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| Ashoka | |
|---|---|
| (Gonandiya) | |
| Predecessor | Sacinara[1] |
| Successor | Jalauka (son)[2] |
| Born | Kashmir |
| Issue | Jalauka (son) |
| Dynasty | Gonandiya, Godhara branch |
| Religion | Hinduism |
KingAshoka, of the Gonandiya dynasty, was a king of the region ofKashmir according toKalhana, the 12th century CE historian who wrote theRajatarangini.[3]
According to theRajatarangini, Ashoka was the great-grandson ofShakuni and son of Shachinara's first cousin.
The great grandson ofSakuni and a son of that king grand-uncle, named Ashoka, who was true to his engagement, then supported the earth
— Rajatarangini I101.[4]
He is said to have built a great city called Srinagara (near but not same as the modern-daySrinagar).[5] In his days, the mlechchhas (barbarians) overran the country, and he tooksannyasa.[6]
According to Kalhana's account, this Ashoka was the 48th king of the Gonandiya dynasty (Rajatarangini I102).[3] By Kalhana's calculations, he would have ruled in the 2nd millennium BCE. Kalhana's chronology is widely seen as defective, as he places kings such asKanishka andMihirakula respectively 1100 years and 1200 years before their actual reigns.[7][8]
Kalhana also states (Rajatarangini I102) that this king had adopted the doctrine ofJina, and constructedstupas.[3] Despite the discrepancies, multiple scholars identify Kalhana's Ashoka with theMauryan emperorAshoka, who adopted Buddhism.[9] Although "Jina" is a term generally associated withJainism, some ancient sources use it to refer to theBuddha.[10]
That king, who had extinguished sin and accepted the teachings of Buddha, covered Suskaletra and Vitastatra with numerous stupas
— Rajatarangini I102.[11]
He also built Shiva temples, and appeasedBhutesha (Shiva) to obtain his son Jalauka.[12]
Other scholars have disputed the identification withAshoka of theMaurya Empire.[13]
In the chronology of theRajatarangini, the reign of Ashoka is followed by that of his sonJalauka, then a king named Damodara II, and then the Kushan kingsHusha,Juska andKanishka.[14][15]
In the Rajatarangini: within the line of kings, Asoka's successor was his son Jaloka, and the latter's Damodara, whom the three princes Huska, Juska and Kaniska followed upon.