King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

had to be altered in the light of new discoveries.(4) Aśoka did play a major role in the propagation of Buddhismboth within and outside his empire. He used the statemachinery of Rajjukas and Mahāmātras — adding a new specializedcadre of Dharma-Mahāmātras — to disseminate auniversal code of simple everyday ethics culled out by himselffrom his favourite Buddhist texts (texts which he recommendedto his co-religionists, both clergy and laity). He replaced thecall of drums for military services with that for Dharma. Thepropagation of his code of ethics was viewed by him as a conquestthrough Dharma.He commenced the teaching of the Dharma ten years afterthe coronation, according to his Greek /Aramaic inscription.He began inscribing his messages on rocks twelve years aftercoronation and appointed Dharma-Mahāmātras thirteen yearsafter coronation. He issued Pillar Edicts twenty-six and twentysevenyears after coronation.The dissemination of Buddhism proper with all its doctrinaland practical complexities was an initiative of the Saṅgha.Aśoka’s role in this endeavour had been to extend his patronageand support. His major contribution appears to have beenin the form of exploratory missions to prepare the receptivityof host countries for missions by monks. As the Sri Lankan Palisources show, he continued to support the missionary activitiesin host countries, exposing them in the process to the technicaland aesthetic achievements of the Mauryan Civilization.Out of our analysis also arises a further conclusion as regardsthe reliability of the various sources on Aśoka. The least reliableare the records of the Chinese travellers, Fa Hien and HiuenTsang, because they were based on what they heard duringtheir travels. The former associates Aśoka’s conversion anach-82