Postal stamp on Ashoka released

Indian government has released a postal stamp on the ancient Indian Emperor – Ashoka.

Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad released the commemorative postal stamp. The stamp of 5 rupees will be available for sale in the post offices.

Mr. Prasad announced the release of the stamp during a function of Bharatiya Janata Party organised to celebrate the birth anniversary of Ashoka.

Who was Ashoka?

  • Ashoka Maurya (304–232 BCE)
  • He was an ancient Indian emperor from the Maurya Dynasty.
  • He ruled almost the entire Indian subcontinent during 269 to 232 BCE.
  • He was a son of the Mauryan emperor Bindusara and the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, founder of Mauryan dynasty.
  • Ashoka’s mother – Dharma was a relatively lower ranked wife of Bindusara.
  • Ashoka reigned over a realm that stretched from the Hindu Kush Mountains in the west to Bengal in the East and covered the entire Indian subcontinent except parts of present-day Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
  • The capital of the Ashoka’s Empire was Pataliputra while Taxila and Ujjain were the provincial capitals.