Ashoka
Ashoka was a great king not only in history of India, but also in the whole world. Lot of information about him is available from the inscriptions and Buddhist literature. According to Buddhist tradition, Bindusara had 16 wives and 101 sons,. Sumana was the eldest son, Ashoka the second son and Tishya the youngest son. When Ashoka was only 18, he was appointed by his father as viceroy Avanti Rashtra, with it's capital at Ujjaini. It was there that, Ashoka married Mahadevi. His son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra were born from her.
 |
| Ashoka |
When Bindusara died, Ashoka captured the throne with the help of the ministers. That led to a war of succession between Ashoka and Sumana. Ashoka killed all his 99 brothers and waded through blood to the throne.
ALSO READ: Know The Story Of Brave- Chandragupta Maurya
ALSO READ: How Jainism Flourished In India?
Ashoka lived the life of predecessors, consuming flesh food freely, enjoying the pleasures of the chase, and encouraging festive assemblies, accompanied by dancing and drinking. During his first 13 years, he carried on he traditional policy expansion of India and friendly relations with foreign powers.
Ashoka the great ruled almost all of the Indian sub-continent from C.268 to 232BCE. He was grandson of Chandragupta Maurya. Ashoka expanded Chandragupta's empire and reigned over a realm that streched from present day Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east. It coverered the entire sub-continent , except for the parts of present day Tamil-Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
In about 260BCE Ashoka waged a destructive war against the state of Kalinga(modern Orissa). Legends state that, he converted to Buddhism from Jain tradition. He converted after witnessing the mass deaths of he Kalinga war, which he himself had waged down of desire for conquest.
The Kalinga war resulted in more than 1,00,000 deaths and 1,50,000 were deported. Ending at around 2,00,000 deaths. Ashoka converted to Buddhism in about 263BCE. He is remembered for Ashoka pillars and eddicts, for sending Buddhist monks to Srilanka and Central-Asia for establishing monuments, marking several significant sites in the life of Gautam Buddha.
Ashoka ruled for an estimated 36 years. Legends state that, after his death, during his cremation, his body burned for 7 days and night. After his death, the Mauryan dynasty lasted for only 50 years. The reign of Ashoka Maurya might have disappeared in the history as aged passed by, had he not left behind records of his reign. This records are in the form of sculpted pillars and rocks, inscribed with variety of actions and teachings he wished be published under his name.
The language used for inscription was one of the Prakrit languages in Brahmi script.
In the year 185BCE., about 50 years after the death of Ashoka, the last Mauryan ruler-'Brihadratha' was assassinated by the commander in chief of Mauryan armed forces, Pushyamitra Shunga, while he was taking the guard of honour of his forces.
ALSO READ: How Buddhism Flourished In India?
One of the more enduring legacies of Ashoka was the model that he provided for the relationship between Buddhism and his state. Emperor Ashoka was seen as a role model to leaders within Buddhist community. He not only provided guidance and strength, but also created personal relationship with his supporters . Following Ashoka's example, kings established monastries, funded construction of Stupas and suppported ordination of monks.
Mauryan Art
The age of the Mauryas constituted a notable epoch in the field of art and architecture. The magnificent art flourished for about 50 years in the time of Ashoka. There were two distinct phases in the sculptured art of the Mauryan period. The first phase was distinguished by great nobility of design, cultured form of expression and finest technical accomplishment. The stone pillars of Ashoka belong to those class.
 |
| Ashoka Pillars |
The Persian bell-shaped capital of Ashoka pillars was a symbolic motif which was universal in the Indian art. The pillar had the significance of world dominion as the state umbrella which was a part of the Paraphernalia of Indian royalty. The lotus symbolism is a characteristic of Indian art than the Persian art. The pink petals of the lotus were the robes of the Dawn maiden(ushas). The lotus was associated with early vedic tradition of India.
The second phase of Mauryan art was shown in the sculpture of the stupas at Sanchi, which recorded current events and legends connected with the life of Buddha as told in the Jatakas. This art could be called primitive. It was less pure in style.
 |
| Mauryan art |
The view of sir John Marshall was that, two different classes of sculptures to be found in the Mauryan period. The statue from Parkham in Mathura museum could be regarded as an example of the first class. The second class of Indian sculpture is represented by the Sarnath capital.
Ashoka's pillars consist of a round and monolithic shaft tapering from the base with a diameter ranging from 35-1/2 inches to 49-1/2 inches to a total height between 40 and 50 feet. The diameter at the top ranges from 22 inches to about 35 inches. The capital of the columns has the shape of a bell.
The pillar at Bhakra and Rampurva have only one lion. There are four lions set back to back to he top of the pillars at Sanchi and Sarnath. The decorative design of Sarnath pillar follows a special technique. It's capital is surrounded by 4 lions standing back to back.
A large stone wheel is situated between them which is the symbol of Dharmachakra. The lions stand on a drum showing figures of four animals on it. Namely, a lion, an elephant, a bull and a horse. The pillars show a brilliant polish which has been the wonder for the coming generations.
Mauryan art is not represented by pillars of Ashoka alone. But, there are many more specimens of the same. Seven rock-cut sanctuary belong to the time of Ashoka and his successors. Four of them on he Barabar hill and three of them are on Nagarjuni hill. These places are at Gaya. The kolhma pillar and the Rampurva pillar are from the reign of Bindusara.
The Greek writers have paid glowing tributes to the Mauryan palace at Pataliputra. The guilded pillars of the palace were adorned wit golden vines and silver birds.
The Mauryan palace seems to have been destroyed by fire. This is indicated by the ashes found in the site in the neighbourhood of Bulandibagh. It appears that, all the Mauryan towns were surrounded by high walls.
A small rail at Sarnath and a throne in the interior of the temple at Bodhgaya belong to he time of Ashoka.
Two Yaksha statues from Patna, fragments of ribbed stone umbrella from Sanchi, a Yakshi statue from Didarganj, two stone images of Tirthankaras from Lohanipur, a torso of a Yaksha or a king from Baroda are also assigned to the Mauryan period.
It is pointed out that, the Mauryan craftsmen had attained a good deal of proficiency in the art of the jeweller. Their special aptitude lay not in the plastic treatment of form, but in the high technical skill with which they cut and polished refractory stones or applied delicate designs to metal objects.
Hello knowledge seekers, I’m Ram patil. I’m the creator of "Informative Mind". I’m Here to ensure that, the reader'gains knowledge on wide variety of subjects like History, political science, Environment etc. Hope you have fruitful time scrolling down my blog. Do not hesitate to comment me your experience of reading every post. Thankyou.
0 comments:
Post a Comment