Asoka: Ruthless Conqueror Or Enlightened Ruler

Over 2,000 years ago, there was an emperor in India named Asoka. Asoka ruled during the Mauryan empire. Although some might think that Asoka was an “enlightened” ruler just because he spread Buddhism and gave rich gifts to the poor, like every historical figure, they all have the so called “Dark Side”. Most of his ‘dark side’ is what makes Asoka not a legendary “enlightened” ruler, but a ruthless one. This is because he was responsible for killing a lot of people, and because he only stopped fighting for in wars because he no longer had to fight for what he needed or wanted since there was no more land to fight for. He had all of it under his control. This essay will prove these reason and why Asoka was a cruel ruler.

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Asoka was responsible for killing a lot of people. First, as a result of the battle for Kalinga, 100,000 Kalingans were killed in battle. The Kalingans couldn’t escape since the land around Kalinga was under Asoka’s rule. When people got sick, they couldn’t go out and buy medicine from nearby cities. So, when people got sick, many died due to the lack of medicine and not being able to buy any. Many Kalingans died of hunger too. When Asoka’s soldiers came in and invaded Kalinga, they didn’t care for the crops. They trampled over them, knocking down anything that was in their way of taking over. As a result of the crops being crushed, the Kalingans had a short supply of food causing them to die of hunger also. 100,000 Kalingans died being killed in battle, 100,000 died of disease and hunger. In total, 200,000 Kalingans died during the war. All greedy Asoka’s fault. This proves that Asoka killed a lot of people. He only stopped fighting in wars because he no longer had to fight for what he needed/ there was no more land to fight for. Asoka caused so much destruction just because he wanted more money. Kalinga was surrounded in part by the ocean, which was good for trade. Trade provided and easy source of money for the economy. Asoka didn’t stop to fight in wars because he was enlightened, he stopped because there was no more land to fight for. He had ruled it all! Also, he didn’t stop because “he had all the land he wanted”, he stopped because there was no more left. If there was more or more enemies, Asoka would go for it and fight causing more destruction then he already did. Those are the real reasons why Asoka stopped fighting in wars.

Overall, this essay proves that Asoka was a ruthless and selfish ruler because he killed a lot of people and only stopped fighting in wars because there was nothing left for him or anything beneficial to it in the end.