Ashoka | Wikipedia audio article

This is an audio version of the Wikipedia Article: Ashoka 00:02:30 1 Biography 00:02:39 1.1 Ashoka's early life 00:03:59 1.2 Rise to power 00:07:18 1.3 Marriage 00:08:31 1.4 Conquest of Kalinga & Buddhist conversion 00:10:43 1.5 Death and legacy 00:13:13 1.5.1 Buddhist kingship 00:15:47 2 Historical sources 00:21:19 2.1 Symbolism 00:21:55 3 Perceptions and historiography 00:26:42 3.1 Focus of debate 00:28:12 3.2 Legends of Ashoka 00:31:26 3.3 Ashoka and the relics of the Buddha 00:32:06 4 Contributions 00:32:15 4.1 Approach towards religions 00:32:49 4.2 Global spread of Buddhism 00:35:41 4.3 Hellenistic world 00:38:04 4.4 As administrator 00:38:43 4.5 Animal welfare 00:39:55 4.6 Ashoka Chakra 00:41:25 4.7 Stone architecture 00:42:08 4.7.1 Pillars of Ashoka (Ashokstambha) 00:43:00 4.7.2 Lion Capital of Ashoka (Ashokmudra) 00:45:02 4.7.3 Constructions credited to Ashoka 00:46:04 5 In art, film and literature 00:48:19 6 See also Listening is a more natural way of learning, when compared to reading. Written language only began at around 3200 BC, but spoken language has existed long ago. Learning by listening is a great way to: - increases imagination and understanding - improves your listening skills - improves your own spoken accent - learn while on the move - reduce eye strain Now learn the vast amount of general knowledge available on Wikipedia through audio (audio article). You could even learn subconsciously by playing the audio while you are sleeping! If you are planning to listen a lot, you could try using a bone conduction headphone, or a standard speaker instead of an earphone. You can find other Wikipedia audio articles too at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuKfABj2eGyjH3ntPxp4YeQ You can upload your own Wikipedia articles through: https://github.com/nodef/wikipedia-tts "The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." - Socrates SUMMARY ======= Ashoka (English: ; Sanskritized as IAST: Aśoka), or in contemporary Prakrit Asoka (????), sometimes Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty, who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from c. 268 to 232 BCE. The grandson of the founder of the Maurya Dynasty, Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka promoted the spread of Buddhism. Considered by many to be one of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka expanded Chandragupta's empire to reign over a realm stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east. It covered the entire Indian subcontinent except for parts of present-day Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The empire's capital was Pataliputra (in Magadha, present-day Patna), with provincial capitals at Taxila and Ujjain. Ashoka waged a destructive war against the state of Kalinga (modern Odisha), which he conquered in about 260 BCE. In about 263 BCE, he converted to Buddhism after witnessing the mass deaths of the Kalinga War, which he had waged out of a desire for conquest and which reportedly directly resulted in more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations. He is remembered for the Ashoka pillars and edicts, for sending Buddhist monks to Sri Lanka and Central Asia, and for establishing monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Gautama Buddha.Beyond the Edicts of Ashoka, biographical information about him relies on legends written centuries later, such as the 2nd-century CE Ashokavadana ("Narrative of Ashoka", a part of the Divyavadana), and in the Sri Lankan text Mahavamsa ("Great Chronicle"). The emblem of the modern Republic of India is an adaptation of the Lion Capital of Ashoka. His Sanskrit name "Aśoka" means "painless, without sorrow" (the a privativum and śoka, "pain, distress"). In his edicts, he is referred to as Devānāmpriya (Pali Devānaṃpiya or "the Beloved of the Gods"), and Priyadarśin (Pali Piyadasī or "He who regards everyone with affection"). His fondness for his name's connection to the Saraca asoca tree, or "Ashoka tree", is also referenced in the Ashokavadana. In The Outline of History, H.G. Wells wrote, "Amidst the tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history, their majesties and graciousnesses and serenities and royal highnesses and the like, the name of Ashoka shines, and shines, almost alone, a star."