| Of
the great conquering kings of the Maurya Empire, the only
one we know much about is Asoka, for it is in the reign
of Asoka that the first samples of Indian writing since
the fall of Harappa appear. Asoka kept careful records
of his edicts, so we have an excellent source for the
history of his reign.
He seems to have been forged from the same mold as his
illustrious fathers. Once he rose to the throne, he
began an aggressive campaign to conquer the remainder
of the subcontinent. The last major regions yet to be
conquered were the Dravidian regions in the far south
and the Kalinga in North India.
The conquest of Kalinga, which extended Mauryan rule
to its farthest boundaries, seems to have been a tremendous
shock to Asoka. War and conquest are always bloody and
cruel, and the experience of massive homicide is often
an experience that shakes people to their very souls.
Asoka was so troubled by the conquest that he underwent
a religious conversion. In the latter years of the Brahmanic
period, several religious movements arose in reaction
to the power and abuse of power by the Brahmans. The
most significant of these religious reactions was Buddhism,
which is discussed in more detail in the chapters on
the religious history of ancient India. Buddhism was
really much less of a religion and more of a philosophy--or,
better yet, a philosophical therapy. Its founder, Siddhartha
Guatama, the "Buddha," or "Awakened One,"
was the son of a noble who, when he first encountered
death and sickness, resolved to find a way to end human
suffering. After years of struggle and meditation, he
"awakened" to the truth of things: that all
human suffering is caused by human desire and that human
desire can be quenched when one understands the impermanence
of all things, including the self. Unlike Brahmanism,
Buddhism eschews elaborate rituals and magic; unlike
the Rig Veda, Buddhism advocates a non-striving, non-coercive
and meditative life.
The Buddhist way of life was a way out of Asoka's crisis.
He converted to Buddhism and strove to achieve the Buddhist
"middle way" between extremes. He became a
vegetarian, renounced all warfare, and attempted to
build a state based on Buddhist principles. First and
foremost, the state would strive for nonviolence, or
ahimsa; in place of violence, the state would rule by
"law" or "right" (dharma).
Asoka, of course, could not put all of these reforms
into practice. He found that some level of violence
and retribution was necessary and declared as much.
Although he made the laws less harsh, they still involved
physical punishment and, in some cases, execution. Still,
Asoka began a process of transformation in Indian society.
He represented first and foremost the possibility of
exemplifying religious idealism in a lived life rather
than in a merely formal position. Although he took the
vows of Buddhism and even joined the order, he chose
to remain active in the real world and exemplify his
religion in his actions as king. He also demanded religious
toleration; under Asoka, all competing religious systems
were allowed to co-exist peacefully. The stunning ability
of Indian culture to tolerate competing religions throughout
its history begins with Asoka. Finally, although he
could never really fully translate Buddhist ideals into
government, he began a process of cultural transformation
that would completely remake India. By the start of
the Gupta dynasty, the bulk of Indian society had become
vegetarian and no laws carried the death penalty.
His greatest achievement, however, was cultural. For
he was dedicated to his new religion and fervently patronized
its expansion. Under Asoka, Buddhist monks were sent
in every compass direction: to Burma, Tibet, Nepal,
Persia, Mesopotamia, Syria, and Israel. The eastern
evangelical missions were extremely successful; Buddhism
spread very quickly from Nepal and Burma into Tibet
and China where it was fervidly embraced. The western
missions, however, were less successful. However, Buddhism
left traces in Middle Eastern and even European culture.
For instance, one of the Catholic saints of the Middle
Ages and the Renaissance was Barlam, whose life is based
on that of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha. Not only
is this Catholic saint the Buddha, but one of the stories
of Barlam is the conversion of a cruel king, Iosaphat;
this king, in many ways, corresponds to Asoka, who is
presented as intolerant and cruel before his conversion
in the Indian epic, Asokavadana. So there is tantalizing
evidence that Buddhism has had some influence on Christianity,
though we are not quite sure to what extent.
Needless to say, the spread of Buddhism under Asoka
greatly influenced the religious history of Asia. Asoka's
conversion also produced the first written literature
in India; it was not Vedic literature but the Buddhist
scriptures that were first committed to writing. Finally,
Asoka's zeal in spreading Buddhism beyond the borders
of India ensured its survival, for when the Muslims
defeated the Hindus and took control of India, Buddhism
is destroyed as an organized religion in India.
Asoka was the last of the great kings of the Mauryan
dynasty. His successors were less energetic and capable;
in 184 BC, the last of the Mauryan kings was assassinated,
and the first empire of India came to an end. |