The lie about Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism

The lie about Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism 

It's time to dig up the truth and refute the myths that have been ingrained in us through years of education. Yes, a large portion of Indian history remains hazy due to manipulation on the part of those in power after Independence. Our history textbooks cover the Mughal Empire, British colonialism, and Freedom Movements in great detail. We don't know much about our powerful Empires.

Everything written about Ashoka in our history books is a lie. When you contrast the traditional account of King Ashoka with the inscription found on Dhauli Hill near Bhubaneswar, it offers a completely different viewpoint. He expresses regret, but he also forewarns the other Kalinga residents that disobeying him will result in the same punishment—if not from him, then from his successors.

In actuality, Ashoka was a Buddhist prior to his invasion of Kalinga. He adopted Buddhism for political reasons, of course. Ashoka's sole goal was to spread Buddhism, according to the Ashokavadana text, which describes this.

Although Ashoka was successful in capturing Kalinga, the region was freed a generation later, and there is evidence to confirm this. In Odia literature, we learn of a great monarch by the name of Kharavela who controlled over all of central India and was a pioneer in the trade with South East Asia. In Bhubaneswar's Hathigumpha, you may find his inscription.

The following is an approximate translation of the inscription, which is written in Kalinga script (source: Sanjeev Sanyal's "The Ocean of Churn").

I travelled to Pataliputra, returned the idols that the Mauryans had taken from us, and forced him to bow.

If you visit Hathigumpha in Bhubaneswar, you will notice how intriguingly positioned King Kharavela's inscription is. In front of the Hathigumpha caves, one could see the Dhauli hills. King Kharavela is expressing his vengeance towards King Ashoka metaphorically.

Yes, before the Kalinga War, Ashoka had become a Buddhist. He did not become a Buddhist out of regret or despair. It was motivated by a political reason.

Sushima had been chosen by Bindusara to succeed him as emperor. Then Ashoka usurped the throne after killing at least six of his brothers. Buddhist writings claim Ashoka murdered 99 of his brothers, though this number appears to be exaggerated. As a result, the Ajivikas and Jains rebelled when he usurped the throne. Buddhism was a rival to these groups at the time. He thus adopted Buddhism in an effort to solidify his rule.

At least ten years before the Kalinga War, Ashoka is mentioned in Buddhist writings as having relations with Buddhist monks. According to Ashoka's own inscriptions, he converted to Buddhism at least two years prior to the Kalinga War. Even Ashoka's admirers, such as Charles Allen, concur that his conversion came before the Kalinga conflict.

Ashoka never expressed regret for starting the Kalinga War. He had captured roughly 1,50,000 people. Why didn't he release them if he was truly guilty of waging war?

Additionally, we cannot discover any reference to an apology for the people of Kalinga, present-day Odisha, in Ashoka's writing. He had murdered 18000 Ajivikas in Bengak even after the Kalinga War.

Another tale that demonstrates Ashoka's harshness is mentioned by Ashokavandana. A Jain painter created a picture of Buddha honouring a Jain Tirthankar. As a result, Ashoka imprisoned him and his family inside a home before setting them on fire.

Also mentioned in Ashokavandana is Ashoka's declaration that he would exchange one gold coin for the head of a Jain. By chance, Vittashoka, his full brother, had been murdered because someone believed him to be a Jain. After that, he began to practise non-violence.

By promoting Buddhism, he only depleted his resources and undermined his empire. The combative spirit of the warriors was subsequently crushed by his nonviolence as well, which cleared the road for the splendid Mauryan Empire established by Chandragupta Maurya and Acharya Chanakya to become feeble. After executing the final Mauryan king Brihadratha, Pushyamitra Sunga established the Sunga dynasty. However, his weak successors didn't help matters and further undermined the Mauryan Empire.

Ashoka's repentant conversion to Buddhism after the Kalinga War is nothing more than propaganda to portray Buddhism positively and Hinduism negatively.

Ashok converted to Buddhism two years before he invaded Kalinga. Shri Sanjeev Sanyal has called attention to this fact. Please read his piece, "Ashoka, The Not So Great," on the Swarajya magazine website. In January 2016, Shri Sanjeev Sanyal also spoke at the Press Club of India on the subject of "How Much of Indian History Is Really True?"

Shree Sanjeev Sanyal attempted to demonstrate the falsity of the majority of Indian history as it is taught in schools and universities by using the example of Ashok. British academics initiated it, and Congress carried it on with their assistance. Europe was severely underdeveloped 300–400 years ago. When the British colonised India, they fabricated history to present themselves as the country's liberators. To undermine the locals' sense of self-worth, they also fabricated Indian history. The book "From Bharat to India: Vol 2: The rape of Chrysee" by M.K. Agarwal is a very reliable source for the genuine history of India and Europe over the past 2000 years. More than 700 references, from both Europe and India, are cited in this work.

Ashoka the Great executed Jains?

Even more horrifying is the fact that he committed the crimes after becoming a Buddhist.

John Strong takes us through the Buddhist text with his deft translation and his always straightforward commentary in his book The Legend Of King Ashoka: A Study And Translation Of Aokvadna.

In a separate incident, he imprisons a lay Jain and his family, burns down their home, and then begins a veritable pogrom against the Jains, placing a premium on the heads of any heretics.

Second chapter. Kingship: Dharma and Dirt 

It happened repeatedly.

Meanwhile, a lay Nirgrantha Jtiputra disciple in the city of Pudavardhana produced a portrait of the Buddha bending low before his teacher. When a Buddhist follower informed King Asoka of this, he promptly ordered the guy to be seized and brought before him. The yakşas and ngas both heard the order from a yojana in the air and as far as a yojana underground, and the latter immediately brought the heretic before the monarch. When Asoka spotted him, he fell into a rage and yelled, "All the jvikas in Pundavardhana are to be killed right away!" And 18,000 of them were put to death on that day.

The legend of Ashoka , part two

Another:

Later, at Pţaliputra, a different follower of Nirgrantha produced yet another illustration of the Buddha submitting to his teacher. Asoka was ruthless when he learned of this. He forced the man and his entire family inside, then set fire to their house. He then declared that anyone who brought him a Nirgrantha heretic's head would receive a prize of one dnra.

The legend of Ashoka , part two 

The way this mess was resolved is also mentioned in the text, and it is a prime illustration of karma at its finest:

At that point, the Venerable Vitaoka made the decision to spend the night in a cowherd's home. The cowherd's wife assumed it was a Nirgrantha who had come to spend the night in their home because of the man's illness, which had caused his garments to become ragged and his hair, nails, and beard to grow long. "My Lord, that dnra is as good as ours; let's kill this Nirgrantha and present his head to King Asoka," she therefore said to her husband. The cowherd approached the elderly monk while drawing his sword from sheath. Vtaoka remained still. He acknowledged the truth of karma and, drawing on his understanding of prior lives, realised that the time had come for him to pay for some of his own past transgressions. After cutting off his head, the cowherd presented it to King Ashoka and requested his 69 dinra recompense.

The excessive amount of hair made it difficult for Asoka to immediately identify his brother, so he was puzzled. But when the servants who had been in charge of Vitaoka were summoned, they saw it and exclaimed, "Your Majesty, this is Vitaoka's head!" The king fainted upon hearing this and fell on the ground. His ministers sprayed some water in his face to revive him. "Your Majesty," they cried, "this is an example of the suffering that is being inflicted even on those who are free from desire; you should guarantee the security of all beings!" As a result of Ashoka taking their advise, no one was ever executed again.

The legend of Ashoka , part two 

Vitaoka was the sibling of Ashoka !

Addendum:

Nigrantha is a term used to describe Jains to non-Jains. In his "Nyastra," Bharata Muni verifies

Rules of various hairs, Chapter XXIII: Costumes and Makeup (nepathya), pages 146–147;

146–147. The heads [in the mask] of Buddhists (kya), monks knowledgeable in Vedic studies (rotriya), Jain (Nirgrantha) monks, travelling ascetics, and those who have dedicated themselves to certain ceremonies or for a Vedic sacrifice, should be cleanly shaven. And the remaining ascetics should either have their heads shaved or have their hair curled or loosely hanging down, in accordance with their [respective] sectarian doctrine.

Did King Ashoka fight wars after converting to Buddhism?

Yes, he did.

A growing consensus among historians and scholars is that the War of Kalinga occurred after Ashoka had already converted to Buddhism. This view has been popularised by historians such as Sanjeev Sanyal and Charles Allen. Allen, who interestingly seems to absolutely adore Ashoka, gives this chronology:

A screenshot from the book Ashoka: The Search for India’s Lost Emperor by Charles Allen

As a result, Ashoka did start fighting after purportedly converting to Buddhism. Even after the Kalinga War and his purported repentance, Ashoka retained his sizable army to preserve his empire. He expresses regret for the pain of the Kalinga people on the Major Rock Edict XIII, which is currently in Kandahar IIRC, but he also forewarns the forest tribes in the area where the Edict was placed that if they do not repent, they will share the same fate as the Kalinga people. That isn't what I would call non-violence.

This is not a revisionist history. The earliest textual source on Ashoka, the Ashokavadana, does not mention the War of Kalinga as the reason behind Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism; it appears to have been a personal choice. According to my opinion, Ashoka converted to Buddhism in order to curry favour with the rapidly expanding Buddhist Sangha, which was quickly developing into a significant political and social force like to the Catholic Church in mediaeval Europe.

The Ashokavadana also makes reference of the purported state-sponsored Jain and Ajivika atrocities that took place during Ashoka's rule. Again, albeit not in an all-out battle, Ashoka uses force.

Although Ashoka may have personally practised Buddhism and granted it royal patronage, according to indologist AL Basham, the Dhamma he refers to in his Edicts may not have even been Buddhism but rather some sort of "Law of Piety." He thinks that the Edicts were really "propaganda pronouncements." 

It's time to dig up the truth and refute the myths that have been ingrained in us through years of education.