"Although Ashoka was victorious in this horrific and gruesome war, he felt remorse for all the suffering he had caused and hence turned to Buddhism. He wrote in his Edict Thirteen that: The Kalingas were conquered by His Sacred Majesty the King when he had been consecrated for eight years. One hundred and fifty thousand persons were thence carried away captive, and one hundred thousand were there slain, and many times that number perished. Directly after the annexation of the Kalingas, began his Sacred Majesty's zealous protection of Dharma, his love of Dharma, and his giving instruction in that. Thus arose His Sacred Majesty's remorse for having conquered the Kalingas, because the conquest of a country previously unconquered involves the slaughter, death, and carrying away captive of the people. That is a matter of profound sorrow and regret to His Sacred Majesty."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Ashoka
Ashoka the Great (Devanagari: अशोक; IAST transliteration: Aśoka, 304 BCE – 232 BCE), known also as Piyadasi (Pali. Sanskrit: Priyadarśin – meaning 'good looking'), and Devanaŋpiya (Pali. Sanskrit: Devānāmpriya meaning 'beloved of the Gods'), was the emperor of the Mauryan Empire from 273 BCE to 232 BCE. After a number of military conquests, Ashoka re
25 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Ashoka →
Related Quotes
"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, has caused this Dhamma edict to be written. Here (in my domain) no living beings …"
"Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the Cholas, t…"
"Respect for mother and father is good, generosity to friends, acquaintances, relatives, Brahmans and ascetics is good…"
"To do good is difficult. One who does good first does something hard to do. I have done many good deeds, and, if my s…"
"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, desires that all religions should reside everywhere, for all of them desire self-…"
"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, does not consider glory and fame to be of great account unless they are achieved …"
"There is no gift like the gift of the Dhamma, (no acquaintance like) acquaintance with Dhamma, (no distribution like)…"
"Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, honors both ascetics and the householders of all religions, and he honors them wi…"
"In the political sense Ashoka had failed; in another sense he had accomplished one of the greatest tasks in history. …"
"Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King Piodasses (Piyadassi) made known (the doctrine of) Piety to men; and…"