The great Rama –Asoka the great
1.Rama-(ramyam)Meaning Charming
Asoka-Meaning No sorrows
Ramayana-Rama was Blue in color and Beautiful Most liked

Ashoka tale vs Rama’s myth

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2020-08-09 05:08:36

The great Rama –Asoka the great 1.Rama-(ramyam)Meaning Charming Asoka-Meaning No sorrows Ramayana-Rama was Blue in color and Beautiful Most liked by his father but different from their brothers The Ashokavadana states that Asoka’s father Bindusara did not like him, because he was ugly.(not like his other brothers) Bindusara-was also named -as baby with blue body or seemed to be blue to lighter skinned people

Asokavadana-Meeting of Asoka and Devi- In 286 BCE, Emperor Bindusara sent his most formidable son, Prince Asoka to quell a rebellion in Ujjaini (present day Ujjain). On his way to Ujjaini from the Imperial Capital Pataliputra (present day Patna), he halted at Vidishanagari for a while. Vidishanagari was at that time a stronghold of Buddhists, especially its wealthy merchant class all of whom were Buddhists. There, while resting in the garden of a nearby Stupa, he was disturbed by the chatter of passerby women who were taking offerings to the stupa. It was then he saw the leader of the group, Devi and fell in love with her at first sight. He sent his aides to find out all the information they can about Devi and after acquiring it, he approached her father for her hand in marriage. In another version, on Ashoka’s arrival, the merchants of Vidishanagari hosted a banquet in his honour. Here, he met and fell in love with Devi who personally attended to his requirements during the banquet. At the end of the banquet, he asked for her hand in marriage from her father. In both versions, Devi’s delighted father agreed happily. In both versions, however, he was rejected by Devi. She stated several reasons for this: caste differences (she was a Vaishya while he was a Kshatriya), sectarian differences (she was a Buddhist while he was a Shivaite), her own desire to stay in Vidisha and serve the society and Ashoka’s ill temper, sadistic tendencies and political ambition (Ashoka had already by that time built a reputation of being a ruthless and cruel general). According to some Buddhist texts, Devi agreed to marry him only on one condition that he should live a life as disciplined as the Buddha himself. In order to marry Devi, Ashoka converted to Buddhism and became pious in nature. This story has been dismissed by historians since the turning point for Ashoka is taken to be the Kalinga War, and not marriage to Devi. However, Devi’s contribution and personal influence over Ashoka is weighed heavily for his conversion. After being rejected, Ashoka left for Ujjain where he peacefully solved the revolt without a single fight. On his way back, somewhere nearby Vidisha, he was attacked and fatally wounded by assassins sent by his elder half-brother Crown Prince Sushima, who was becoming insecure about Ashoka’s rising popularity. While his generals held off and killed the assassins, he was secretly saved by some Buddhist monks from a nearby vihara who took him there and treated his wounds. Incidentally, Devi frequented this vihara and on learning about his injuries, she became his personal nurse. During this phase, Ashoka courted her and Devi finally reciprocated his feelings and accepted his proposal. According to a legend, to distract Ashoka from the pain caused due to the injuries, she used to tell him stories about Buddha and Boddhisattvas. Also, there he learnt the basic principles of Buddhism from the monks and nuns. This was later to form the base of his conversion to Buddhism. After his recovery, Ashoka married Devi, much to the delight of Devi’s father. It seems that Ashoka maintained good relations and contact with his first in-laws as he took their help in his later Buddhist propagation.

• Ramayana-Rama Asks sita to get in to yagna to prove her innocence Asokavadana-Ashoka also had the women in his harem (palace of queen) burnt to death when some of them insulted him. Karmuki is

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