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Dhamma (Pali: धम्म, romanized: dhamma; Sanskrit: धर्म, romanized: dharma) is a set of edicts that formed a policy of the 3rd Mauryan emperor Ashoka the Great, who succeeded to the Mauryan throne in modern-day India around 269 B.C.E. [1] Ashoka is considered one of the greatest kings of ancient India for his policies of public welfare.
The inscriptions revolve around a few recurring themes: Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism, the description of his efforts to spread dhamma, his moral and religious precepts, and his social and animal welfare program. The edicts were based on Ashoka's ideas on administration and behavior of people towards one another and religion.
Different sources give different accounts of Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism. [84] According to Sri Lankan tradition, Ashoka's father, Bindusara, was a devotee of Brahmanism, and his mother Dharma was a devotee of Ajivikas. [100] The Samantapasadika states that Ashoka followed non-Buddhist sects during the first three years of his reign. [101]
The efforts of Emperor Ashoka to spread the Buddhist faith are described in the Edicts of Ashoka carved during his reign on stone pillars and cave walls: "Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dhamma."
The Minor Rock Edict were written quite early in the reign of Ashoka, from the 11th year of his reign at the earliest (according to his own inscription, "two and a half years after becoming a secular Buddhist", i.e. two and a half years at least after the Kalinga conquest of the eighth year of his reign, which is the starting point for his gradual conversion to Buddhism).
The Mahamatras are mentioned in several of the Edicts of Ashoka, inscribed on rocks or pillars. They seem to have been an essential part of his government. [3] Some were called "Dharma-Mahamatras" ("Mahamatras of Virtue"), who seem to have been established in the 14th year of Ashoka's reign (256 BCE). [3]
The inscriptions revolve around a few recurring themes: Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism, the description of his efforts to spread Buddhism, his moral and religious precepts, and his social and animal welfare program. The edicts were based on Ashoka's ideas on administration and behaviour of people towards one another and religion.
Ashoka was the third monarch of the Maurya Empire in the subcontinent, reigning from around 269 BCE. [1] Ashoka famously converted to Buddhism and renounced violence soon after being victorious in a gruesome Kalinga War, yet filled with deep remorse for the bloodshed of the war, but findings suggest that he had already converted to Buddhism 4 years before the war.