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Ashoka's Hell was, according to legend, an elaborate torture chamber disguised as a beautiful and attractive palace full of amenities such as exclusive baths and decorated with flowers, fruit trees and ornaments. It was built by King Ashoka (304–232 BCE) in Pataliputra (modern Patna, India), the capital city of the Maurya Empire. The legend of the torture palace is detailed in the ''Ashokavadana'', the text that describes King Ashoka's life through both legendary and historical accounts. According to legend, the palatial torture chamber was artfully designed to make its exterior visually pleasing and was referred to as the "beautiful gaol". Beneath the veneer of beauty, however, deep inside the exclusive mansion, torture chambers were constructed which were full of sadistic and cruel instruments of torture including furnaces producing molten metal for pouring on prisoners. The narrative mentions that the architect of the chamber was inspired by descriptions of the five tortures of the Buddhist hell for the design of the torture chamber and of the torture methods he inflicted upon his victims. The text of the ''Ashokavadana'', describes how the torture chamber was so terrifying, it caused people to believe that Ashoka had visited hell itself in his quest to perfect its evil design. Through a pact made between Ashoka and the official executioner of the torture chamber anyone entering the palace, even by chance as a visitor, was not allowed to come out alive. ==Background== According to the narrations of ''Ashokavadana'', King Ashoka, prior to his conversion to Buddhism, was a fierce and sadistic ruler, known as ''Ashoka the Fierce'', or Candashoka (Ashoka the Cruel), who sent his minions on a quest to find a vicious man to work as his official executioner.〔〔 After some searching, Ashoka's men found a suitable candidate by the name of Girika who was so vicious that he killed his own parents because they did not want him to become Ashoka's executioner. Girika was introduced to Ashoka who soon appointed him as the official executioner of his Empire.〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ashoka's Hell」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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