King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

Being speculations built upon impressions rather than factualevidence, these opinions hardly merit discussion. Moreso, theyhave been amply dealt with and refuted by Nilakanta Sastri,Beni Madhab Barua and Romila Thapar. 97 In Nilakanta Sastri’swords:Aśoka’s pacifism, his abandonment of war as an instrument ofpolicy and his exhortation to his successors to follow him in thisrespect, had nothing doctrinaire about it, and was kept withinlimits by wise awareness of the complexity of human situationsand motives. There is no evidence that he diminished thestrength of the army or weakened the defences of the empire.Dynastic empires depend for their continued existence on thesupply of able monarchs in the line; Aśoka was great in everyway; he was not only the greatest of the Mauryas, but one of thefew truly great rulers of the world. There was evidently noneamong his children equal to the task of maintaining the unityof the vast empire, and the division, which, according to legend,threatened the empire even at the accession of Aśoka, actuallyovertook it after the close of his reign. 98Elsewhere, he argued against Bhandarkar and the others bydrawing a parallel with the successors of Aurangzeb: “Did hewho spent a whole lifetime in war leave the Mughal empirestronger and render the task of his successors easier?” 99Scholars have been looking for other causes for the declineand fall of the Mauryan Empire. They range from economicupheaval to the breakdown of bureaucracy and overdecentralizationof authority. Here, too, the responsibility isassigned to Aśoka who is accused of excessive generosity to religiouscauses, expansion of the bureaucracy with new positionsand entrusting provincial responsibility to officials like theRajjukas and Prādeśikas. The last factor is said to have broughtinto existence corrupt and wicked officials and rebellion in220