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Ancient History: General knowledge (Ashoka)

ANCIENT HISTORY GENERAL KNOWLEDGE UPSC ASHOKA MAURYAN EMPIRE
Hanuman STUDIES

 Question: Ashoka was generally referred to by which name in his inscriptions?

(A) Chakravarti
(B) Dharmadeva
(C) Dharmakirti
(D) Priyadarshi

Answer: 

The answer to this question is option (D) Priyadarshi

Explanation:

Ashoka name was found with titles like Devanampriya and Priyadarshi at inscriptions in rock edicts. It was then cleared that the Devanampriya Priyadarshi was none other than Ashoka. it means 'beloved to the gods'.

Maurya Period (Few important points):

  1. The literary sources from which we know about Ashoka are: Kautilya's 'Arthasastra', Megasthenese's 'Indica', Visakha Datta's 'Mudra Rakshasa' and few Buddhist literatures like Jatakas, Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa.
  2. Chandragupta (322 BC -  298 BC) discrowned the last Nanda ruler Dhananand and occupied Patliputra in 322 BC with the help of Kautilya (Chanakya).
  3. Megasthenese was a Greek ambassador sent to the court of Chandragupta Maurya by Selecus Nikator. Later he baceme a Jain and went to Chandragiri Hill, Sravanbelgola (Karnataka) with Bhadrabahu where he died of slow starvation.
  4. Chandragupta Maurya was succeeded by his son Bindusara (298 BC - 273 BC).
  5. Bindusara was known to the Greeks as Amitrochates (derived from the Sanskrit word Amitraghata i.e. slayers of foes).
  6. As per available evidence (Buddhist literature mainly) there was struggle for the throne among the princes after the death of Bindusara.
  7. Ashoka (273 BC - 232 BC) took over the throne after killing his 99 brothers and spared the youngest one Tissa.
  8. This war of succession among the brothers lasts for four years (273 BC - 269 BC) and only after securing his position on the throne, Ashoka had himself formally crowned in 269 BC.
  9. Ashoka fought the Kalinga war in 261 BC and the king was moved by the massacre in this war and therefore abandoned the policy of physical occupation in favour of policy of cultural conquest.
  10. There were rock edicts, pillar edicts and cave inscriptions located at several places in the Indian subcontinent also known as Ashokan Edicts and inscriptions. They were deciphered by James Princep in 1837. Though Prakrit was the language used in them, the script varied from region to region.
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