Question

Ashoka’s Dhamma did not involve ______ .
(A) Worship of a God
(B) Performance of sacrifice
(C) Performance of Yagna
(D) All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: Ashoka was a peaceful ruler who never forced people of his reign to follow or adopt a particular religion. He loved nature and laid great emphasis on virtues of character and motivated people to follow them and adopt them in their day to day lives.

Complete answer:
The word ‘Dhamma’ is a Prakrit word. Dhamma was a set of edicts and formed an important policy of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka. These were not any religious faiths or practices. He believed that just as a father teaches his son about the virtues and tells him the distinction between good and bad, it is his duty to instruct the people of his reign and tell them the good. Dhammas were some norms of good social behaviour.

Ashoka’s policy of dhamma involved-
1. Obedience to mother and father.
2. Courtesy to all.
3. Responsibility of kings towards welfare of subjects.
4. Ahimsa or non-violence.
5. No sacrifices.
6. Nobody should believe in unnecessary rituals.
7. Liberty towards friends and relatives.
8. Everyone should respect other sects.
9. Welfare of animals. etc.

Ashoka was one the greatest kings of Ancient India. He succeeded Bindusara and was preceded by Dasharatha. He did not believe in violence and laid emphasis on non violence, strictly practicing it.

Hence, the correct answer is option D.

Additional information:
Ashoka usurped the throne after killing his 99 brothers. He was influenced a lot by this action. He deeply regretted his action and decided to never indulge in any sort of non violence after that.

Note:
Ashoka’s Dhamma cannot be regarded as a sectarian faith as its objective was to preserve the social order and not any other cultural or religious behaviors. They were simply morales which one should follow in all walks of his/her life.