Unknown facts about Ashoka’s early life

Among the great rulers of India, Emperor Ashoka is known for being a benevolent monarch. His early life is shrouded in mystery, with very few details available about the events that shaped his rise to power. Apart from the famous reign of Emperor Ashoka, there are fragmentary historical details about his childhood and youth, Buddhist texts reveal surprising and unseen aspects of his journey.

Ashoka was born in 304 BC! Ashoka was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Maurya Empire, and the son of Emperor Bindusara. His mother, Subhadrangi, was a woman of humble origins. According to some historians, she was the daughter of a Brahmin priest, while according to other historians, she was from a merchant family. Ashoka had to struggle a lot for recognition in the royal court full of political intrigues. According to the Buddhist text Ashoka Vadana, Bindusara initially disliked Ashoka because of his rough appearance and aggressive nature, which earned him the nickname “Chand Ashoka” (Ashoka the Fierce) – a sharp contrast to his later title, “Dharma Ashoka” (Righteous Ashoka).

Ashoka was not the first to ascend the throne, as his half-brother Susima became the crown prince. Some historical texts state that Ashoka’s father Bindusara sent Ashoka to suppress a rebellion in Takshashila. While some historians believe that this method was devised by Ashoka’s father Bindusara to keep Ashoka away from court politics, Ashoka’s success in suppressing the rebellion proved his naval and administrative abilities, making him a contender for the throne.

After Bindusara’s death, a brutal war of succession broke out. Famous legends claim that Ashoka killed 99 brothers to make the throne comfortable, although historians argue that this is an exaggeration. It is much more likely that he eliminated only a few major competitors, including Susima, while others also died or survived the war. Some accounts suggest that Ashoka’s mother played a key role in his rise by providing guidance to key ministers. Divyāvadāna, another Buddhist text, describes a cunning plot where Ashoka tricked his brothers into entering a pit of burning coals – even if this is more an illusion than truth.

During his tenure as viceroy in Ujjain, Ashoka met Devi (or Vedisa-Mahadevi), the daughter of a service provider who later became his first wife. Some historians speculate that she may have been of noble or possibly even Greek descent, given the Maurya Empire’s ties to the Hellenistic world. Devi is believed to have inspired Ashoka’s later religious conversion. Ashoka had two children, Mahendra and Sanghamitra – who played important roles in the spread of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. But, after Ashoka became emperor, Devi mysteriously disappears from the ancient document, leading to speculation that she may have either left the court or been sidelined for political purposes.

In contrast to idealised pictures of kings, Ashoka is described in historical texts as an ordinary-looking man who suffered from a skin condition, possibly psoriasis, which made him self-conscious. The Ashokavadana mentions that he was initially rejected by his father because of his rugged appearance, fuelling his ambition to prove himself. Some scholars propose that his physical insecurities may also have contributed to his competitive early reign before his transformation.

Before the Kalinga War (261 BCE), Ashoka was far from the peaceful ruler he later became. His early reign was marked by brutal expansionist rule, giving him a fearsome identity. Some historians argue that his sudden conversion to Buddhism after Kalinga was not entirely spontaneous, but may have been inspired by his earlier propagation of Buddhist teachings through his wife Devi or his upbringing in Ujjain, a major center for Buddhist learning.

Ashoka’s famous edicts and pillars document his later rule amply, but make almost no mention of his early life or succession struggles. This deliberate omission raises questions—was Ashoka trying to erase his violent past, or did later rulers erode those figures? Some historians believe that Ashoka’s early edicts may also have been edited to suit his reformed image.

Ashoka’s early life became a turbulent mix of ambition, war and political cunning – a far cry from the saintly image often portrayed. His rise to power was no longer assured, and his transformation into a benevolent ruler was aided by personal loss, religious influences and the horrors of war. Those lesser-known inscriptions depict a complex man whose legacy was no longer based solely on peace but also on the ruthless willfulness that had made him emperor in the first place.