Page 56 - SST Class 06

TAJIKISTAN AJIKISTAN
T Death and destruction at Kalinga
OPNISA AI INDIA
D PAR
Herat us to au rya Kabul Mahsera KASHMIR EMPIRE OF ASHOKA perturbed Ashoka greatly. He still wanted
Shahbazgarhi
Shahbazgarhi
IRAN Ceded b Seleuc p Kandahar in d Taxila khi Asi Asikhi i V pa H s a I M A C H I N A emotionally. In place of Digvijay (victory
(250 BC)
e Gut a M
to win the people, not physically, but
Mahsera
y
C andr
AFGHANISTAN
hu
h
Airavati
S
Kalsi
path of Dharmavijay
(victory through
u
S t u dri Topra L A Y TIBET U N T A I N S in all directions), he chose to follow the
PAKISTAN A M O
Indraprastha Meerut N P A RUPA piety).
E AL
Mathura Mithilapuri 5 BHUTAN K M
Charmanvati Lumbini Almost the whole of India came under his
Bairat 1 2 3 4 Vaishali aishali
V
(Bhabra) Sarnath
ADESH
Prayag Pataliputra ANGLADESH rule. His empire extended from the
BANGL
B
r T op ic of Canc er Sahasram BENGAL
BENGAL
Rupnath Brahmaputra in the east to the Hindu
Sanchi Tamralipti
UJJAIN
Girnar I N D I A (Port) Kush in the west and from the Himalayas
Dhauli BURMA
PULINDAS TOSHALI in the north to the Pennar in the south
Sopara Jaugada
A R A B I A N PITINIKAS ING A B AY and the Arabian Sea in the west. It was
S E A Yeragudi KAL O F the largest empire of ancient India. He
SWARNAGIRI
B E N G A L ruled for about 40 years and looked after
Maski
the welfare of his people. This makes him
Sidhpur
REFERENCES one of the greatest rulers in the world.
SAT IYAPUTR A
Mysore Empire of Ashoka
KE
CHOLAS Provincial Capital Ashoka and Dhamma
Rock Edict (INDIA) ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS
RALAP
Pillar Edict Perturbed by the plight of the people in
UTRA
PANDYAS
(INDIA)
the Kalinga war, Ashoka embraced
LAKSHADWEEP
MALDIVES TAMRAPARNI
I N D I A N O C E A N Buddhism. He decided to serve the
people. He forsook violence and adopted
Empire of Ashoka
peace. He now led a simple life. He gave
Activity up luxurious life and even flesh-eating. He made
efforts to propagate Buddhism all over the world.
On the outline map of India, mark the following :
He sent his messengers to other countries, like
Magadha, Kalinga, Patliputra, Himalayas Syria, Egypt, Myanmar, Sri Lanka etc. He sent his
son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra to Sri
Kalinga War Lanka for this purpose. Due to his effort,
Buddhism spread to a large part of the world.
The Kalinga War (261 BC) is an important
milestone in the rule of Ashoka. After Ashoka Ashoka's Dhamma (Dharma in Sanskrit) comprises
ascended the throne, he followed the policy of of moral principles; they were not compulsory for
expansion. Kalinga (modern Odisha) was not yet the people. They were aimed at making his
in his empire, so he ordered invasion. The people subjects better human beings.
of Kalinga were brave people who knew that they Ashoka led his people by example. He himself led
could not win against the mighty Mauryan army,
a pious and simple life and gave up hunting and
still they chose to fight. A bloody battle followed. flesh-eating. He got his principles engraved on the
Kalinga was won but humanity was lost. So much rocks and pillars so that the people could read
of destruction took place that Ashoka’s heart
them. For this, he used Pali , the language of the
underwent a change. common people, so that all people could read and
Ashoka’s Rock Edict XIII records : “One hundred understand his message. In the north-west, he got
and fifty thousand people were captured, one his message inscribed in Greek because a large
hundred thousand were slain and much many number of Greeks lived there.
times that number died of disease, privation and Ashoka appointed Mahamatries (or officials)
pestilence .”
whose duty was to look after the welfare of the
Contemporary Social Science-6
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