Monolithic Ashokan Pillar, Kaushambi – History and Significance

Ashoka was among the greatest ruler of India. His grandfather Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Dynasty after defeating the ruling king of Nanda Dynasty. The Mauryan Empire with Pataliputra (near present day Patna) as the capital controlled vasts portions of land covering the Gangetic plains right up to Afghanistan. During the peak of his power, Ashoka converted to Buddhism and erected a series of pillars across the Indian Sub continent. Out of the scores of pillars erected by Ashoka, only 20 have survived till this date. Each pillar is rich in history and gives wonderful insight into a time gone by. The one at Kaushambi is linked with two of the greatest dynasties known to India.

Ashoka and his pillars

Emperor Chandragupta Maurya was the first unifier of India. Parts of Afghanistan and Baluchistan in the west and the kingdom of Karnataka in the south was under his control. Only Kalinga (Orissa) and Tamil Nadu (under Cholas) were left untouched as they were allies. His kingdom was further solidified by his son under the able guidance of Chanakya. But the seeds of revolt had sprung all across the Indian Sub Continent. Those were quelled by his son Ashoka. As a young king, Ashoka had too much on his hands and his primary task was to maintain the integrity of his kingdom boundaries. He began to consolidate his rule by the conquest of Kalinga. An estimated one lakh soldiers were killed on both sides with 10,000 of his own elite soldiers. After he personally witness the death and destruction of so many people and the fallout of war, he decided to put an end to all forms of violence and embrace Buddhism. He dedicated his remaining life to the spread of Buddhism to India as well as other countries.

Ashoka called them the pillars of Dharma. The inscriptions on the pillars were called edicts which were basically instructions on how to live your life as per rules of Buddhism. The pillars are almost similar in design and construction. The likely source of stone is Chunar near Varanasi. The artists on the other hand would have been a team which would have travelled from one site to another.

Kaushambi and the confluence of cultures

Kaushambi was the capital of Vatsa kingdom which was one the 16 major kingdoms of ancient India. The other one was Magadha of which we shall see more details later. Once when Hastinapur was destroyed by floods, the Kuru king Nicaksu decided to shift their capital city to Kaushambi. Once he shifted, the new dynasty of Vatsa began their reign from Kaushambi.

On the other hand, Ashoka of the Maurya Dynasty erected a pillar at Kaushambi signalling the importance of this place as far as religion and trade is concerned. That is the perfect example of confluence of cultures.

Kaushambi came up in a big way as a centre from promotion of Buddhism and the Ashoka Pillar at Kaushambi is an important part of this history. It is also believed that after Kaushambi was setup, Gautama Buddha visited this place many times. That could be one of the reason for Ashoka to setup one of his pillars here.

Monolithic Ashokan Pillar at Kaushambi

The present day ruins which contain the pillar was a residential area and the pillar contained instructions warning the monks of schism. The pillar could have been erected in the year 232 BCE. The entire area around the pillar has been carefully excavated and restored. It is now fenced and there is a dedicated team looking after the site including security. This place could have also housed the second pillar, though the purpose of putting up twin pillars in the same place is not known. Entry to the excavated site is free and open everyday during the daytime hours.

The story of Ashoka and his Mauryan Empire

The Magadha Empire was one of the 16 great kingdoms of ancient India. This empire was based out of Bihar with the capital as Pataliputra near present day Patna. The glory of Magadha began in 1700 BCE with the Brihadratha Dynasty by the then King of Magadha, Brihadratha. Here is the part which gets interesting. The origin and lifetimes of Brihadratha is mentioned in Mahabharata. But since many people have claimed that Mahabharata never happened and it was all mythological. But here is the story which finds a mention in the great epic.

The marriage of Satyavati and King Shantanu forms part of the origins of Mahabharata. She gave birth to two sons Chitrangada and Vichitravirya. They ruled Hastinapur with the help of Bhishma who had taken a vow that he will not get married thereby providing a fool proof arrangement for Satyavati’s sons to become heirs. That was a precondition to her father agreeing to marry Shantanu. Both sons of Satyavati died without children so she asked her eldest son, Vyasa to procreate with the widows of Vichitravirya which led to the birth of Dhirtarashtra and Pandu who we all know as fathers of Kauravas and Pandavas. Sage Vyasa was born to Satyavati long time before she got married by Rishi Parashara. That story is also mentioned in Mahabharata with the interpretation that this great rishi saw into the future of the Kuru clan getting a childless generation which turned to be true.

Parashara Rishi is the grand son of Maharishi Vasishtha, one created by Brahma himself. Also, at the same time, the Kuru Dynasty also happened to be one of the favourites of Brahma. It was founded by King Kuru and the place Kurukshetra is named after him. Five generations later, Shantanu was born.

Coming back to Satyavati, even though she is considered the daughter of Dasharaja, she actually is the daughter of King Uparichara Vasu whose story is also mentioned in Mahabharata. The semen of the king while being transported to his wife gets accidentally dropped in the Yamuna which is swallowed by a fish. Dasharaja catches the fish and when he opens the belly, he finds two children inside, one boy and girl and both twins. The boy is adopted by Uparichara Vasu as his heir and the girl is taken by Dasharaja as his daughter, Satyavati. However King Uparichara has a total of five children with the sixth one Satyavati. It is also significant that Uparichara has enabled another dynasty apart from Kuru. That is his eldest son, Brihadratha who founded the Brihadratha Dynasty, the first dynasty to rule Magadha Kingdom and the first king of Magadha.

In 1700 BCE, Brihadratha founded the dynasty which began ruling the kingdom of Magadha. His grandson, Jarasandha is mentioned in Mahabharata when he is assasinated by Bhima with the help of Krishna. Successive rulers were then aligned with Pandavas. Sahadeva, the son of Jarasandha fought in Kurukshetra war on the side of Pandavas and was killed by Shakuni. Birhadratha dynasty ended with Ripunjaya’s death when Pradyota came on the throne and founded Pradyota dynasty which ruled Magadha next in 682 BCE. That is about 1000 years of rule of Brihadratha dynasty.

The subsequent dynasties which ruled Magadha Empire were Pradyota dynasty, Haryanka dynasty, Shaishunaga dynasty, Nanda dynasty and Mauryan dynasty of which Ashoka was the greatest king.

Chandragupta Maurya founded the Mauryan Dynasty after he raised an army and defeated the Nanda Empire. He was helped greatly by Chanakya, the renowned political strategiest and author of Arthashastra. That was the year 322 BCE which means that the rule of the preceding dynasties lasted only for around 350 years. Mauryan Dynasty in comparison ruled for 130 years. But the impact of their personalities like Chanakya, Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka on the world in general and India in particular is astounding.