King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

(5) His conversion to Buddhism is ascribed to a monk by thename of Samudra, whose distinction to attract the Emperor’sattention was that he escaped from the torture-house throughhis spiritual attainment. 28 This account differs from eitherAśoka’s own statement which relates his conversion or hisdedication to Dhamma to the suffering caused by the Kalingawar or from the Sri Lankan episode of his encounter withNyagrodha.These discrepancies — poignant as they are — do notdetract from the achievements of Aśoka as recognized by theNorthern Buddhists. Again, on the basis of the Divyāvadāna,the following were what they remembered most of Aśoka:(1) Converted to Buddhism by Samudra, he became apatron of Buddhism and thus a close associate of theras likeYasa and also a regular visitor to the Kukkuṭārāma monasteryof Pāṭaliputra.(2) He obtained, from the Droṇa Stūpa constructed byAjātaśatru, the bodily relics of the Buddha and diffused themwidely. 29(3) Enshrining the bodily relics, he constructed 84,000stūpas, which were called Dharmarājika. 30(4) He conducted every five years a special ceremony (?),referred to as Pañcavārṣika, in which 300,000 monks (100,000arahants and 200,000 others) were fed and 400,000 (gold coins)spent or distributed. 31(5) Guided by Upagupta of Mathurā (i.e the Fourth Patriarchof Northern Buddhists) he undertook a pilgrimage to all193