The Myth of Ashoka

Ashoka is one of the most famous Indian Emperors. In this research paper, the researcher tries to analyse the character of Ashoka, as created and shaped by the modern mainstream media and compare the same with the historical Ashoka. The researcher has taken up three hypotheses, to be proved. Through the first hypothesis, the researcher tries to prove how Ashoka, in reality, was not as he is portrayed today and that Ashoka, even after promoting religious tolerance, engaged in violence in the name of religion. Through the second hypothesis, the researcher tries to prove the propaganda that Ashoka created regarding him and the propaganda that has been created since after him. Ashoka greatly cared about his image among his subjects and he left no stones unturned to create an image of a peaceful, discipline and moral King. In the third hypothesis, the researcher tries to debunk the myth of Ashoka’s conversion and tries to prove that the popular narrative as to how Ashoka experienced a sudden change of heart after the Kalinga War is false and that Ashoka was actually a Buddhist since before the war and the fact that whether he was a Buddhist prior to the War or after the War, would have had no effect on his decision to start the Kalinga War.