maurya Dynasty. He ruled a truly massive kingdom that stretched from the Hindu Kush to the Bay of Bengal. It was India's first great empire. It is not just that Ashoka ably ruled this huge empire but the quality of social justice that he brought to his already strong administration.
Remorseful after his bloody campaign and conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka embraced Buddhism. Thereafter reverence for life, tolerance, compassion and peaceful co-existance were the cornerstones of his administration. Under him the earliest know bans on slavery and capital punishment as well as environmental regulations came into place.
"Mama, what is this animal on the rupee note that Dada gave me?"
See this picture: It is a carving of four lions and the pictures we see on the currencly notes are based on it.
The lions, like the ones above, that we see on the notes and coins have a long history. The picture on the left is the actual stone carving on which the National Emblem is based. It is called the ‘Lion Capital’ and originally it rested on top of a tall pillar. It was built in the third century BCE by Emperor Ashoka at Sarnath, near modern day Varanasi, to mark the spot where the Buddha gave his first sermon.
This is the National Emblem of India and the moto ‘Satyameva Jayate’ below the emblem in Devanagri script means ‘truth alone triumphs’.
The wheel from the circular base, the ‘Ashoka Chakra’, today is part of the national flag of the Republic of India.
So now we are left with many questions:
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What does the National Emblem stand for? What does the Ashoka Chakra signify?
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How do we know about Emperor Ashoka?
- Where are Ashoka's rock edicts and pillars?
- Where are Ashoka's rock edicts and pillars?
Updated March 2011