History

Chapter-7

Ashoka, The
Emperor Who
Gave Up War
Flipped and Blended
Learning

https://youtu.be/d-xJIZb08f0

https://youtu.be/1AA82OInQqk
Key Words

• Kingdom: Territory ruled by a king

or queen
• Empire: A group of states ruled by a
single monarch
• Dynasty: A line of hereditary rulers
in a country
Difference between Empire and
Kingdom
 Mauryan Dynasty
Chandragupta
Maurya

Brihadartha
Mauryan Bindusara
Dynasty
Chandragupta Maurya had started
Mauryan Dynasty and ended Nanda
Dynasty. Dhananand was the last
Nanda Ruler.
Ashoka
 Chanakya and
Arthashastra
Chandragupta Maurya was guided by Chanakya. As,
Chanakya wants to make India re-unite and visited
Dhananand with same proposal. But, he insulted
him in his courtier as a result Chanakya whose real
name was Vishnugupta also known as Chanakya
who wrote Arthashastra took pledge to destroy
Nanda Dynasty and join hands with Chandragupta.
 Chandragupta
Maurya
• Chandragupta was the grandfather of
Ashoka
• He founded the Mauryan Empire
• He gained power shortly after
Alexander’s death. Once he was in
power he forced all Greek inhabitants
to leave.
 Bindusara
• Bindusara 297-273 BC
• Chandragupta was
succeeded by his son
Bindusara.
• He defeated rulers of 16
kingdoms.
• The Mauryan Kingdom was
spread across the whole
Indian Subcontinent, except
in Kalinga and the Southern
parts.
Who was Ashoka?
 Ashoka was an Indian emperor of
the Mauryan Dynasty.
 He ruled the Indian Subcontinent
from 268 to 232 BCE
 One of the India’s greatest
emperors
 Location
• Ashoka’s Empire
250 BCE
• Territory ceded to
Chandragupta by
Selucus Nicator,
305 B.C
• Alexander’s route,
327-326 B.C.E
 Major Cities
 Taxila- Capital City
 Ujjain- Capital City
 Pataliputra- Patna
 Sarnath- Varanasi
 Maghadha- Bihar
 Taxila

Taxila which means ‘’City of Cut

Stone’’ and is an important
archaeological town. It is situated in
Pakistan. There are 5 small stupas in
the city.
 Ujjain
 Ancient city of temples
 Situated near the Shipra river
 Located in Madhya Pradesh
 In ancient times, it was called as Ujjayini
 Pataliputra
 Pataliputra was the Mauryan capital city
 Present on the Ganga River
 Largest city in the world during that era
 Continued more than 500,000 residents
 Sarnath Varanasi
The Ashokan Lion capital or the Sarnath Lion Capital is the national
symbol of India. The Sarnath pillar bears one of the Edicts of Ashoka.
 Magadha
The core of the Kingdom was the area of
Bihar south of the Ganges. Its first capital
was Rajagriha (modern Rajgir) then
Pataliputra (modern Patna)
 Kalinga War
Kalinga war played a major role in Ashoka’s life
and encouraged him to convert his religion
from Hindu to Buddhism will be discussed in
the class.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XojmEmy7kw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiKgxEwwmcs
Dhamma and Principles of
Dhamma
Dhamma is a set of edicts that formed a policy of the Mauryan
emperor Ashoka, who succeeded to the Mauryan throne in
modern-day India around 269 C.E. 
The following are the main principles of Ashoka’s dhamma:
1) People should live in peace and harmony.
2) Everyone should practise the principle of ahimsa, i.e. non-
violence and non-injury to all living beings.
3) People should love one another and display respect and
tolerance towards other religious faiths.
4) Children should obey their elders and elders should treat
children with understanding.

5) People should be truthful, charitable and kind to all, even

towards servants and slaves.
 Sanchi Stupa
Sanchi Stupa is a Buddhist complex,
famous for its Great Stupa, on a hilltop at
Sanchi Town in Raisin District of the State
of Madhya Pradesh, India. It is located in
46 kilometers north-east of Bhopal, capital
of Madhya Pradesh.
Mauryan Administration
• The Mauryan had a large administrative
set-up. The empire was divided into
provinces, districts and villages. A
committee of 30 members looked after
the administrative of Pataliputra.
• The Maurya's had a large army and
efficient spy system.
 Tribute

Unlike taxes, which were collected on a regular

basis, tribute was collected as and when it was
possible from people who gave a variety of things
more or less willingly.
Timeline on King Ashoka
 300 BC- Ashoka Maurya was born
 284 BC- Marriage
 272 BC- The Reign begin
 273 BC- Ashoka succeeded the throne
 269 BC- He was crowned as the king
 264 BC- The war against Kalinga
 260 BC- Ashoka become a Buddhist monk
 232 BC- He died.
 Indian Flag
 After Ashoka’s death in 232BC the
people of India decided to
commemorate Ashoka by using his
personal chakra. It can still be seen
today on the Indian Flag.
 The word chakra in Sanskrit means
cycle or a repeating process.
 Unknown facts about
Ashoka
 He conquered the kingdom Kalinga, which none of his ancestors had
done.
 Ashoka is remembered in the history as a philanthropic ruler.
 In his early days, Ashoka was very cruel, and he was began to be called
Chand Ashoka.
 Ashoka built thousands of stupas and viharas for the followers and
spread of Buddhism.
 Ashoka was a devotee of Ahimsa, that is non-violence truth tolerance
and vegetarianism.
 Ashoka was the last and the greatest king of Mauryan Dynasty.
 Revision
• __________________ a group of states ruled by a single
monarch.
• _____________ ruled the Indian Subcontinent from 268
to 232 BCE.
• ______________founded the Mauryan Empire.
• Differentiate between empire and kingdom.