Question

The contemporary monk (Bhikṣu) of the emperor Aśoka based on Aśokāvadāna is ___________.

• A. Yaśa
• B. Śāriputra
• C. Ānanda
• D. Upagupta

Hint:

Aśoka's Teacher = Moggaliputta Tissa (in Pali/Southern tradition) vs. Upagupta (in Sanskrit/Northern tradition like Aśokāvadāna).

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept: The *Aśokāvadāna* (Narrative of Ashoka) is a 2nd-century CE Sanskrit text that provides a legendary account of the Maurya Emperor Ashoka’s life and his conversion to Buddhism. While the Pali chronicles (*Mahavamsa*) mention Moggaliputta Tissa as Ashoka's primary teacher, the Northern/Sanskrit tradition highlights a different figure.

Step 1: The role of Upagupta in the Sanskrit tradition. According to the Aśokāvadāna, it was the monk Upagupta who acted as the spiritual guide and contemporary of Emperor Ashoka. He is depicted as a powerful arhat who accompanied Ashoka on a pilgrimage to all the holy sites associated with the Buddha (Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath, etc.) and helped the Emperor establish 84,000 stupas across the empire.

Step 2: Ruling out other figures based on chronology.
• Śāriputra and Ānanda were direct disciples of the Buddha and lived roughly 200–250 years before Ashoka's time.
• Yaśa was one of the Buddha's first converts in Sarnath. Thus, only Upagupta fits the timeline and the textual description in the *Aśokāvadāna*.