Ashoka the Great

In Our Time: History

BBC

History

4.4 • 3.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 February 2015

⏱️ 47 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Indian Emperor Ashoka. Active in the 3rd century BC, Ashoka conquered almost all of the landmass covered by modern-day India, creating the largest empire South Asia had ever known. After his campaign of conquest he converted to Buddhism, and spread the religion throughout his domain. His edicts were inscribed on the sides of an extraordinary collection of stone pillars spread far and wide across his empire, many of which survive today. Our knowledge of ancient India and its chronology, and how this aligns with the history of Europe, is largely dependent on this important set of inscriptions, which were deciphered only in the nineteenth century. With: Jessica Frazier Lecturer in Religious Studies at the University of Kent and a Research Fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies Naomi Appleton Chancellor's Fellow in Religious Studies at the University of Edinburgh Richard Gombrich Founder and Academic Director of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies and Emeritus Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford Producer: Thomas Morris.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you for downloading this episode of In Our Time for more details about In Our Time
0:04.1	and for our terms of use, please go to bbc.co.uk slash radio for.
0:09.0	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:11.0	Hello, in 1837 a young British administrator in Calcutta, James Prinsep, succeeded in deciphering
0:18.9	a series of mysterious and ancient descriptions.
0:22.1	These had been discovered on rocks and stone pillars all over India.
0:25.6	They were proved that there were relics of the reign of an ancient king called Ashoka,
0:30.3	who lived in the 3rd century BC.
0:32.8	Shoker ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for almost 40 years, creating one of the largest
0:37.6	empires of the region as ever seen, through ruthless military endeavours.
0:41.7	But as he later announced violence, he converted to Buddhism.
0:45.4	In a series of edicts carved into monuments all over his territory, he depicted himself as
0:49.9	a benevolent and kindly leader, intent on the welfare of his subjects.
0:54.2	Today's belief that his influence was of critical importance in the development and spread
0:58.7	of Buddhism.
1:00.1	With me to discuss Ashoka the Great R, Jessica Frazier, lecturer in religious studies at
1:05.0	the University of Kent and a research fellow at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, Richard
1:09.8	Gombrich, founder and academic director of the Oxford Centre for Buddhist Studies,
1:13.8	and emeritus professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford, and naming Appleton,
1:18.2	Chancellor's fellow in religious studies at the University of Edinburgh.
1:21.8	Jessica Frazier, Ashoka was a member of the Morian dynasty, which came to power in India
1:27.2	in the 4th century BC.
	...

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