King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

ascribed to Aśoka ideas and deeds which none of the knownsources of history — least of all his inscriptions — could bearout:Aśoka did not confine his improvement of the State to a correctionof individual conduct. He built a number of hospitals andhad large gardens of medicinal herbs which he distributed to thepoor. He reformed the prisons and, anticipating our advancedideas on the subject, urged officials to help prisoners to see theblunder of crime rather than punish them. He recommendedthe education and kindly treatment of slaves and servants. Hebuilt hostels, dug wells and planted trees along the roads fortravellers. He opened spinning houses (workshops) for widowsand poor women and made provision for the aged. He hadthousands of vessels of water placed on the streets of his capitalto meet contingency of fire, and he imposed a fine upon anyman who would not help to extinguish a fire in his neighbour’shouse. He made it a penal offence to throw dead animals or filthupon the streets. He instituted a department of State to attend tothe welfare of the backward races in his Empire. And, above all,he denounced war and most ardently desired the friendly intercourseof all nations, sending his missionaries as far as Syria inthe West to preach his gospel. His own people were his children,but all men were his brothers. 60It is obvious that some of the popular writers read more into theinformation contained in Aśoka’s edicts and inscriptions andexaggerated Aśoka’s importance on the basis of the favourableimpressions formed mainly on account of his denunciation ofwar, promotion of religious tolerance and implementation ofwelfare measures. In their eyes, Aśoka was a model ruler andthe kind of sentiments expressed by them might be summarizedby referring to Sir Peter Medawar, Laureate of the 1985Unesco Kalinga Prize, who wished that Aśoka should havebeen the “Emperor of the World” today; or, again, to Jawaharlal207