Prologue continues.....

Emperors and kings came forward to accept this new and dynamic religion.

Of all the emperors who embraced and propagated Buddhism, Ashoka’s name shines the brightest. Ashoka was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, who established the Mauryan dynasty.

After the Kalinga war, which caused the death of hundreds of thousands of people, Ashoka underwent a change of heart. He won the war but the widespread destruction it caused evoked great remorse in him. He vowed never to wage war again. This sense of remorse and vow not to fight another war provide the brightest context in the history of empires in the world. Ashoka instantly turned to Buddhism, the religion of love and compassion. He decided to spread the teachings of Buddha during the remaining period of his life.

Ashoka is one of the greatest rulers of all times. He is ‘devanampiya’, meaning ‘dear to the gods’. He established ‘dhamma’ (Buddhist version of 'dharma’) and through his edicts exhorted the people to lead a life of righteousness. Buddhism gave him a new moral vision that he laid before his people through edicts. He understood the deeper dimensions of his duty as a ruler and used the power of the State to make the people’s life joyous.

Planting trees along the roads and digging wells by the roadside may look very ordinary administrative measures in modern times. Yet, these were the actions of a compassionate, sensitive and solicitous ruler who made public welfare central to the act and philosophy of governance. His insistence on being accessible to the people at any time of the day or night is unthinkable to modern democratic rulers. About 2,300 years ago, Ashoka the emperor set an example for transparency and accessibility for the whole tribe of rulers at all times which is yet to be emulated by democratic rulers.

That is why Ashoka stands tall, unmatched and unsurpassed.Buddhism spread to the whole country and beyond. Royal patronageplayed a significant role in it. Slowly, Buddhism replaced Hinduism as the dominant religion of India and it remained so for a few centuries.

To be continued....