Ashoka (film)

dtv-Atlas zur Weltgeschichte, vol.1, 5th edition Bielefeld, 1969, column 43

The Maurya dynasty was established by Candragupta (lit: protected by the moon(-god)), his name in Greek was Sandrokottos in 321 B.C. Candragupta became king of Magadha and fought successfully against the Greek successors of Alexander the Great. Ashoka (272-231) was his grandson. He unified India nearly completely (except the Cola dominions in remote south). The capital of his realm was Patalputra, today: Patna.. His wheel is part of todays Tiranga (Indias national flag) and the three lions of the Ashoka pillar, that can be seen in Sarnath near Benares, are forming the nowadays coat of arms of India. When Magadhas main rival Kalinga had been finally defeated, 100 000 people were killed and 150 000 deported. Having realized, what he had done, Ashoka converted to Buddhism and established this religion to bring the country peace.

It was a must for Bollywood producers making a movie about this emperor. And who else as Shah Rukh Khan should play the role of Ashoka. The movie was finished in 2001 and was shown on RTL II TV in Germany in April 2006.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 23 Augustus 2008