ASHOKA (304-236 B.C.): HIS RULE, KALINGA AND THE SPREAD OF BUDDHISM

Ven. S. Dhammika wrote: The judicial system was
reformed in order to make it more fair, less harsh and less open to
abuse, while those sentenced to death were given a stay of execution to
prepare appeals and regular amnesties were given to prisoners. State
resources were used for useful public works like the importation and
cultivation of medical herbs, the building of rest houses, the digging
of wells at regular intervals along main roads and the planting of fruit
and shade trees. To ensue that these reforms and projects were carried
out, Ashoka made himself more accessible to his subjects by going on
frequent inspection tours and he expected his district officers to
follow his example. To the same end, he gave orders that important state
business or petitions were never to be kept from him no matter what he
was doing at the time. The state had a responsibility not just to
protect and promote the welfare of its people but also its wildlife.
Hunting certain species of wild animals was banned, forest and wildlife
reserves were established and cruelty to domestic and wild animals was
prohibited. The protection of all religions, their promotion and the
fostering of harmony between them, was also seen as one of the duties of
the state. It even seems that something like a Department of Religious
Affairs was established with officers called dharma Mahamatras whose job
it was to look after the affairs of various religious bodies and to
encourage the practice of religion. [Source: “Edicts of King Ashoka:
An English Rendering” by Ven. S. Dhammika, Buddhist Publication Society,
Kandy Sri Lanka, 1993]

Ashoka’s Personal Religion

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Ashoka rock edict in Gujarat

It is said that in the 3rd century B.C., the great
Emperor Ashoka was sent to Ujjain by his father Bindusara to subdue an
uprising. He was injured and was treated by Buddhist monks, the king’s
first encounter with Buddhism, a religion he later converted India.
Ashoka appears to have never renounced the world, nor ever became a
monk, as suggested by some scholars on the authority of the Divjavadana
and of I-tsing, Ashoka’s pilgrimages to Sarnath, where the Buddha first
“turned the wheel of the Law,” and to Kushinagar,where Buddhists
believe Gautama Buddha attained Parinirvana after his death, are not
mentioned in his inscriptions.

Ashoka’s link with Buddhism is mainly associated with
Kalinga. He himself declares in R.E. XIII that “directly after the
conquest of the Kalihgas, the Beloved of the gods became zealous in the
pursuit of dharma, love for dharma, and teaching of dharma.” Rama
Shankar Tripathi wrote: Sometimes it is doubted if he was a Buddhist,
but his attachment to Buddhism is apparent from authentic traditions
as well as cpigraphic evidence. In the Bhabru edict he professes
devotion to the Buddhist Trinity — the Buddha, the dharma, and the
Samgha — and recommends both the Order and the laity certain sections
from the Buddhist scriptures for their recitation and meditation.

In the minor pillar edict at Sarnath and its variants,
Ashoka speaks almost as the Defender of the Faith, prescribing
penalties for any attempts to create schisms in the church. He also
performed pilgrimages to Buddhist holy places like Bodhgaya (R. E.
VIII) and Lumbini (M. P. E.), and abolished sacrifices and amusements
which involved the slaughter of innocent animals (R. E. I.). Lastly, we
learn from traditions that Ashoka built a large number of Stupas to
enshrine the relics of the Buddha, originally deposited in eight such
structures; and to further the cause of Buddhism and settle the canon
the Emperor convoked a council, too, under the leadership of
Moggaliputta Tissa. [Source: “History of Ancient India” by Rama Shankar
Tripathi, Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Benares Hindu
University, 1942]

Tolerance of Religion in Ashoka’s Empire

Though Ashoka had himself embraced Buddhism, he was by
no means an intolerant zealot. On the contrary, he bestowed due honours
and patronage on all the sects then prevailing. He granted
cavedwellings to the Ajivikas, and inculcated the virtues of liberality
and seemly behaviour towards the votaries of different creeds —
Brahmanas, Sramanas, Nirgranthas, etc. He believed that the followers of
all sects aimed at “restraint of passions and purity of heart,” and,
therefore, he desired that they should reside everywhere in his empire
(R. E. VII). Above all, he exhorted his subjects to exercise
self-control, be “bahuSruta,” i.e., have much information about the
doctrines of different sects, and avoid disparaging any faith merely
from attachment to one’s own, so that there may be a growth in mutual
reverence and toleration (R. E. XII). Truly, these are lofty
sentiments, which may bring solace even to the modern distracted world.
[Source: “History of Ancient India” by Rama Shankar Tripathi, Professor
of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Benares Hindu University, 1942]

Owing to this catholicity Ashoka did not seek to
impose his personal religion upon the people. Indeed, nowhere in his
edicts does he mention the chief characteristics of Buddhism, to wit,
the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the goal of Nirvana. The
“Dharma”, which he presents to the world is, so to say, the essence or
sara of all religions. He prescribes a code of conduct with a view to
making life happier and purer. He laid great stress on obedience and
respect for parents, preceptors, and elders. Liberality and proper
treatment of Brahmanas, relations, friends, the aged, and the
distressed, were highly commended. Ashoka defines the “Dharma” as
comprising charity, compassion, truthfulness, purity, saintliness.
self-control, gratitude, steadfastness, and so on. Negatively, it is
freedom from sin, which is the outcome of anger, cruelty, pride), and
jealousy. These ate points common to all religions, and so Ashoka can
hardly be accused of utilising his vast resources as sovereign in the
interests of any particular creed. To him, therefore, goes the credit
of first conceiving the idea of a universal religion, synonymous with
Duty in its broadest sense. [Source: “History of Ancient India” by Rama
Shankar Tripathi, Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture,
Benares Hindu University, 1942]

Ashoka did not, however, give to all the current
religious practices and beliefs the stamp of his recognition. In
pursuance of the principle of non-injury to sentient beings, he did not
hesitate to suppress entirely the performance of sacrifices
accompanied with the slaughter of animals (R. E. I). This may have
meant a real hardship to some of his people, who believed in their
efficacy, but Ashoka was not prepared to make any compromise on this
cardinal doctrine. He also condemned certain ceremonies as trivial,
vulgar, and worthless. Mostly they were performed by womenfolk on
occasions of births, deaths, marriages, journeys, etc. According to
Ashoka, true ceremonial consisted of proper conduct in all relations of
life. Similarly, he tried to change the popular idea of gifts and
conquests. He declares that there is no such gift as dharma-d&na,
which consists of “proper treatment of slaves and servants, obedience
to mother and father, liberality to friends, companions, relations,
Brahmana and Sramana ascetics, and abstention from slaughter of living
creatures for sacrifice”

Ashoka Promotion of Buddhism and the Third Buddhist Council

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Ashoka propagated the “Dharma” with the zeal and
earnestness of a missionary, and he claims in Minor Rock Edict I that
as a result of his strenuous exertions for a year, indeed for more than
a year, “human beings who were unmixed were caused to be mixed with
gods throughout Jambudvlpa.” He achieved this extraordinary success on
account of his well-planned measures. He exhibited “spectacles” of
celestial chariots, luminous balls of fire, and elephants, representing
the kinds of bliss, which the virtuous enjoyed in heaven. He believed
that these shows would attract people to the path of righteousness. He
himself gave up pleasure-tours, consisting of hunting and other
diversions, and substituted for them “ dharmaja tras” to foster dharma
and a spirit of liberality in’ the country by his precept and personal
example. [Source: “History of Ancient India” by Rama Shankar Tripathi,
Professor of Ancient Indian History and Culture, Benares Hindu
University, 1942]

Ashoka embarked on a programme of benevolent
activities to relieve the distress of man and beast. We have already
referred to his prohibition of sacrificial slaughter, and R. E. I
further says that he gradually eliminated the non-vegetarian items from
the royal menu. All Samajas, involving meat-eating, dancing, music,
etc., were strictly stopped. Similarly, P. E. V. mentions certain
regulations which he prescribed in order to restrict the killing and
mutilation of animals. He gave largess to ascetics, the poor, and the
oppressed; and he employed superior officers (Mukhas) for supervising
his charities as well as those of his queens and the princes. According
to R. E. II, Ashoka instituted “medical treatment” of two kinds — one
for human beings and the other for the lower creation — in his
dominions and in those of his frontier neighbours.

One of the notable events, which took place in the
17th year of Ashoka’s coronation, was the convocation of the third
Buddhist council to resolve the differences between the various sects of
Buddhism. It met at Pataliputra (near present-day Patna) and after
nine months’ deliberations the issues were decided in favour of the
Sthaviras (an early Buddhist school).

Buddhism Spreads Out of India

At the conclusion of the Third Buddhist Council, the
council leader organised and dispatched evangelical missions to distant
lands. For instance, Majjhantika went to Kashmir and Gandhara, Majjhima
led the party to the Himalaya country, Mahadeva was deputed to
Mahisamandala (Mysore), Sona and Uttara to Suvarnabhumi (Burma),
Mahadharmaraksita and Maharaksita were sent to Maharastra and the
Yavana country respectively, and Ashoka’s son Mahendra, who had become a
monk, was sent along with others to Lanka (Ceylon). Subsequently the
Emperor’s daughter, Samghamitra, is said to have taken there a branch
of the sacred Bodhi Tree. The propagation and promotion of Buddhism in
Ashoka’s time must have largely been due to the zeal and perseverance
of these indefatigable missionaries. [Source: “History of Ancient India”
by Rama Shankar Tripathi, Professor of Ancient Indian History and
Culture, Benares Hindu University, 1942]

Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts from The
Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote: ““In the first century A.D., the
Kushans, nomadic warriors from Central Asia, conquered the ancient
Gandharan region (which includes parts of modern Pakistan and
Afghanistan) and much of northern India. Different styles of art emerged
from the two Kushan capitals, one in the Peshawar area of Gandhara and
the other at Mathura further southeast in India. The Gandharan style
adapted forms from late Hellenistic and Roman art, perhaps a legacy of
Alexander the Great’s successors in the area, but largely because the
major trade routes from the Roman Empire to India and China passed
through the region, bringing peoples and ideas from the West. [Source:
Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts, The Art of South, and Southeast
Asia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York <>]

“In Andhra, on the southeastern coast of India, the
Ikshvaku kingdom (A.D. 1st– 3rd century) prospered through the exchange
of goods from local ports on the sea routes to Rome. There, as in
Gandhara, Buddhist merchants and devotees financed the building of
stupas decorated with narrative stone reliefs depicting the Buddha in a
distinctive fashion. Andhran Buddhist art influenced the art styles of
Sri Lanka and images of the Buddha in Andhran style have been found in
Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. By the end of this period, Buddhism
was spreading along the silk route to China and later to Korea and
Japan. Along with written accounts of the Buddha’s teachings (called
sutras), monks and merchants carried small portable works of art—mainly
sculptures of Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and shrines—which greatly
influenced early Chinese and Central Asian Buddhist sculpture. <>

The Chinese monk Fa-hsien ventured as far west as India
around A.D. 400 to study Buddhism. He traveled from Xian to the west
overland and cross into India over Himalayan passes and sailed back to
China on route that took him through present-day Indonesia. The the
spread of Buddhism—a peaceful process in itself—periodically met with
hostility. In China, in A.D. 842, the Tang Emperor Wuzong began to
persecute foreign religions. Some 4,600 Buddhist monasteries were
annihilated, priceless works of art were destroyed, and about 260,000
monks and nuns were forced to return to lay life.

Hindu Revival and the Death of Buddhism in India

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Khalsi Ashoka rock edict

Centuries after took hold in India Hinduism made a
comeback in India namely at Buddhism’s expense. Vedic traditions were
combined with the worship of a multitude of indigenous gods (seen as
manifestations of Vedic gods), the caste system was reintroduced and
Buddhism gradually disappeared. Before its final decline in India,
Buddhism developed the popular worship of enlightened beings (heavenly
Bodhisattvas), produced a refined architecture (stupas and shrines) at
Sanchi. By the 11th century Buddhist had disappeared from India. . The
Muslim invasions may have played a role in its demise there

The Gupta Empire (A.D. 320 to 647) was marked by the
return of Hinduism as the state religion. The Gupta era us regarded as
the classical period of Hindu art, literature and science.
After Buddhism died out Hinduism returned in the form of a religion
called Brahmanism (named after the caste of Hindu priests). Vedic
traditions were combined with the worship of a multitude of indigenous
gods (seen as manifestations of Vedic gods). The Gupta king was
worshiped as a manifestation of Vishnu, and Buddhism gradually
disappeared. The caste system was reintroduced. Brahmans held great
power and became wealthy landowners, and a great many new-castes were
created, in part to incorporate the large number of foreigners that
moved into the region.

Buddhism all but disappeared from India by the A.D. 6th
century. Attempts to reform Hinduism only led to new sects that still
follow the basic tenets of the Hindu mainstream. During medieval times,
when Hinduism was influenced and threatened by Islam and Christianity,
there was a movement toward monotheism and away from idolatry and the
caste system. The cults of Rama and Vishnu grew in the 16th century out
of this movement, with both deities being regarded as supreme gods. The
Krishna cult, known for its devotional chants and song meetings,
highlighted Krishna’s erotic adventures as a metaphor for the
relationship between mankind and God. [ World Religions edited by
Geoffrey Parrinder, Facts on File Publications, New York]

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times
of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Ministry of
Tourism, Government of India, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian,
National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time,
Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly,
The Economist, Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books,
websites and other publications.

Last updated September 2020