In 301 B.C., Chandragupta’s son, Asoka, took over the throne, ruling the Mauryan Empire to its greatest heights for 32 years. Asoka became declared king of the Mauryan Empire in 269 B.C. At first, Asoka followed in Chandragupta’s footsteps, waging war to expand his empire. I praise Asoka’s method of ruling when he soon after realized waging war wasn’t the right thing to do. Asoka felt sorrow over the slaughter of 100,000 soldiers and perished civilians at Kalinga. This resulted with him studying Buddhism and ruling by the Buddha’s teachings of “peace to all beings.” Throughout the empire, he erected huge stone pillars inscribed with his new policies. Some edicts guaranteed Asoka would treat his subjects fairly and humanely. Others preached
