Ashoka the Great

Hello! My name is Ashoka, and I was an emperor in ancient India a very long time ago. I was born around the year 304 BCE. My grandfather, Chandragupta Maurya, started our family's great Mauryan Empire. I grew up in a royal family, and I always knew that one day, I would help lead our people and our big empire.

When I was a young man, I became the emperor around the year 268 BCE. At first, I thought the most important thing for a ruler was to be powerful. I wanted to make my empire bigger and stronger than any other in the world. I was a fierce warrior, and I led my armies into many battles to conquer more land. I wanted everyone to know how strong the Mauryan Empire was, and I believed fighting was the way to show it.

Then, around the year 261 BCE, I fought my biggest and hardest battle, which is now called the Kalinga War. My army was strong, and we won the battle. But after the fighting was over, it did not feel like a happy victory. I walked across the battlefield and saw how much suffering the war had caused. So many people were hurt. Seeing all that sadness made my heart ache. In that moment, I knew I never wanted to be the cause of so much pain ever again.

That sad day on the battlefield changed me forever. I decided to follow the teachings of Buddhism, a way of life that taught me about peace, kindness, and non-violence. I made a promise to stop fighting wars and decided to rule with compassion instead of force. To share my new ideas, I had messages about being kind to all people and animals carved onto giant stone pillars for everyone to see. I also built hospitals for the sick, planted trees for shade, and dug wells so that everyone in my empire could have water and live a better, happier life.

I tried to be a peaceful and just ruler for the rest of my life and passed away around the year 232 BCE. I lived to be about 72 years old. Today, I am remembered as an emperor who chose peace over war. The country of India even placed a symbol from one of my pillars, a special wheel called the Ashoka Chakra, in the middle of its flag. It is there to remember my message of peace and doing the right thing, a message that still inspires people today.