The Mauryan Polity c11.s3.t2.8

c11.s3.t2.8

The passage in question simply marks the visit of the emperor to the Saṅgha. This is a circumstance which is not incompatible with the active rule of a great and tolerant emperor. It was one of the several state visits in which Aśoka indulged. Nor were his visits confined to the Buddhist monasteries; they were extended to the Brahmanas, Śramaṇas, Ājivikās and other sects in the empire. Even Bhandarkar feels this inconsistency and seems to reconcile that Aśoka did not become a bhikṣu or monk but a bhikṣu-gaṭika, a stage higher than that of an upāsaka but less than that of a monk.¹ According to the political philosophy of the times the king was an active functionary and there were only two courses open to him. He was either to rule or to abdicate. One cannot eat the cake and have it. There was no third course open to him.