Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Table of Contents
Ashoka, also known as Asoka in Sanskrit, and Ashoka the Great was the third king of the Maurya Empire from 273 BCE to 232 BCE. He was an early supporter of Buddhism and actively spread the religion throughout India. He was best known for the renunciation of war and developed the concept of dhamma or pious social conduct.
See the fact file below for more information on the King Ashoka or alternatively, you can download our 25-page King Ashoka worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
PERSONAL AND FAMILY FACTS
- Ashoka’s birth date was unknown as no Indian texts, even his inscription, mention this detail. But it was known that he lived in the 3rd century BCE, making his birth in the late 4th century BCE.
- The Ashokavadana, an Indian Sanskrit-language text that describes Ashoka’s birth and reign, declared him as Mauryan second king, Bindusara’s son and the empire’s founder, Chandragupta’s grandson.
- It also states that he was related to the Buddha’s contemporary king Bimbisara and that his mother was the daughter of a Brahmin from Champa who was prophesied to marry a king.
- However, Ashoka did not mention his ancestry in his own inscription.
- The name Ashoka means “without sorrow” in Sanskrit. His mother gave him this name as his birth removed all her sorrows.
EARLY LIFE
- According to Ashokavanda, King Bindusara hated Ashoka because of his rough skin. When the king asked an ascetic to predict which of his sons will be the next king, he could not give a straight answer and just described Ashoka. He secretly told Ashoka’s mother that his son would be the next ruler of the empire and advised them to leave to avoid King Bindusara’s anger.
- Even though the king despised Ashoka’s look, he still gave the prince important responsibilities such as suppressing a revolt in Taxila and governing Ujjain. It proved that the Emperor was also impressed with Ashoka’s capabilities.
RISE TO POWER
- Being trained by his father to handle military and governing responsibilities, Ashoka grew up to be an exemplary warrior and an astute statesman. He commanded several regiments of the Mauryan army. He ended an uprising in Taxila, where his brother was governor, without having to fight and just by his mere presence.
- Ashoka’s success made his step-brothers worried that he would become emperor, especially the eldest, Susima. The supposed heir pressured his father to send Ashoka into exile for two years. He stayed at Kalinga, where he met and fell in love with a fisherwoman named Kaurwaki. She later became his second or third queen.
- When an uprising in Ujjain exploded, Bindusara released Ashoka from exile and sent him to battle. Ashoka’s general was able to stop the rebellion as the war got him wounded. The Buddhist monk and nuns treated him and taught him about their beliefs. He met and married Devi, who was the daughter of a merchant and his nurse. His father was furious when he learned about the marriage as they considered Buddhism’s rejection of class and caste socially dangerous.
- While Ashoka and Devi were expecting their first child, King Bindusara died. Price Susima planned to execute the unborn heir by hiring an assassin. The hired killer ended up killing his mother instead. Ashoka discovered the plan, and in outrage, he attacked Pataliputra (modern-day Patna) and beheaded all of his step-brothers. At the time, many called him “Chanda Ashoka,” which means murdered and heartless Ashoka.
BEING AN EMPEROR
- During his reign, his empire expanded significantly over the next eight years. It stretched from Afghanistan to Bengal to Southern India. It remained unmatched in Indian history.
- The early part of Ashoka’s reign was quite bloodthirsty until he conquered Kalinga. When he learned that one of Susima’s brothers was hiding at Kalinga and being taken care of, he was enraged and immediately asked Kalinga’s royalty to submit before his supremacy.
- Kalinga prided itself on its sovereignty and monarchical-cum-parliamentary democracy. They followed the concept of Rajdharma, which means the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery.
- As Kalinga’s royalty refused, he sent one of his generals to raid the state. However, the generals and his forces were tactically routed by the Kalinga commander-in-chief. Baffled by this turn of events, Ashoka attacked Kalinga. It was described as the greatest invasion recorded in Indian history until then. Ashoka later edicts that about 100,000 people were killed in addition to the ten thousand in Ashoka’s army.
CONVERSION TO BUDDHISM
- Legend has it that after the invasion of Kalinga, Ashoka ventured out to roam the city. As he looked at the burnt houses and scattered corpses, he made the famous quotation, “What have I done?”
- The cruelty of his action led him to adopt the teachings of Buddhism and he used his position to spread the relatively new philosophy. He sent missionaries as far as Ancient Rome and to Alexandria, Egypt. The similarities between Buddhism and Christian teachings led many to believe that the Buddhist monks encountered Jesus during their time in Egypt. He made Buddhism the state religion in 260 BCE and propagated the Vibhajyavada school of Buddhism and preached it in his state and worldwide from about 250 BCE.
- Because of this, people started to call their emperor “Dharmashoka” or “the pious Ashoka.”
- Ashoka’s embrace of Buddhism was the foundation of the reign of social, political, and non-violence across India.
EMBRACING BUDDHISM
- While Divine Kingship was popular across Asia, Ashoka replaced this rulership model with “Buddhist Kingship.” Under this model, Ashoka would seek to legitimize a particular rule by earning the approval of the Buddhist sangha, a monastic community of monks and nuns.
- Many rulers followed Ashoka’s example. They established monasteries, funded the construction of stupas, and supported the ordination of monks in their kingdom.
- Historians wrote that Ashoka ordered the construction of 84,000 stupas to house the Buddha’s relics all over South and Central Asia. The most famous stupa Ashoka ordered to have built was the Great Stupa at Sanchi, India, and is believed to house Buddha’s ashes.
- Following Buddha’s advice on kingship and government in the Dasa Raja Dharma, Ashoka published the fourteen Buddhist policies.
- He also replaced the concept of conquest by force to “conquest by righteousness.” Despite renouncing violence, Ashoka remained a powerful and influential king throughout his reign.
King Ashoka Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about King Ashoka across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use King Ashoka worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Ashoka, also known as Asoka in Sanskrit, and Ashoka the Great who was the third king of the Maurya Empire from 273 BCE to 232 BCE. He was an early supporter of Buddhism and actively spread the religion throughout India. He was best known for the renunciation of war and developed the concept of dhamma or pious social conduct.
Complete List Of Included Worksheets
- King Ashoka Facts
- Ashoka’s Bio
- The Prince’s Achievements
- Ashoka’s Life
- Fact or Bluff
- The King’s Inquiry
- The Lovers and the Haters
- Two Kingship
- Teaching the World
- The King’s Speech
- The Turning Point
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as King Ashoka Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, March 16, 2021
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.