To be able to lead an army, one needs strength but to lead a whole nation, it requires more than that. Here are five traits that any king or ruler must possess that Ashoka has the right blend of.

Leadership: To be a good king, it is important to possess leadership qualities and that’s pretty evident from the way Ashoka leads the people around him. Being a leader, Ashoka motivates the rebels to fight against Keechak and boosts their morale when they lose their will to fight.

Family: For Ashoka, his family is everything. When his mother Dharma was accused of conspiracy, she was called by King Bindusara for the hearing. Not knowing that Dharma and her mother were one and the same person, Ashoka went to look for her. On finding the truth and after Chanakya’s intervention, he decided not to reveal the truth without any proof of Dharma being behind the conspiracy of killing the king. 

Loyalty: After Chanakya’s death, Ashoka takes it upon himself to seek the revenge for Chanakya’s murder. Its Ashoka’s loyalty towards Chanakya that makes him take the duty of fulfilling Chanakya’s last wishes of defending his motherland by becoming the king of Magadh. Warrior: He doesn’t hesitate to put up a fight whether it be against Keechak and his men or when he turned to agradoot when injustice was being done with the refugees. He always believes in putting up a fair fight.

Strategy: A good leader should be able to plan a good strategy so that they have an upper hand over the others. When Takshashila is under unrest because of Keechak, and Bindusara decides to leave Magadh to resolve the issue, Ashoka convinces his father to let him go instead. He convinces Bindusara by saying that Keechak wouldn’t be prepared for him and that it would come to him as a total shock. Apart from taking his enemy by surprise, he didn’t want Magadh to be further entangled in problems after the king’s unexpected departure.

Don’t forget to catch Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat, Mon-Fri, 9PM.