King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

2Aśoka and Buddhism as Reflectedin the Aśokan EdictsROMILA THAPARIN THE PURANIC TEXTS OF the brahmins, Aśoka occursmerely as an undistinguished name in a list of Mauryankings. From the brahmanical point of view the Mauryas werepatrons of heretical sects such as the Jainas, Ājīvikas, andBuddhists and therefore little time and space was wastedon them. But in the traditions of the so-called heretical sects,these kings are depicted as major patrons. Thus the Jainatradition associates Candragupta Maurya with the majorevents of the early history of the Jaina sangha. A parallel portrayalis given of the association of Aśoka with the Buddhistsangha in the Buddhist tradition. The latter is however moredetailed and makes of Aśoka an exemplar for all kings whowere patrons of the Buddhist sangha. Implicit in this portrayalis the question of the relation between temporal andsacral power: a subject which has been analysed extensivelyby both historians and anthropologists in recent years.In the nineteenth century the inscriptions of Aśoka weredeciphered and by the early twentieth century the identity ofAśoka was established. Because of the portrayal of Aśoka inthe Buddhist tradition, historians initially tended to read theedicts merely as documents asserting his belief in Buddhism.But if the edicts are examined more analytically they not only15