Published Paper Details:

The theme of Asoka his interesting relationship with Buddhism, along with him being recognised as one of the ablest rulers in ancient India, has long intrigued the historians. Several scholars have attempted plethora of research to attain an authentic understanding of this connection. Accordingly, there has been an ongoing debate around the effect of Buddhism on the administrative policies (broadly termed as dhamma) of A?oka owing to his transitional conversion of personal faith. The abundance of evidence in terms of epigraphical evidence (rock and pillar inscriptions of A?oka) and literary texts (including but not limited to Sanskrit, Chinese and Buddhist sources) have played the dual role of giving extensive insight into A?oka's time period while also leading to exaggerated history writing in term of his reign and personality. The latter is largely owing to the fact of A?oka being revered in Buddhism and elevated to an almost divine status. However, in recent decades, new research has recognised a distinction between the personal Buddhist faith of A?oka and his comparatively neutral (as well as tolerant) policy of Dhamma. Therefore, the paper attempts to historicise the sources and analyse the exaggerated (later) literary accounts in corroboration with the inscriptions to better understand the actual effect of Buddhism on A?oka's administrative practices. This brief and comparative analysis will prove useful in attaining a significant insight into the scholarship surrounding the theme of extracting an authentic picture of the relationship between A?oka and Buddhism.