Question

Ashoka belonged to _________.
(a) Gupta Dynasty
(b) Mauryan Dynasty
(c) Kushan Dynasty
(d) Saka Dynasty

Answer 1

Hint:
Ashoka helped in spreading Buddhism both throughout India and abroad, he had a vital role to play, and possibly constructed the first major Buddhist monuments in India.

Complete step by step solution:
 Ashoka (304-233 B.C) was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, who was the founder of the Mauryan Dynasty.

 Ashoka facilitated the propagation of Buddhism in Ancient Asia. Considered by many to be one of India’s greatest emperors, Ashoka spread Chandragupta’s reign to a kingdom extending from present day Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east. It comprised the entire Indian subcontinent, with exception of areas of present-day Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The capital of the kingdom was Pataliputra (in Magadha, now Patna), with the regional capitals of Taxila and Ujjain.

Ashoka fought a brutal war against the state of Kalinga (modern Odisha) which he conquered around 260 BCE. He converted to Buddhism after seeing the mass killings of the Kalinga war, which he had wrought out of his lust for conquest, and which allegedly contributed directly to more than 100,000 deaths and 150,000 deportations. He is remembered for the edicts and the pillars, for sending Buddhist monks to Sri Lanka and Central Asia, and for setting up monuments marking important sites of Gautama Buddha’s life.


Hence, the correct answer is option B.

Note:
After his death, Ashoka’s merciful form of government vanished along with the Mauryan empire itself. His reign fell into the domain of mythology, until two thousand years later when historians started to translate his edicts. In their days, these edicts helped unite a large empire through their common teachings of virtue, and they spurred the propagation of Buddhism across India.