Ashoka - Feb 2 & 3 2015 | Episode 1 & 2 | The Stage is Set...

Hi Friends,

The first episode set the stage for the show, introducing the main characters who will be center stage the next few months. 

The leitmotif of the show seems to be the lion that reportedly represents the spirit of Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of the Mauryan dynasty. It's as if Chandragupta Maurya himself is constantly keeping a vigil on the goings-on in his empire and family. 

Link: Symbolism of Lion

The present king is Bindusara, the son of Chandragupta Maurya. Helen, the daughter of the Greek, Selucus Nicator, is the queen mother. It seems her son Justin was not given the chance to become the king and instead, Bindusara became the king. The mother-son duo along with Selucus Nicator himself seems keen on capturing the throne for Justin somehow.

Another important character Mir Khorasan enters the scene with his daughter Noor. 

Note: Khorasan is a province in Iran and its people speak a dialect closely resembling Persian. 



History Posts under Ashoka Maurya section:

1. Emperor Ashoka Maurya - Introduction to HIM and HIS Family

2. Chanakya's Novel Method to TEST Character of Ministers

3. Emperor Asoka Maurya Killed 99 Brothers to Become King - Fact or Myth ? Why/Did Asoka killed Sushima ?  And some other questions | A Debate

4. What is the BASIS of GREATness ? | From Akbar to Ashoka to Alexander & Maharana Pratap

5. The HISTORY of Samrat Bindusara, Dharma and Ashoka


The introductory scene of Noor is interesting. It is set against the backdrop of the battle of Buzkashi, a sport played on horseback in which the participants try to keep control of the carcass of a headless goat. Bindusara, Noor and Justin seemed to be playing this sport which the king won easily, with Justin being more interested in Noor than in winning the game. 

Note: Buzkashi literally means 'goat grabbing' or 'goat killing'. The carcass is placed in the center of a circle, surrounded by the members of the 2 teams who are on horseback. The objective is to bring the carcass across the winning / goal line or into the winner's circle. 

After the tournament, Khorasan proposes to marry his daughter to Bindusara and also offers his army and support to Bindusara. The latter's wife, mother to baby Sushrima, is distraught but the powerful and persuasive Helen pushes thru the alliance 'in the interests of Magadh'.

This alliance upsets Justin considerably.

Before the marriage can take place, Bindusara goes hunting with the son of Khorasan. Helen asks the minister Amatya Ugrasen, who is in cohorts with her, to make arrangements for the king's trip. Chanakya tries to dissuade the king from going as he fears an attack on the king's life by palace insiders. But the king laughs off his fears and goes anyway.

He is successful in hunting down a wild boar easily but soon falls prey to an ambush by Justin's men. He tries to escape as Khorasan's son and his own men try to fend off the attackers unsuccessfully and are all killed. The king, faint from a grievous chest wound inflicted by an arrow, slips into a waterfall and loses consciousness. 

He is discovered by Dharma and her friends who tries to revive him by using herbal medicine. 

Meanwhile it is presumed in the palace that Bindusara is dead as his crown and sword are found near the bodies of his dead men. Helen and Amatya together hatch a plan to anoint baby Sushrima as the would-be king while the real ruler would be Justin - ostensibly because Sushrima is still a baby.

 The concept of the sabha is interesting. Earlier, kings generally relied on the advice of a sabha or council of ministers. 

Chanakya smells a Greek hand in Bindusara's disappearance and refuses to believe that the king is dead till he sees the actual body. He urges Khorasan to find the king by convincing him that the Greeks have killed his son and attempted to kill his would-be son-in-law.

Meanwhile, it seems the rebels (probably a descendant of the Nanda dynasty) are waiting for just this chance - when Magadh is without a ruler - and start a period of anarchy and chaos. The Greeks encourage this, perhaps because it would make the people accept Justin as the new king more easily - because they would need a new king urgently to control the anarchy.   

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Bindusara is highly impressed by the beautiful Dharma and her views on ahimsa and perhaps grateful too that she saved his life. He tries to leave her father's (a brahmin) ashram but she convinces him that he is her responsibility till he has fully recovered from his injuries. 

Bindusara names her Dharma - because she is so rooted to the path of Dharma - and decides to get married to her. Much later in the episode, he confesses to Noor that Dharma completes him and that she is the only woman whom he loves. It is often true that kings are surrounded by beautiful women but are usually more attracted to a simple outsider who appears to bring 'meaning' into their life and makes the concept of 'ardhangini' seem real and understandable.

The next day, Khorasan manages to trace him and convince him to return to Pataliputra to save a burning Magadh from annihilation. He also reminds him of his promise to marry Noor. (Dharma is shocked to discover that her unknown husband is the Magadh emperor.) Bindusara tries to introduce Dharma to Khorasan but she interrupts him and says that he should return to his kingdom to fulfill his responsibilities. And that when the time is right, he can take her to his capital.

Meanwhile, Justin is all set for his coronation but unfortunately for him, just as he is about to wear the crown, Khorasan enters the court with the emperor in his wake. Everyone is stunned but they can hardly do anything except welcome the emperor back and order an inquiry into the attack.

Chanakya catches hold of the attackers and brings them to the king to expose Helen and her son. Here I missed the scene. The main attacker dies in the court- I didn't see how. But Helen pounces on this and says that the man died of the same poison which had left its mark on Bindusara's forehead. (Refer to Abhay's post, which explains the story of how Bindusara got the mark on his face and hence his name.)

Link: How Bindusara Got the Mark on His Forehead and His Name

 She cleverly insinuates thru a careful filtering of the truth that Chanakya had killed Bindusara's mother Durdhara thru poison. Chanakya tries to defend himself by saying that he had tried to make Chandragupta immune to poison and that Durdhara's death had been an accident. But Bindusara is too shocked to react and Chanakya is forced to leave the kingdom and go into exile. But this wily statesman who had devoted his life to Magadh and its perpetuity, like Bheeshma did to the Kuru dynasty and Hastinapura, proclaims that he would return to Magadh everytime it required his services in safeguarding the empire.

The caucus of Helen, Justin and Amatya heave a sigh of relief to be rid of Chanakya and for having escaped detection (which would have meant death) narrowly.  

The proclamation of Bindusara's well-being brings cheer and a sense of relief / security to the people. The rebel leader is killed by Khorasan. 

Bindusara marries Noor but makes the mistake of admitting his love for Dharma to her. He tells Noor candidly that he only married her to honor his promise to her father and that he can never love her. And that he is simply waiting to bring his beloved wife to the palace soon. 

Dharma is expecting Bindusara's child and waits patiently for his arrival to take her to the palace. But as weeks pass without any sign of his coming, she is increasingly disappointed. 

Khorasan can't bear to see his daughter 'heartbroken'  - I have my doubts whether she is really heartbroken or is just ruing the fact that she will never be the Chief Queen. He traces Dharma and tells her that Bindusara has sent him to kill her. He kicks her protesting father to the ground and chases her to her hut. As she shuts herself inside, Khorasan has her hut set on fire. An in-labour Dharma prays for mercy and the lion appears on the scene to protect her from the raging fire around her so that the heir to his dynasty can be born safely. The sight of the baby steels Dharma and she decides to put her sorrow behind her. Thus she names the child Ashoka- the one who removed sorrow from her life. 

We will see in coming days Ashoka growing up and becoming a leader in his vicinity. He is discovered by Chanakya who wants to take him to Magadh to take his rightful place on the throne. Chanakya is as impressed by the 14-year old Ashoka's independence and self-confidence as he must have been when he first set eyes upon a young Chandragupta.      

 But Dharma who feels betrayed by her husband refuses to let her son have anything to do with Magadh. It will be interesting to see how Chanakya manages to persuade her to let Ashoka claim his inheritance and leave a lasting legacy.

In short, a lot has happened in the first 2 episodes and almost all the important characters have been introduced. The ground is fast getting set for some great action. Hopefully we will get to see more action in this show than we did in JA. All the actors are good, esp Siddharth Nigam who plays the pivotal role of Ashoka. Keeping fingers crossed for an authentic - as much as possible - and engrossing show! Enjoy, everyone!!! :)  



This article has been posted under the Ashoka Maurya section of history_geek's blog.