See also:Diet; Robes and Clothing; Self-Immolation
Bibliography
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Hawaii Press, 1997.
LIZWILSONAS ́OKA
As ́oka (ca. 300–232 B.C.E.; r. 268–232 B.C.E.), the third
ruler of the Indian Mauryan empire, became a model
of KINGSHIPfor Buddhists everywhere. He is known to-
day for the edicts he had inscribed on pillars and rock
faces throughout his kingdom, and through the leg-
ends told about him in various Buddhist sources.
In one of his edicts, As ́oka expresses regret for the
suffering that was inflicted on the people of Kalin ̇ga
(present-day Orissa) during his conquest of that terri-
tory. Henceforth, he proclaims, he will renounce war
and dedicate himself to the propagation of dharma.
Just what he meant by this statement has been a sub-
ject of debate. Some have understood the word dharma
here to mean the Buddha’s teaching, and so have read
As ́oka’s change of heart in Kalin ̇ga as a conversion ex-
perience. In a few subsequent inscriptions, it is true,
As ́oka does refer specifically to Buddhist sites (such as
the Buddha’s birthplace, which he visited in person)
and to Buddhist texts, but, in general, for him, the
propagation of dharma seems to have implied an ac-
tive moral polity of social concern, religious tolerance,
and the observance of common ethical precepts. In
one edict, for instance, he orders fruit and shade trees
to be planted and wells to be dug along the roads for
the benefit of travelers. In others, he establishes med-
ical facilities for humans and animals; he commissions
officers to help the poor and the elderly; and he en-
joins obedience to parents, respect for elders, and gen-
erosity toward and tolerance of priests and ascetics of
all sects.Throughout the ages, however, As ́oka was best
known to Buddhists not through his edicts but through
the legends that were told about him. These give no
doubt about his conversion to Buddhism and his spe-
cific support of the monastic community. In Sanskrit
and Pali sources, As ́oka’s kingship is said to be the
karmic result of an offering he made to the Buddha in
a past life. In this life, it is his encounter with an en-
lightened Buddhist novice that changes him from be-
ing a cruel and ruthless monarch into an exemplary
righteous king (dharmaraja), a universal monarch
(cakravartin). As such, he undertakes a series of great
acts of merit: He redistributes the relics of the Buddha
into eighty-four thousand stupas built all over his king-
dom; he establishes various Buddhist sites of PILGRIM-
AGE; he becomes a supporter of charismatic saints such
as UPAGUPTAand Pindola; he fervently worships the
bodhi tree at BODHGAYA; and he gives away (and then
redeems) his kingship and all of his possessions to the
SAN ̇GHA. In addition, in the Sri Lankan vamsas(chron-
icles), he is said to purify the teaching by convening
the Third Buddhist Council, following which he sends
missionary-monks, including his own son Mahinda, to
various lands within his empire and beyond (e.g., Sri
Lanka).These stories helped define notions of Buddhist
kingship throughout Asia, and gave specificity to
the mythic model of the wheel-turning, dharma-
upholding cakravartin. From Sri Lanka to Japan,
monarchs were inspired by the image of As ́oka as a
propagator of the religion, distributor of wealth,
sponsor of great festivals, builder of monasteries, and
guarantor of peace and prosperity. In particular, the
legend of his construction of eighty-four thousand
stupas motivated several Chinese and Japanese em-
perors to imitate it with their own schemes of relic
and wealth distribution, which served to unify their
countries and ritually reassert their sovereignty.See also:Councils, Buddhist; India; Sri LankaAS ́OKA