Bindusara
Also called: Amitraghata · Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Bindusara was the second Mauryan emperor. He was the son of Chandragupta Maurya and the father of Ashoka. He ruled c. 297–273 BCE, between the reigns of the empire's founder and its most famous ruler. He was called Amitraghata, meaning "slayer of enemies". Greek writers called him Amitrochates. Buddhist sources say he supported the Ajivikas, a group of ascetics with their own beliefs. He kept up the friendly ties with the Greeks that his father had started.
Example
The Seleucid Greek king Antiochus I sent an envoy named Deimachus to Bindusara's court at Pataliputra. This continued the Greek contact begun when Megasthenes came to Chandragupta's court.
Don't confuse with
- Bimbisara: an earlier king of Magadha who helped make it powerful. He lived long before the Mauryas, in the time of the Buddha.
Related concepts
- Ashoka
- Kalinga war
- Rock Edict XIII
- Kalinga edicts
- Dhauli
- Ashoka's dhamma
- Dhamma mahamatta
- Pativedaka
- Devanampiya
- Ashoka's religious tolerance