Ashoka is assessed to have come to Kashmir with about 5,000 Buddhist monks to preach Buddhism in Jammu & Kashmir. However, Buddhism has been prevalent in Kashmir even before his arrival to the valley. Verses 709-710a of Nilamat Purana hold that Buddha is the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Many accounts of Chinese Travellers to Kashmir hold that Buddhism spread in Kashmir around 500 BCE (50 years after the birth of Buddha) (2). The expansion of existing Buddhism in Kashmir has been attributed to the Bikshus from the Magadha Empire. He also “founded the capital town of Srinagar at Pandrethan”(3) at around 250 BCE.

Emperor Ashoka

According to Kalhana’s Rajatarangini, King Ashoka who ruled over Kashmir was of the Gondiya dynasty. According to the Rajatarangini, Ashoka was the great-grandson of Shakuni and son of Shachinara's first cousin. Rajatarangini decribes Ashoka as “The great grandson of Sakuni and a son of that king grand-uncle, the faithful Ashoka, who reigned over the earth”(4). Kalhana also states that this king had “adopted the doctrine of Jina, and constructed stupas”(5). The King Ashoka is said to have built a great city called Srinagara(6) (near but not same as the modern-day Srinagar (Pandrethan)) which have also been described by Kalhana and various other authors.

As described by Brigadier (Retd.) Rattan Kaul, during Emperor Ashoka’s rule over Kas’mira, a city under the name of ‘Girinagari, Giri meaning – Hill and Nagari meaning - Town’ between the Zabarwan Hills on the eastern side of the banks of Dal lake and Pandrethan, on the southern outskirts of the present day Srinagar City was founded(7). The original name appears to have been either Puranadhistan or Pandavsthan, meaning an ancient place or the abode of Pandavas. Excavations at various locations have revealed that there have been numerous archeological findings that ascertain the finds to the times of the Emperor.

Despite the discrepancies, multiple scholars identify Kalhana's Ashoka with the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, who adopted Buddhism. While many historians deny that both the kings were different. The book Glorious Epoch: Svayambhuva Manu to Shakari Shalivahan, 29000 B.C to 135 A.D. quotes that “the reference to Ashoka in it is unimpeachable. Ashoka in Rajatarangini is Gonandiya Ashoka and cannot by any means be Ashoka Maurya. Even V.A. Smith admits that Kalhana's work is a reliable history”(8).

Ashoka had great reverence for Shaivism and constructed a Shiva temple at Vijeshwari, the present day Bijbehara. However, the arrival and rise of Buddhism in the Valley created an expected reaction among Brahmans of Kashmir. This gave rise to a long struggle between the two rival ideologies. Nevertheless, Buddhism flourished in the valley during the reign of Ashoka.

In the chronology of the Rajatarangini, the reign of Ashoka is followed by that of his son Jalauka, then a king named Damodara II. Ashoka's son, Jaloka, reverted back to Hinduism and tried to revive the religion by building many temples. He was succeeded by his son Damodar II. He ruled the Valley from Damodar Karewa (where the present day Srinagar airport is located). The empire slowly diminished into darkness and was taken over by Indo- Greek Kings(9) before Kushans ruled over Kashmir.

Extent of Maurya Empire