A Question of Ethics: Chanakya, Dharma and Ashoka

Hi All Ashoka Lovers,

When some of the greatest thinkers like Chanakya and Ashoka are involved, can questions on ethics be far behind? But this present post is limited to a discussion of the ethics of Dharma relinquishing all rights over Ashoka and handing them over to Chanakya in the TV show. 

Please note that this post has nothing to do with history nor does it endorse the view that Dharma did give away Ashoka to Chanakya in reality. 

Chanakya


In Friday's (13th Feb, 2015) episode, Chanakya admits to his feelings of guilt on separating a mother and her son, half to himself and half to his faithful disciple. It was a poignant moment yet it filled me with a sense of relief. Till that moment, i had wondered if Chanakya didn't feel at all the immense sorrow of Dharma and Ashoka at being unable to meet or even acknowledge each other, just because those had been his orders. It seems he did feel the grief but his overwhelming loyalty to the Mauryan empire and its future was more important to him. 

In his own words, he admitted that he would be pronounced guilty by history and labeled selfish and indeed, he felt he was selfish but he was doing it all for the greater good of the Mauryan empire and, if on the road to securing the future of the empire, he had to sacrifice a few relationships or use some people as pawns, so be it. 

{Do ends justify means? This is the question here. It is true that a mighty empire needs a mighty emperor to keep it together and expand it in all possible ways. It is also true that emperors are generally made and not born. If Chanakya saw the future of Magadh in Ashoka and wanted to nurture it, there's nothing wrong with it. But the way he is going about it is questionable, if not downright objectionable. 

The second question that arises is who is more important  - the state or the individual? Should an individual be used as a pawn to strengthen an empire, irrespective of his / her own wishes? What about the rights of a citizen?  
}  

It may have been my imagination but i felt that Chanakya was trying to fool himself into believing his own words. He sounded as someone who was trying desperately to assuage his guilty conscience that what he was doing was not wrong because it would ultimately result in the good of the empire. 


Dharma


Dharma had shielded Ashoka from his destiny all these years but now that destiny had come searching for him to his doorstep and wouldn't take No for an answer. She also possibly knew in her heart that she would never be able to give a secure life to Ashoka, the kind of life Chanakya could succeed in providing. She trusted Chanakya implicitly and, more so, after his efforts to prove her son innocent in the assassination attempt on King B. It may also have been her desire that at least her son should enjoy the love and company of his father.
      
In any case, it is exceedingly tough for a mother to part from her son for anything in the world, even the future of her husband's empire. Esp a mother who has no one except that son in her world and has learned to revolve her life around him. To see your son in front of you every day and still remain away from him as if he were a stranger is like twisting a sharp knife thru your insides and not even be able to cry about it. 

It is said every person must be recompensed for anything they give. Chanakya must be well aware of this principle. So it remains to be seen how he compensates Dharma for sacrificing her son. Or does he feel that the fact that her son would be king one day is enough recompense to her?

{
Think of Dharma's ordeal in Tuesday's episode (Feb 17, 2015) when she learns that her son has been kidnapped by a demon. She cannot even cry openly nor seek help from anyone in this regard. 
}


Ashoka


What about the little kid, Ashoka himself? I feel the most for him - a pawn in a political game, who is paying a heavy price without even knowing or understanding why. A child who is being politically used by blackmailing him emotionally thru his mother and by holding his mother captive so that he cannot try any tricks or escape. 

The scene when Dharma tells him that from then on, he must listen to everything Chanakya says just the way he obeyed his mother in the past without questioning her, moved me to tears. Ashoka is not given any explanation or reason as to why he must stay away from his mother, why he must never acknowledge that she is his mother and why he must remain bonded to Chanakya. And the amazing love for his mother shines thru here when he accepts his mother's decision and gives her his word in this regard, even though his heart is dull with pain and his sharp mind must be swirling with many questions. 

{
This kind of blind faith in his mother and acceptance of her words without questioning was also seen in the scene where he is being tortured by Bindusar's men just before his trial in the assassination attempt case. His mother makes him promise that he would not reveal her identity and he agrees EVEN in that condition when he is facing death. It was a stunning revelation about his relationship with his mother and makes it so easy to believe when he says that his universe lies at the feet of his mother. 

But why then does the mother need to extract promises from him? Doesn't she trust him as much as he does?
}

Scenes like this make us stop and think that Ashoka was one of those rare people who ARE born great. To him, the only ethical question is whether he is able to keep his mother happy or not. It doesn't matter to him that she is handing him over to a relative stranger to an uncertain future. (To a child, future with his mother would seem more certain and secure than anything else.) 

Ashoka seems aware that Chanakya has some big gameplan up his sleeve; he doesn't yet know just what it is but he is willing to play along just because his mother trusts this man. And he has his own dreams of becoming an emperor one day and he may be of the belief that being close to the king would enable him to spot opportunities to move closer to his dream. 

But still, it is amazing how Ashoka is able to maintain a cheerful disposition in spite of his circumstances. The other day, when he was hurt in the race with Sushima and was treated briefly by his mother, it was such a tender yet heart-wrenching moment. How much Ashoka would have wanted to share news of his win with his mother, how much he would have wanted to be pampered by her. How much she would have wanted to hug him and kiss his tears away. Chanakya wanted to send him to a dispensary for treatment but the self-respecting boy declined. Nurses could heal his injuries but only his mother could heal the hurt in his heart. And if he couldn't be healed by her touch, he didn't want to be healed at all.

{
The question is, is it possible for Ashoka to go on like this, away from his only emotional anchor, when he is in his teens, when he needs a mother's guidance and love the most? 

Would he be able to keep his love for her alive, in spite of her staying away from him? Or will resentment slowly make its way into his heart and embitter his soul against her?
}

What do you feel?


This is a strange, uneasy relationship among these three. Each has accepted this relationship for their own reasons, putting the ethics of it all in the background. 

But for us, ignoring the question is not easy. Please share your thoughts on this question and whether you think they are justified in their stands. 



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


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