Ashoka won the Avanti Mahajanpad and merged in the Mauryan empire during Bindusara ruled. What text does it refer to?

Question

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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.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) Kautilya's Arthashastra is a treatise on statecraft, economy and administration; it does not narrate Ashoka's governorship of Avanti.  (c) Panini's Ashtadhyayi is a Sanskrit grammar — a work on language, not a source for Mauryan political history.  (d) Patanjali's Mahabhashya is a grammatical commentary on Panini; it is not the text recording Ashoka's link with Avanti.

Concept: 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.

State PCS 2020 Q66 — History PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2020 Q66 — History PYQ with Answer