May 7th, 2009 
Aman 
When Bindusara died in 274 BC, he was succeeded by his son Ashoka, the third and the greatest of the Mauryan line of Kings. During the times of Bindusara the North West India was administered by a centrally controlled bureaucracy. Its impersonal administrators were headstrong. The freedom loving people of Punjab could hardly put up with their oppression. Hence they rose in revolt, at Taxila. King Bindusara sent Ashoka at the head of a large army to reclaim the allegiance of the discontented people. When Ashoka arrived near the town the representatives of the people came out to meet him and said that they are not opposed to the King Bindusara nor even the prince, but the wicked officers suppressed them. Then they brought him to the city with great pomp and festivity.
From Taxila, Ashoka led and expedition to conquer the land of Khasa, the hill region in the south and west of Kashmir, and annexed it to the Mauryan empire. Ashoka’s hold over Kandahar is attested by the discovery of his bilingual Graeco-Aramean inscriptions on the old Kandahar Herat Road. The revolt of Taxila and the expedition of Ashoka to Khasa resulted in the annexation of the hilly region near Kashmir to the province of the Punjab.
Towards the end of the reign of Bindusara, the people of Taxila again revolted against the tyranny and exploitation of the Mauryan officials. The Divyavdana tells us that on that occasion Prince Susima was sent to suppress the revolt, but he failed to pacify the insurgents. Hence the king Bindusara again thought of sending Ashoka. But in the meantime Bindusara died.
When Ashoka came to the throne he had again to face the problem of the upheaval of the people of Taxila. On the advice of his ministers, he sent prince Kunala to quell the rebellion. On his arrival at Taxila prince Kunala was cordially welcomed by the citizens. But they complained of the high handedness of the officers and assured the prince of their loyalty. These three revolts of the people of Taxila against the tyranny of the bureaucrats show that they were freedom loving people and were not prepared to tolerate the conduct of oppressive bureaucrats.
Eight years after his coronation, Ashoka invaded Kalinga, with a mighty army and conquered it. The large scale man slaughter bloodshed and loss of property caused in the terrible battle changed the mind and heart of Ashoka. He vowed not to resort to war for the conquest of territories. Instead, he decided to make Dharmavijay the conquest through the propagation of Dharma. He organised missions to spread teaching of the Buddha, both in India and the foreign countries. In his Rock Edict XIII he says that the missionaries were sent to Syria, Egypt, Cyrene, Epirus and Macedonia. He issued orders forbidding killing of a number of animals and birds like parrots, monkeys etc which were neither utilized not eaten. He built hospitals both for animals and men. For the convenience of the travelers, he planted trees, dug wells by the road side and constructed rest houses and watersheds.
With the Accession of Ashoka and his conversion to Buddhism, Taxila developed into the foremost city for the propagation of Buddhism in the Punjab. It was personally known to the emperor Ashoka as he had been the viceroy of the province during the reign of his father. The Punjab had now full share of his benefactions. It is stated that Ashoka gave a portion f the body of relics of Lord Buddha to every town of importance in his realms and ordered Stupas to be erected for their enshrinement. A large number of stupas, monasteries and Buddhist monuments were built in the north western India. The great Dharamarajikas Stupa was originally one of the Stupa built under Ashoka’s orders for housing the body relics of the Master. Most of the Buddhist monuments, though in a ruined state were in existence, when the Chinese pilgrims FA-hain and later Hiuen Tsang visited India.
Ashoka established friendly relations with the kingdom of Lanka in the south and with the successors of Seleucus in the North West of India. His northern and north western dominions included Nepal, Tehri Garhwal, Punjab and the whole of North West Frontier province which proved by his pillar edict at Lumbini and the Rock Edict at Kalsi, Shabazgarhi and Manshera. During Ashoka’s times, from Bengal to Afghanistan and from Hindukush to Mysore, the whole of India came under the rule of the Mauryas.
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