Decoding Ashoka's Legacy | Ancient Indian History

Ashoka -- the most famous leader of the Mauryan Empire -- is a beloved historical figure, in India and beyond. His imperial successes, his role in spreading Buddhism, and his story of personal redemption continue to beguile historians and general readers today.

But is the popular narrative completely accurate? We dive into the historical record and look into the inconsistencies, revealing a more nuanced portrait of an emperor whose legacy is larger-than-life.

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Sources (non-exhaustive):

"Emperor Aśoka and Buddhism: Unresolved Discrepancies between Buddhist Tradition & Aśokan Inscriptions," by Ananda W.P. Guruge
"Ashoka and the Decline of the Mauryas," by Romila Thapar
"The Ocean of Churn," by Sanjeev Sanyal
"King Ashoka: His Edicts and His Times," by Ven S. Dhammika
"Ashoka the Great," by M.H. Syed
"Ashoka: the Search for India's Lost Emperor," by Charles Allen
Translated Edicts

[RishiKumar-iens]

How very interesting. I had always been conflicted about my understanding over Ashoka. Although I could certainly appreciate that his conversion was possible (I personally can’t attest to the effects of witnessing 100, 000 dead people), it did seem at first a rather surprising turn of events. As I had not really looked into it further, with odd forays into the subject revealing similar narratives, I had just accepted it like most others. However, your video, alongside other sources, have reiterated the importance of critical thought over one’s own understanding. Thank you for this, as it can be especially difficult when considering one’s own country’s history, especially so for such a cornerstone as Ashoka the Great.

Echoing your evaluation, I have come away feeling that the popular narrative is more problematic than at first glance. I also think that we should appreciate the true message of the narrative of tolerance and acceptance that the legend of Ashoka emphasises, as well as appreciating that the true story of Ashoka is one of those many pieces of history that we may never fully recover.

[dotsanddash]

Was Alexander great? No absolutely not, but he’s still called Alexander the Great.

[captainhastings]

"If you think the news is fake today, imagine what they did with history"

[chaitanyavarada]

There were many Buddhist Chaityas in Kanchipuram in Today's South Indian state of Tamil Nadu built by the Mauryas acted as conversion centres which were later destroyed by the Pallavas who restored Hinduism by constructing some of the most famous south Indian temples like Ekamreswara Temple, Kamakshi Temple etc from the ruins of those Chaityas

[achintyaranjan]

Ashoka personally embraced Buddhism at least two years before the Kalinga war

[sridharb]

Similarly I've doubt on Alexander's end, I believe they have covered up Alexander's loss to Indian empire and just lying that he left back due to illness

[prateek]

A more dominant father in any dynasty leaves a submissive progeny, which often becomes the dead end of their dynasty. The dynasty of Mauryan Empire closes after 6 generations after him which come and die rapidly. Same goes with Mughal Empire after Aurangzeb. Very simple, the more dominant the father, less exposure he gives to his son.

[sahilnimsarkar]

I think this can be also applied to many historical accomplishments of rulers that we know.
History is written by people in power, always.

[udhayakumarMN]

It is always easier to say WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR, but truth lies in where no one dare to talk....

[anirudh]

Kind of disappointed with the comments, it's just people saying "Ashoka was a total saint!" or "Ashoka was a cruel satanic demon!", like bro you can't say that he was perfectly good or that he was totally bad, this video just shows some of his flaws, he's in my opinion still admirable, not as great as we thought but still worth respecting,

He expanded the empire to its limits, was a harsh ruler (but wayy better compared to so many others),
he allowed religious freedom to some extent (as long as you don't insult buddhism), the empire under him was stable, and he gave more opportunities for women to study, but his dhammamatras were somewhat invasive and his bureaucratic reforms corrupted the Empire.

from this we can see that he was an excellent general ( although he wasn't the best), he was a good but harsh ruler (again much better than so many others in history), he did give more rights but was cruel against those who were anti-buddhist, he was Intelligent and sophisticated and was well-versed in politics, the one very grave mistake he did was to overburden the empire by centralizing it.

Ashoka was neither a saint nor a demon, he had both good and bad sides to him, this Ashoka still sounds better than your average ruler, or men like Timur, Hulagu Khan, Ivan the Terrible, Leopold II, any of the Three Pashas ( Enver, Djemal, Taalat) etc.

Therefore, Ashoka was an admirable but harsh ruler with some flaws.

[animeshpradhan]

As i mentioned in one of my comments before, History is about complex figures not battles. An absolute masterpiece on your side. The greatest thing the internet is given to us is perhaps the ability to see through propaganda like other generations before us couldn't.

[richiknair]

Can you make a video on Tipu sultan and his atrocities? Considering the fact that I'm half Travancore Nair, I'd love to see it

[abondutta]

Ashoka converted to Buddhism before the war. he killed all those while a Buddhism practitioner.
why he repented and become a good guy that I don't know.

[mg]

I remember seeing a show where they questioned the sudden change and conversion of Ashoka after the battle of Kalinga. They said that the Buddhist scriptures that mentions this incident may have exaggerated to show how influential Buddhism was. This change probably happened over the course of many years and not like the sudden change the scriptures say.

[harkabirsingh]

When your favorite youtuber exposes your favorite historical figure

[RahulGautam-ksgc]

Sanjeev Sanyal has been saying this for years. Great video!

[altcodex]

Monarchy was never clean and noble, majority of times in human human history, which is ironic.

[raunaksinghdhanjal]

I cannot explain the amount of happiness i have for this, sanjeev sanyal have been saying this for years, I can now understand your point of view, kind of

[XavierMemeWorld]

this is a really informative video because here in India most of the rulers are either consider one as God level person or total evil, we must understand that the truth lies somewhere in between.

[mayankbisht]

1:43 I think similar thing was done with backstory of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, he was claimed to be a Khatriya even though sources conflict.
Personally I think he was a great king, Khatriya or not.