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Asokan ideal of Dhamma Vijaya
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pacifist that some historians have attempted to make of him. Battle and territorial acquisitions are not alone responsible for the creation and destruction of empires.
Pt. Harprasad Sastri holds Asoka's policy being directly responsible for the decline of the Mauryan empire. He maintains that the revolt of Pusyamitra was a result of the brahmanical reaction against the pro Buddhist policy of Asoka. Pt. Sastri maintains that the ban on animal sacrifices was a direct attack on the brahmanas since much of their power and prestige lay in the fact that they alone could perform sacrifices and thus acts as intermediates between people and the gods. Dr. Raychoudhuri refutes this charge saying that this does not necessarily imply hostility towards the brahmanas, since Brahmanical literature eg. Upanisada itself stresses ahimsa and mentions the futility of sacrifices. In one edict Asoka specifically stated that no animals are to be sacrificed in the particular place, where the edict has been inscribed. In the other edicts the ban is on the killing of certain animals, even those regarded as edible, and not only on those used in sacrifices.
A second point on the same subject is the statement that this action was particularly resented by the brahmanas since it was promulgated by a Sudra king. The Sudra origin of the Mauryas is based on a statement in the Puranas, when in speaking of the Nanda dynasty, it is said that all kings succeeding Mahmpadma will be of Sudra origin". Dr. Raychoudhuri points out that this can only refer to the Nanda Kings who succeeded Mahapadma. because if it referred to succeeding dynasties, then even the Sungas and Kanvas would have to be included as Sudras, and we know that the Sungas were of brahmana origin"78. The kshatriya origin of the Mauryas is stated in other sources.
Next, according to Pt. Sastri the dhamma mahamattas destroyed the prestige of the brahmanas. As Dr. Raychoudhuri points out this could hardly have been so, since some of them were concerned specifically with safeguarding the rights and welfare of the brahmanas. Furthermore the dhamma mahamattas were concerned with social welfare generally, and covered much wider field of work than the brahmanas. It is probable. however, that the dhamma mahamattas may have become unpopular with the people in the later years of Asoka's reign, and this prevented if anything Asoka's being in contact with public opinion. With the gradual increase in their powers of interference, these officers tended to form an order of their own, with official sanction and the right of entry everywhere. Since they had the special favour of the king, they were no doubt feared by the populace, and by way of appeasement were granted many privileges. It is likely that in the course of their routine duties, they assumed greater powers than Asoka had intended.
The question of Vyavahāra samtā and Danda samatā, the uniformity of legal procedure and punishment, is raised by Sastri in support of his argument that privileges usually given to brahminas regarding penalties were stopped as a result of these two measures adopted by Asoka. The crucial word in the text is samatā. One authority translates it as impartiality, which suggests in the context more than a lack of prejudice on the part of the judge. It suggests that punishments should not be given with a partial attitude towards the social position of the offender. Such a rule would contradict legal procedure as laid down in traditional sources, which was no doubt observed. The Arthasastra for instance is very clear on this point. It states, “Taking into consideration the (social position of) persons, the nature of the offence, the cause whether grave of slight (that led to the perpetration of the offence), the antecedent and present circumstances, the time and the place, and without failing to notice equitable distinctions among the offenders, whether belonging to the royal family or the common people, shall the commissioner (Pradeśtā ) determine the propriety of imposing the first, middlemost
