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CHAPTER VI
The Ceylonese Legend of Asoka
The legends related in this chapter and in that following are related simply as legends, without criticism, or discussion of their historical value[1].
THE CONVERSION OF ASOKA
Kâlâsoka, king of Magadha, had ten sons, who after his death ruled the kingdom righteously for twenty-two years. They were succeeded by other nine brothers, the Nandas, who likewise, in order of seniority, ruled the kingdom for twenty-two years[2].
- ↑ The legends have been compiled by combining the narratives of the Dîpavaṁsa and the Mahâvaṁsa, both of which are derived from the traditions preserved at the Mahâvihâra monastery. Wijesinha's revision of Turnour's translation of the Mahâvaṁsa (Colombo, Government Record Office, 1889), and Geiger's version (1912) have been used. Their corrections of Turnour are material. For the Dîpavaṁsa, Oldenberg’s edition and translation have been used. The indexes to Turnour's Mahavâvaṁsa and Oldenberg's Dîpavaṁsa, and Still's Index to the Mahawansa (Colombo, 1907), make easy the verification of particular statements. For another summary of the legends see Hardy's Eastern Monachism.
- ↑ Turnour omits the Words the Nandas.' The Dipavariisa substitutes Susunâga for Kâlâsoka, makes Asoka to be the son of Susunâga and omits all mention of the nine Nanda brothers, and their reign of twenty-two years (Dip. v. 25, 97-99). These discrepancies prove the untrustworthiness of the chronicles.
