Ashoka (Gonandiya) Explained

(Gonandiya)
Predecessor:	Sacinara^[1]
Successor:	Jalauka (son)^[2]
Issue:	Jalauka (son)
Dynasty:	Gonandiya, Godhara branch
Religion:	Hinduism
Birth Place:	Kashmir

King Ashoka, of the Gonandiya dynasty, was a king of the region of Kashmir according to Kalhana, the 12th century CE historian who wrote the Rajatarangini.

According to the Rajatarangini, Ashoka was the great-grandson of Shakuni and son of Shachinara's first cousin.

He is said to have built a great city called Srinagara (near but not same as the modern-day Srinagar).^[3] In his days, the mlechchhas (foreigners) overran the country, and he took sannyasa.^[4]

According to Kalhana's account, this Ashoka was the 48th king of the Gonandiya dynasty (Rajatarangini I102). 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 as Kanishka and Mihirakula respectively 1100 years and 1200 years before their actual reigns.^{[5] [6]}

Kalhana also states (Rajatarangini I102) that this king had adopted the doctrine of Jina, and constructed stupas.^[7] Despite the discrepancies, multiple scholars identify Kalhana's Ashoka with the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, who adopted Buddhism. Although "Jina" is a term generally associated with Jainism, some ancient sources use it to refer to the Buddha.

He also built Shiva temples, and appeased Bhutesha (Shiva) to obtain his son Jalauka.^[8]

Other scholars have disputed the identification with Ashoka of the Maurya Empire.^[9]

In the chronology of the Rajatarangini, the reign of Ashoka is followed by that of his son Jalauka, then a king named Damodara II, and then the Kushan kings Husha, Juska and Kanishka.^{[10] [11]}

Sources

• Book: Lahiri, Nayanjot . Ashoka in Ancient India . 2015 . Harvard University Press . 978-0-674-91525-1 .
• Book: Guruge, Ananda . Nuradha Seneviratna . King Asoka and Buddhism: Historical and Literary Studies . Ananda W. P. Guruge . 1994 . Buddhist Publication Society . 978-955-24-0065-0 .

Notes and References

1. Book: Pandit . Ranjit Sitaram . River Of Kings (rajatarangini) . 1935 . 17, I99 .
2. Book: Pandit . Ranjit Sitaram . River Of Kings (rajatarangini) . 1935 . 18, I108 .
3. Rajatarangini I104 Book: Pandit . Ranjit Sitaram . River Of Kings (rajatarangini) . 1935 . 17 .
4. Rajatarangini I107 Book: Pandit . Ranjit Sitaram . River Of Kings (rajatarangini) . 1935 . 17 .
5. Book: Bamzai . P. N. K. . Culture and Political History of Kashmir . 1994 . M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. . 978-81-85880-31-0 . 69–70 . en.
6. Book: The Indian Historical Quarterly, Vol. XVIII . 1942 . 204 .
7. Kulkarni . S. D. . Inscriptions of Aśoka : A Reappraisal . Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute . 1990 . 71 . 1/4 . 308 . 41693531 .
8. Rajatarangini I107 Book: Pandit . Ranjit Sitaram . River Of Kings (rajatarangini) . 1935 . 17 .
9. "The reference to Ashoka in it is unimpeachable. Ashoka in Rajatarangini is Gonandiya Ashoka and cannot by any means be Ashoka Maurya Even V.A. Smith admits that Kalhana's work is a reliable history. He writes : "The Sanskrit book which comes nearest to the European notion of regular history is Rajatarangini of Kalhana the metrical chronicle of Kashmir written in the twelfth century by the son of a minister of the Raja" in Book: Kulkarni . Shripad Dattatraya . Glorious Epoch: Svayambhuva Manu to Shakari Shalivahan, 29000 B.C to 135 A.D. . 1994 . Shri Bhagavan Vedavyasa Itihas Samshodhana Mandir (BHISHMA) . 978-81-900272-4-3 . 201 . en.
10. Book: Pandit . Ranjit Sitaram . River Of Kings (rajatarangini) . 1935 . I101–I170 .
11. Book: Bechert, Heinz . Heinz Bechert . When Did the Buddha Live?: The Controversy on the Dating of the Historical Buddha . 1995 . Sri Satguru Publications . 978-81-7030-469-2 . 48 . en . 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..