Ashoka wanted to spread dhamma because'
• Ashoka felt that he had a duty to instruct his subjects and he was also inspired by the teachings of the Buddha.
• A number of problems such as the people in the empire followed different religions, and this sometimes led to conflict that troubled him a lot.
• Slaves and servants were ill-treated besides; there were quarrels in families and amongst neighbours
• Ashoka felt it was his duty to solve these problems. So, he appointed officials, known as the dhamma mahamatta who went from place to place teaching people about dhamma.

If I had the power to inscribe my order, the following four commands, I would like to issue:
• Respect your teachers, parents and elders.
• Obey the orders of your elders and love all your young ones.
• All children, whether boys or girls, should be sent to school.
• There should be no difference on the basis of caste and creed.

Ashoka adopted several measures to spread the message of his dhamma. Some of them are:
(i) He himself set an example before his people by strictly following Ahimsa.
(ii) He appointed some officials known as dhamma mahamatta to spread and explain the message of dhamma.
(iii) He engraved the principles of dhamma on rocks and pillars.
(iv) He has written his message in Prakrit language.

Ashoka's attitude towards the neighbouring people was totally different from the contemporary Chinese emperors. For example the Chinese emperors constructed wall to protect the northern frontier of the empire from the pastoral people, whereas Ashoka expanded its empire of dhamma by sending officials to spread the message of non-violence. This example presents the open mindedness of Ashoka.

Differences between Pataliputra and Mohenjodaro were as follow:
Pataliputra This was a large and beautiful city. It was surrounded by a massive wall. It had 570 towers and 64 gates. The houses, of two and three storeys, were built of wood and mud brick. The king's palace was also of wood, and decorated with stone carvings. It was surrounded with gardens and enclosures for keeping birds.
Mohenjodaro There was no king, hence there was no palace. The city was divided into two parts-the citadel and the surrounding area. The houses were single-storeyed and made of bricks.

Megasthenes described the emperor's appearance in public as:
• The occasions on which the emperor appeared in public were celebrated with grand royal processions.
• He was carried in a golden palanquin. His guards rode elephants decorated with gold and silver.
• Some of the guards carried trees on which live birds, including a flock of trained parrots, circle about the head of the emperor. The king was normally surrounded by armed women.
• He was afraid that someone might try to kill him.

The emperors run the empire as:
• The ruling pattern was varying in empires due to the largeness of the empire.
• The area around Pataliputra was under the direct control of the emperor meant that officials were appointed to collect taxes from farmers, herders, craftspersons and traders, who lived in villages and towns in the area.
• Many of these officials were given salaries and these officials punished those who disobeyed the ruler's orders.
• Messengers went to and fro, and spies kept a watch on the officials and of course the emperor supervised them all, with the help of members of the royal family, and senior ministers.
• The other areas or provinces were ruled from a provincial capital such as Taxila or Ujjain although there was some amount of control from Pataliputra.
• The royal princes were often sent as governors, local customs and rules were probably followed.