Asoka and Buddhism

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The Past and Present Society

Aoka and BuddhismAuthor(s): Romila ThaparSource: Past and Present, No. 18 (Nov., 1960), pp. 43-51Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Past and Present Society

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2/10

ASOKAAND BUDDHISM

THE CULT OF ASOKA HAS BEEN POPULAR IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY

India. During he last ten years t has inereased onsiderably. Not

only have Asokan symbols been adopted by the Governmentof

India, but mueh of modern ndianpolitieal hinking s beingrelated

to Asokan deas. As is the ease with all heroes of the past, the

moderndelineation s not alwayshistorieally eeurate. The initial

diffieulty is that of distinguishingbetween the man and the

statesman.

This eonfusion is frequent in reeent studies on the emperor

Asoka,and is due in part o the eireumstaneesn whiehthe evidenee

abouthim beeameknown. Prior o I837, Asokawas largelya mere

name in the genealogiesof Indian kings ineluded in the aneient

texts, the

Puranas.l

We are told that he belonged o the Mauryan

dynasty, was the grandsonof Candragupta,he founder of the

dynastyandthat he reigned or thirty-six ears. Candraguptaegan

his eareer n

circa 32I B.C.

He was thus a near eontemporary f

Alexander f Maeedon,and is believedas a young man to have met

Alexanderduring the latter's campaign n north-western ndia.2

Further nformation boutthe first two Mauryan ulers s available

from Greek and Latin sourees3whieh deseribe he elose relations

between CandraguptaMauryaand Seleueus Nieator, who on the

cleath f Alexander,ounded he Seleueiddynasty t Babylon. There

is little referenee o ANoka ndhis work, n the post-Mauryan eriod.

A few inseriptionsof the twelfth eenturyA.D. refer to him in a

generally aguemanner.

The emperorAioka in his lifetime issued a series of ediets and

proclamations, hieh were inseribedon roek surfaeesand on finely

polished sandstonepillars throughouthis vast empire. Most of

these nseriptions re n Brahmi, he earliest ndian eript o farknown

to havebeenused orthe writing f Sanskrit ndPrikrit. As the seript

developedand ehanged hroughthe eenturies, he earlierversions

became rchaic.As no systematictudyofthis seriptwasmaintained,t

eventually ecameunreadable,ndthe inseriptions f Aioka herefore

made no impressionon later writing of history. It was not until

I837 that they were deeiphered y JamesPrinsep.

The emphasison their Buddhisteontenteameabout n a curious

way. In the inscriptions, he author s deseribedas Devanampiya

Piyadassi aja, The Belovedof the Gods, the king Piyadassi. The

kingseldomused his personal ame,Asoka,andgenerally eferredo


3/10

PAST

AND PRESENT

44

himselfby the

above

itle. The identification

f the king

Piyadassi

was

madeon

the basisof a comparison

with the Buddhist

hronicles

of Geylonn whichAsokas referredo as Piyadassi. The discovery

of an

inscriptionn

I9I5 (and

othersmorerecently),

ontaining

oth

the

title aIld the personal

name,

however confirmed

he identifi-

cation.

It is

clear from ANoka's

dicts

that he was

a Buddhist.6

Buddhist

sources

from Ceylon,

Tibet

and China contain

fairly

detailed

accounts of

his life.

The Asokan

edicts were

therefore

interpreted

n the basis

of information

rovided

by these sources.

It is

indeed

unfortunatehat

in reconstructing

is life

and activities

these and other

religious

sources

were regarded

as

reliable and

complementaryvidence to that of his own inscriptions. The

Buddhist

ources,

naturallywishing

o

takeadvantage

f the fact

that

Asoka

was a Buddhist,

made

him out to be a personification

f piety,

a picture

which s not

endorsed

y hisown nscriptions.

In the studies

of

Asoka he is generally

depicted

as

having been

suddenly

converted o

Buddhism

as a result

of his remorse

at the

cruelty nflicted

on the

peopleof Kalinga

during

his campaignn

that

country, n

the ninth

year of his reign.

Conformity

o Buddhist

ethics

then

appears o become

the sole

concernof the

king's

life.

Smith (the first historianto write a monographon ANoka),has

describedhim

as a

monk and monarch

at the

same time.7

This

approach,

hough

not accepted

iterally

by all historians,

as never-

theless

conditioned

istorical

naNysis

f Asoka'sreign.

Among

he

moreextreme

views is

that of

Fritz Kern, who

tried to

examine he

intler

prings

of Asoka'sactions

against

he theological

ackground

f

existence

both in this

worldand

the after ife,

as well as

of what

he

believes

to be a widespread

desire on the part

of Indians

of

this

period

to become

asceticsand

to escape

from

life by other means.

He depictsat great engththe supposedconflict n the mind of the

king who wishes

to free

himselfof earthly

ies

and yet

is conscious

of his responsibility

s a ruler to society.8

ANoka

was certainly

attracted

o

Buddhismand became

a

practising

Buddhist. But

his

was

not an eccentric

or sudden

conversion

s is clearfrom

his

own

edicts. Buddhism

n

the context

of society as

it was then,

was not

just another

religion.

It wasthe result

of a

widespread

movement

towards

changewhich

affected

many

aspects of life from

personal

beliefs

to social deas.

Any statesman

with an understanding

fthe

periodwouldhavehadto cometo termswith suchan important ew

development.

The

inscriptions

re of two

kinds.

The smallergroup

consists

of

declarations

f the king

as a lay

Buddhist o his

church,

he Buddhist


4/10

ASOKA

AND

BUDDHISM

45

Samgha.9

These

describe

his

own

acceptance

of

Buddhism

and

his

relationship with

the

Samgha.

Here the

somewhat

intolerant

and

wholly credulous believer appears, as in one inscription where he

proclaims in

no

uncertain terms

that

dissident

monks and nuns

must

be

expelled

from

the

Order.

Another

inscription in a

less

fanatical

vein

speaks

of the

various

scriptures

with

which all

good

Buddhists

should

be

familiar.

By

far the

most

important

inscriptions

are

those

of the

larger

group

which may

be

described

as

proclamations

to

the

public at

large.

This

group

consists of

the Major

and

Minor

Rock

Edicts and

the

Pillar

Edicts.l?

These

inscriptions

explain

his

well-known

policy of

Dhamma.

(Dhammas

the Prakrit

form

of

the

Sanskrit word

Dharma,

irtuallyuntranslatable nto English. It has

been

variously

translated as

Morality,

Piety,

Righteousness,

etc.

Since

the

precise

nuance

of the

word

cannot

be

conveyed, I

prefer

to

keep

it in the

original.) It

was

in the

conception of

this

policy,

seen in

the

context of

Mauryan

India,

that

the true

achievement of

Asoka

lay.

He did

not

see

Dhamma s

piety

resulting

from

good

deeds

inspired by

formal

religious

beliefs,

but as an

emphasis on

social

responsibility.

In

the

past

historians

have

generally

interpreted

Asoka's

Dhamma

almost as a synonym for Buddhism, suggesting thereby thatAfoka

was

concerned with

making

Buddhism a

state

religion. It

is

doubtful

if

this

was

his

intention

although

he

himself, as a

firm

believer

in

Buddhism,

was

convinced

that

it was the

way

to

personal

salvation.

The

policy of

Dhammawas a

policy of

social

responsibility.

It

aimed

at

building up

an

attitude of

mind in

which

social

behaviour,

the

behaviour of

one

person

towards

another,

was

considered

of great

importance. It

was a

plea for

the

recognition

of the

dignity

of

man,

and for

a

humanistic

spirit

in the

activities of

society.

In examining this policy it is necessary to analyse the conditions

which

gave rise

to it.

It was in

part

a policy

which

was

nurtured

in

the

mind of

Asoka,

but since he

saw

it largely as

a

solution to

existing

problems, it is in

the

light of

these

problems

that its

true value

can

be

assessed.

Afoka's

private

beliefs

and his

immediate

environment

of

course

had their

share in

moulding

the

policy.

As a

family,

the

Mauryas did

not

conform to

the

accepted

religion of

most

royal

families of

the

time,

Brahmanism.

Candragupta s

said to

have

been

a

Jaina,

and

Bindusara

the

father of

ANoka

favoured

the

Ajlvikas.

Both of these were non-orthodox sects and if anything antagonistic

to

Brahmanical deas.

The teachings

of

Mahavlra,

who

preached

in

the sixth

centuryB.C.

and

who

was a near

contemporaryof

the

Buddha,

came

to be

called

Jainism. It

began as a

protest

against

certain


5/10

46

PAST AND PRESENT

aspects of Brahmanism, he prevailing religion. There was a

considerable tress on non-violence o the extent of insisting that

even the accidental illingof minute nsectswas sinful. All creation

was said to function in accordancewith a universal aw, thus the

power of the gods (who were the prime moversof the universe n

Brahmanical elief) was greatlyreduced. In fact Mahavlra arely

refers to the gods in this capacitywhich has led to Jainismbeing

described s atheistic. The transmigrationf soulswasfundamental

to Jaina thinking. Like the Buddhists, he Jainas also aimed at

Nirvana,or the ceasingof being reborn . The Ajlvikamovement

wascontemporary ithJainism. This again ended o be atheistic nd

maintainedhatthe actionsandeventsof one's ife cannotbe changed

since they are predetermined y one's karma or destiny. This

determinismwas in conflictwith the Brahmanicalelief that a man

could mprovehis lot in his next ife by beingvirtuous ndconforming

to Brahmanicalaws in his present life. These were considered

hereticalbeliefs,and it is therefore ot surprisinghat Asokahimself

did not conform o Brahmanicalheoryand preferredo support he

Buddhists.

The sixth centuryB.C. in India may be describedas a centuryof

questioning. The existence of a variety of sects concernedboth

with religiousbeliefandphilosophicalpeculationestifies o a period

of vigorousdebateanddiscussion. Not only were he existingvalues

questionedbut each newly developedtheory was put through a

severe test of criticism. The uncompromisingmaterialism f the

early Carvakasbattled with the metaphysical ubtleties of the

Upanisadic hinkers. The Brahmanicaltrongholdgraduallybuilt

up through he later Vedic period (from circa900 B.C. onwards),

was being attacked y the new forces. The privileges f the priests

were being questioned, o too the efficacy f the ceremonies nd the

ritualswhich they performed. The caste system,which had begun

to assume he featuresof its later rigidity,also came under attack,

thoughoften not in a directway.ll Generally he less fortunateof

the fourcastes ended o favour he new sectsas against heirprevious

allegiance o Brahmanism. This was particularlyhe case with the

third caste, the vaisyas. Though technically ncluded among the

highlyfavoured wice-born i.e. firstwith theirnaturalbirthand the

secondtime on their initiation), n the practicalmattersof daily ife

theytended o be excluded rom he privileges f the first wo castes.

2

Buddhismwas, as it were, he spearhead f thesedissidentgroups.

It demanded relaxing f the socialrigidityencouraged y the caste

system. As it did not favour he privilegesof the upper castes, t


6/10

ASOKA

AND

BUDDHISM

47

had a

tremendousppealamong

he other

sectionsof society.

3 The

ritualistic

ide of

Buddhism ssociated

tself with the

popularcults,

such as those connectedwith tree-worship nd the fertilitycults.l4

The conceptionof the

Middle

Way propagated

code of

ethics

which took

into

considerationhe

practical

necessitiesof daily life

and did not demand

he

impossible. This must

have

provideda

workable olutionto

the many

who could not or

did not

have the

leisure to

find salvation

hrough

becomingascetics in the

best of

Brahmanical

raditions.

Addedto this

was the fact

that there was

a large

element of

democracy n the

organisationof Buddhist

monasteries

during this

period.l5 Thus

Brahmanismwas seeking

to establish tself with the rigidity n social ideasand emphasison

temporal

ontrolwhichwereto

characteriset in the

earlycenturies

A.D., while at

the sametime the

dissident

groups

tried to keepback

this force.

These

religiousand social

trendswere

related o

certaineconomic

changesof a

fundamental ature

whichhad occured

n the

centuries

immediately

before the

Mauryanperiod.

The

Aryaneconomy n

northern ndia, a

semi-nomadic

astoraleconomy

duringthe

early

Vedicperiod up to

circa900 B.C.),

was changing o a

settled

agrarian

villageeconomy. This was the naturalstep after the forestshad

been cleared

and

agrarian illage

communities

became he general

pattern n

the Gangesvalley.

However,

hese changesdid not

occur

at

a uniformpace

hroughouthe

sub-continent.

Areas n the

Deccan

for

instanceremained

at a

pastoral tage for a

longerperiod.

The

new economy n the

northern

egionbroughtwith it

the

institution

of

bureaucracyn the rural

officersand

the tax-collectors.

The

expansionof

the

agrarian conomy at

this stage

accelerated he

realisation that a

single

predominanteconomy

facilitated

the

evaluation f taxes. There was also much to be gainedfromsuch

an

economy

by those who

governed,

since it would permit

more

easily hananyother

he almost

permanentixingof

taxation

ystems

and tax rates. The

predictability f revenue n the

form of

taxes

created a feeling of

economic

security. These

ideas are

clearly

expressed n a text

on policy

which dates from

this

period, the

Arthasaslra. It was

writtenby

Kautalyahe minister

f

Candragupta.

The author

assumes hat

monarchys the

ideal form of

government

and

elaboratesn greatdetailon

the

processes f administration

nder

such a system. State supervisionof practicallyevery activity is

advised. The right of

the state

to tax all possible

ourcesof

income

is claimed.

Together with the

establishment f an agrarian

conomy,

the


7/10

48

PAST AND PRESENT

pre-Mauryan eriod saw the openingup of trade on an extensive

scale. This also resultedn the increasingmportance f the

Vaisyas

who ormed the majority f the traders ndmerchants. The material

improvementf the

Vaisyas

through radestrengthenedheir position

in urban life and fanned their resentmentagainstthe unjustified

privileges f the uppercastes. The establishment f guildsushered

in a new factor n urbansociety. City life cameto dependon them

to a high degreeand the sociallymorefavoured ad now to contend

with a new opposition. Tradedevelopednternally,with neighbour-

ing countriesand with those across the seas. The penetration f

Aryan culture into south India increasedduring this period and

followed the various trade routes. These were usually along the

river valleys. The volumeof tradealongthe overland outesacross

modernAfghanistan ndPersia o the Mediterraneanorts, ncreased

greatly. For the many Greeksettlersalongthese routes,who were

deserters rom Alexander's rmy and others, this east-west trade

became highly ucrative usiness. Regular radewasalsoconducted

between Broachon the west coast of India, and Babylon.l6 The

communication f ideas must also have accompaniedhe trade in

spices,textiles,precious tonesand go]d.

Up to a point these economic actorsassis.ed n the evolutionof

the politicalpattern. The Mauryanperiod saw the impositionof

imperial control over an extensive area of small kingdoms and

republics. During the reign of ANoka,he empire ncludedalmost

the entire sub-continentof India and parts of Afghanistan. This

imperial ystemwas a comparatively ew feature o Indianpolitics.

The previousdynasty, he Nandas,had ruled an empire or a short

period,but it was not nearlyas extensiveas that of the Mauryas, or

did it includesucha varietyof peoplesand cultures. The Mauryan

empirewasnot restrictedo the Gangesvalleyand ts neighbourhood,

where he populationwas eitherAryan n cultureor was acquainted

with Aryan culture. It included more diverse elements,many of

whom were thrown togetherfor the first time. The hub of the

empirewasthe highlyAryanised egionof Magadhan modernBihar.

The extremitieshoweverwere quite foreign to each other. The

cosmopolitan ndo-Greekregion of Gandhara n the north-west,

belonged o an almost totally differentculturefrom the Dravidian

south. The size and scope of the imperial tructure, ogetherwith

the diversityof its constituents, ed to the emergence f a political

form that placed an overwhelmingemphasis on governmental

machinery nd authority.

It would seem that the people of the Mauryan mpireneeded a


8/10

ASOKA AND BUDDHISM

49

focus or some commonstand for all these conflictingor divergent

forces, something hat would draw them togetherand give thema

feelingof unity. Such a focus would naturally ave greater uccess

if supportedby the emperor, ince the structure f Mauryan ndia

invested control in the ruler at the centre. In fact the empero

himself was the author of a movementwhich aimed at this very

object. In seeking groupof unifyingprinciples,Asoka oncentrated

on the fundamental spects of each issue, and the result was his

policy of Dhamma.

It is apparent hat the principlesof Dhammawere acceptable o

peoplebelonging o any religious ect.l7 The policywasnot defined

in termsof rulesand regulations. It seems o havebeen deliberately

left vague n details,and only the broadpolicy s given,whichwas to

mould behaviour. Of the basicprinciples, he one on whichAfoka

laid most stress and which he repeated frequentlywas that of

toleration. Toleration according to him was of two kinds: a

tolerationof people themselvesand also a tolerationof people's

beliefs and ideas. He sums it up as follows:

. . . consideration owards slaves and servants, obedience to mother and

father, generosity towards friends, acquaintances nd relatives, and towards

priests and monks . . .

But the Beloved of the Gods does not consider gifts or honour to be as

important as the advancementof the essential doctrine of all sects,. . . Its

basis is the control of one's speech, so as not to extoll one's own sect or

disparage hat of anotheron unsuitable occasions . . On each occasion one

should honouranotherman's sect, for by doing so one increases he influence

of one's own sect and benefits hat of the other man, while by doing otherwise

one diminishesthe influenceof one's own sect and harms he other man's . . .

Thereforeconcord s to be commended,so that men may hear one another's

principles . . .

Anotherprinciplefundamental o the practiceof Dhammawas

non-violence. Asoka did not insist upon it as a religiousprecept

likethe Buddhists ndJainas,but because iolencewasnot in keeping

with social behaviour. The practiceof non-violence onsistedboth

in the renunciationf warandconquestby violence,ancl n a restraint

on the killingof animals. But his was not a stubborn nsistenceon

completenon-violence. He did recognise hat therewere occasions

when violencemight be unavoidable, s for instancewhen the more

primitive orest tribes were troublesome o his officers. In a very

movingpassageon the general uffering, hysical ndmental, aused

by war,he declares hat in adhering o Dhamma e will not conquer

by force in the future. Withoutdoubtinghis sincere ntentions n

this matter, t mayhoweverbe pointedout that therewas ittle in the

way of territory eft for him to conquer n the sub-continent. He

also states that he would preferhis descendentsnot to conquerby


9/10

5o

PAST AND PRESENT

force but if they should have

tO3

then he hopes that it will be

conductedwith a maximum f mercyand clemency.

The policyof

Dhamma

also includedmeasureswhichtodaywould

be described s CCsocialelfare . The emperor laims hat:

On the roads I have had banyan trees planted, which will give shade to

beasts and men. I have had mango groves planted and I have had wells

dug and rest houses built every nine miles . . . And I have had many

watering places made everywhere or the use of beasts and men. But this

benefit is important) and indeed the world has enjoyed attention in many

ways from formerkings as well as from me. But I have done these things in

order that my people might conformto Dhamma'>.

He attacked n no uncertain erms what he describesas useless

ceremonies nd sacrifices , eld as a resultof superstiiious eliefs,as

for example hose which were meantto ensurea safe journeyor a

quickrecovery roman illness. These were he stock-in-tradef the

lower orderof priestswho exploited heir position n order o earn

money on the side.

In orderto implement his policy Asoka nstituteda categoryof

officersknownas the Dhamma-mahamattasthe officers f Dhamma).

TheywereresponsibleorpublicisingDhamma,actingas the reporters

of the king and moregenerally or bringing he king and his govern-

ment in touch with public opinion. They seem gradually o have

developednto a type of priesthood fDhamma,withextensive owers

of interferencen the lives of the people,thus to a degreenullifying

theirverypurpose. They werealsosent on missions o neighbouring

countries nd to variousHellenickingdoms n the west. Aioka was

so convincedof the success of his Dhammaand of his attemptsat

encouraging ndian society to adjust tself to the changes, hat he

appears o have believedthat his own efforts might be of help to

otherrulerselsewhere.

Despite the fact that the reign of Asoka brought hirty years of

peace,andmarkedmaterial resperityas s evident romarchaeologi-

cal remains),neverthelessAsoka did not succeed n attempting o

unite the empire or produce arge scale enthusiasm or Dhwamma.

The reasons or this are many. Some may be attributed o his own

faults, uchashis earlyover-enthusiasmndhis later elf-complacency.

Others ay outside he scope of Dhammaand must be sought n the

pattern of Indian polity. In evaJuating is contribution t can

certainly e saidto his credit hat he understoodhe problems f his

age, i.e., the need for a unifying actor n a societycomposed f units

at various evels of development. It is unfortunatehat his solution)

the policyof Dhamma,was too vague,and perhaps oo idealistic.

Schoolof Oriental nd AfricanStudies,London

Romila Thapar


10/10

ASOKA AND BUDDHISM

5I

NOTES

1 F. E. Pargiter,Dynastiesof the Kali Age (London,

I93I), pp.

26 ff.

2 Plutarch,Life of Alexander, xii.

3 These accountsmay be found in the works of the following writers, Strabo

Arrian, Megasthenes, Diodorus, Ptolemy and Pliny.

4 A few inscriptions in the north-west of India are inscribed in Kharosthi

a script derived from the Persian Aramaic. In I958 a bilingual inscription n

Greek and Aramaicwas discovered near Kandahar n Afghanistan

5 Dipavamsa,ed. Oldenberg(Pali Texts Soc., I879), Vi. I.

6 Jules Bloch, Les Inscriptions 'Asoka (Paris, I950), pp. I45-6.

7 V.

Smith, Asoka, 3rd edn. (Oxford, I920).

8 Kern, Asoka (Bern, I956).

9

The literal meaning of Samgha is society or assembly . It was the

official title adopted for the Buddhist Order of monks.

10The first group consists of the Schism Edict, Bhabra Edict, Rummindei

pillar inscription and the Nigalisegar pillar inscription. (Bloch, op. cit.

pp. I52-I58). The larger and more important group consists of the Major

and Minor Rock Edicts and the Pillar Edicts. (Bloch,

Op. Cit., pp. 90-I5I,

and pp. I6I-I72).

11 the caste sysLem divides society into four main castes. The highest

caste is that of the brahmansor priests. This is followed by the kFatrSyas,he

aristocracy,also referred to as the warrior caste. The third in rank are the

vaisyaswhich includedthe merchants, and-ownersand the wealthiercultivators.

The fourth caste was that of the sudras,generally he poorer peasantsand their

counterparts in urban centres. Beyond this four-fold division were the

outcastes and the unLouchableswho were considered impure owing to the

nature of their professions. A Hindu is born into a particularcaste and no

amount of social or economic improvementcan change the caste in a person's

lifetime.

2

AitereyaBrahmana Anandasrama anskrit

Ser.,

Poona

I896), Vii. 20.

13 Evidence for these attitudes is available from the 3'ataka stories. These

were current n the Buddhist period and later, and reveal a detailed picture of

society at the time.

14

This is clear from the incorporation f cult symbols in the earliestexisting

Buddhist art at the sites sacredto the religion such as Sanchi and Bharhut.

6 The rules regarding he Order n the VinayaPitaka point to this.

16

These routes and tradeconnectionsare mentioned n a number of sources:

Arthasastra, d. G. Sastri (Trivandrurn,924-5)' Strabo, Geography, v. I. 50

Rhys Davids, Buddhist India (London,

I903), pp. I03

ff.; W. W. Tarn,

HellenisticCivzlisation London, I927), pp. 2 I I ff.

17

In this discussion of Dhamma,the sources are the Edicts mentioned in

note I0 above.

Asoka and Buddhism

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