Ashoka is the Mauryan emperor traditionally credited with spreading Buddhism across much of South Asia. He ruled a large empire in the third century BCE and became one of Buddhism’s most important royal patrons.
Buddhist traditions say Ashoka turned toward Buddhism after the devastating Kalinga War. His own rock and pillar inscriptions describe remorse over the suffering caused by the conquest, although they do not present exactly the same conversion narrative found in later Buddhist chronicles. His inscriptions promote dhamma, ethical conduct, compassion, and respect among religious communities.
Ashoka supported Buddhist institutions and is traditionally associated with missions that carried Buddhist teachings beyond the Mauryan heartland. Later traditions also connect him with the Third Buddhist Council at Pataliputra and with the construction or enlargement of stupas. Historians distinguish these later accounts from the evidence directly preserved in Ashoka’s inscriptions.