The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c23.95

c23.95

The existence and succession of Samprati, another grandson of Asoka, although not verified by epigraphic record, are vouched for by a considerable body of tradition. The Buddhist prose romance, named *Asokāvadāna* (being part of the *Divyāvadāna*), tells a long story of Asoka’s senile devotion to the church and consequent waste of the resources of the empire, which went so far that the ministers were compelled to remove him from power, and place Samprati, son of the blinded Kunāla, on the throne. We are not told what became of Asoka. According to this tale, the successors of Samprati were Vrihaspati, Vrishasena, Pushyadharman, and Pushyamitra, the last being described as of Maurya descent.¹