Ashoka: The Most Famous King of the Mauryan Empire

567 Words2 Pages

Religion in the world today serves as a unifying force to help people unite and come together. One such example of how religion unifies a society is through Ashoka and his unification of the Mauryan Empire through Buddhism. Although the Mauryan dynasty was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 320 BC, the most famous king of the Mauryan empire was Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. After he fought a brutal war and conquered Kalinga, which left over 100,000 dead, he had a revelation and converted to Buddhism (Violatti, “Ashoka”).

Ashoka converted to Buddhism after he experienced a bloody war in Kalinga, and wanted to purify himself. He then became Buddhist and wanted his empire to follow his lead of living a life of purity, moral values, and nonviolence. Ashoka proceeded to send missionaries, people sent on a religion mission, around to spread Buddhism around India and to Sri Lanka. Missionaries that Ashoka sent to Sri Lanka included his son, Mahinda, and some of his close friends (Sen, “Ashoka and His Empire”). This spreading of Buddhism by missionaries serves as a way to un...

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