The Greatest Emperor of All Time

great story of an important character from the common history of us southasians which we all study in schools. unfortunately no lessons are learned from history.

Are we doomed to bloody battles over and over, on the command of just ONE person?

That is thoughtful. I wish everyone understood this.

well their is controversy on who was real asoka for full details go to

http://satyameva-jayate.org/2008/07/23/who-was-the-real-ashoka-the-great/

 Their are different theories about Ashoka according to Buddhist legends he is the greatest because he adopted Buddhism but according to the some historians and that includes me Ashoka was responsible for the downfall of the Mauryan Empire as his dynasty was Mauryan.

Ashoka under the influence of Buddhism adopted Non Viloence as state policy which led to decrease in the army and thus weakening the empire.The influence of Buddhism and non vilolence was so much that the borders of the great empire which his fore fathers had established became porous and invited mauraders from Central asia that consisted of tartars and barbaric Tribes thus disintegrating the empire after his death. 

after 50 years of trouble another empire was formed

The Shunga dynasty was established in 185 BCE, about 50 years after Ashoka's death, when the kingBrhadrata, the last of the Mauryan rulers, was assassinated by the then commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga [2], while he was taking the Guard of Honour of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga then ascended the throne.

Pushyamitra Sunga became the ruler of the Magadhaand neighbouring territories. The kingdom of Pushyamitra was extended up to Narmada in the south, and controlled Jalandhar and Sialkot in the Punjab in the north-western regions, and the city of Ujjain [3] in central India. The Kabul Valley and much of the Punjab passed into the hands of the Indo-Greeks and the Deccan to the Satavahanas.

Pushyamitra died after ruling for 36 years (187-151 BCE). He was succeeded by son Agnimitra. This prince is the hero of a famous drama by one of India's greatest playwrights, Kalidasa. Agnimitra was viceroy of Vidisha when the story takes place. The power of the Sungas gradually weakened. It is said that there were ten Sunga kings.

The Sungas were succeeded by the Kanva dynasty around 73 BCE.

source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunga_Empire

so in my view Ashoka was a good human being but a great Emperor I doubt it

Thank you for presenting another view.

I give Ashoka a lot of credit for reigning in peace for 40 years, a great feat. Sadly the empire went down ...50 years after his death.

One does have to agree on the great influence he had. The Ashoka Chakra symbol is still prominently displayed throughout India.

Sara, thanks for the post. It is really a very good piece. It seems those on the helm of affairs in India and the US today want to leave Ashoka behind them. I think the rulers of India want to revive the Ashoka kingdom once again. However, they aim not to establish peace but to have control over a vast area and same the reason that they keep bullying the neighbouring states.

Thank you for your important input. It sounds like they want control at any price, the way Ashoka first ruled, and forget about the peaceful Ashoka, the man he became.

Very interesting,  I liked to read... Thank you very much! Sarah'

According to legend, emperor Ashoka was overwhelmed by guilt after the conquest of Kalinga, following which he accepted Buddhism as personal faith with the help of his Brahmin mentors Radhasvami and Manjushri. Ashoka established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, and according to Buddhist tradition was closely involved in the preservation and transmission of Buddhism.[11] He used his position to propagate the relatively new philosophy to new heights, as far as ancient Rome and Egypt.

Further information: Ashoka the great and Mauryan empire...