Ashoka won the Avanti Mahajanpad and merged in the Mauryan empire during Bindusara ruled. What text does it refer to?
- (a)Samant Pasadika of Buddha Ghosh
- (b)Arthashastra of Kautilya
- (c)Ashtadhyayi of Panini
- (d)Mahabhashya of Patanjali
Correct — A, the Samantapasadika of Buddhaghosa. This 5th-century CE Pali commentary on the Vinaya Pitaka belongs to the Sri Lankan Buddhist tradition and records that Ashoka, as a prince under his father Bindusara, served as governor of Ujjayini (Ujjain) in the Avanti region. It is the literary source through which Ashoka's early administrative link with Avanti is known.
- (b)Arthashastra of Kautilya — Kautilya's Arthashastra is a treatise on statecraft, economy and administration; it does not narrate Ashoka's governorship of Avanti.
- (c)Ashtadhyayi of Panini — Panini's Ashtadhyayi is a Sanskrit grammar — a work on language, not a source for Mauryan political history.
- (d)Mahabhashya of Patanjali — Patanjali's Mahabhashya is a grammatical commentary on Panini; it is not the text recording Ashoka's link with Avanti.
The Samantapasadika is part of the Pali commentarial and chronicle tradition (alongside the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa) that preserves details of Ashoka's life which the epigraphic record alone does not give. Compiled by the great commentator Buddhaghosa, it links Ashoka to Ujjain/Avanti during Bindusara's reign.
MPPSC and UPSC frequently test source-to-content matching for the Mauryas. Anchor each source to what it uniquely records: Arthashastra -> statecraft, Indica -> Megasthenes' account, Edicts -> Ashoka's own words, Pali chronicles -> Ashoka's biography.
- Samantapasadika = Buddhaghosa's Pali commentary on the Vinaya Pitaka (c. 5th century CE).
- It records Ashoka as governor of Ujjayini (Ujjain) in Avanti under his father Bindusara.
- It is part of the Sri Lankan Theravada tradition preserving Ashoka's life-story.
- Distinct from statecraft (Arthashastra) and grammar (Ashtadhyayi, Mahabhashya) texts.
- Confusing the Samantapasadika (Buddhist commentary) with Kautilya's Arthashastra
- Treating grammar texts (Ashtadhyayi, Mahabhashya) as historical chronicles
Usually as 'which text refers to / is the source for' a Mauryan fact — match the source to its unique content.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Buddhaghosa's Samantapasadika is a commentary on which part of the Buddhist canon?
- (a)Vinaya Pitaka
- (b)Sutta Pitaka
- (c)Abhidhamma Pitaka
- (d)Khuddaka Nikaya
Answer(a) Vinaya Pitaka — the monastic-discipline basket.
- practice — not a real PYQ
As a Mauryan prince, Ashoka served as governor of which city in the Avanti region?
- (a)Ujjayini (Ujjain)
- (b)Pataliputra
- (c)Kaushambi
- (d)Vidisha
Answer(a) Ujjayini (Ujjain), under Bindusara.