Namaste, I am King Ashoka of Mauryan Empire. I once ruled this land with brute force, my fearsome army, and my great need to make my empire the biggest and strongest by conquering everything that was in my reach just like my grandfather,Chandragupta. But after a bloody, gruesome battle I decided to reject violence forever and adopt the ways of Buddhism, for my kingdom,and for myself. Of course I could not become fully Buddhist because I had to be a practical leader of Maurya, I did this so I could protect my people from invaders (but not attack or invade others) and so there could be fair punishments for people that do not follow their dharma(killing could result in a unlike-Buddhist death penalty). To spread the peaceful religion of Buddhism I sent my son, Mahinda ,to places like Ceylon(now known as Sri Lanka) to convert the King to Buddhism. Mahinda did a very good job of this because Buddhism is the official religion of Sri Lanka (Ceylon)today, Buddhism also spread from India(Maurya) to central Asia and then places like Japan and Korea.To help keep Maurya a strong united empire I carved edicts(law like commands) on rocks,walls,and tall pillars where people would see them like roads and markets to make sure everyone knew my 4 main goals: Buddhist values,security,justice, and general welfare. thank you,
Google images for allowing me to use these pictures
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