The Mauryan Polity c11.s3.t3.14

c11.s3.t3.14

(2) That the insriptions of Aśoka do not *ipso facto* suggest his proselytism to the Buddhist faith is evidenced by the fact that he equally honoured the Nigaṇṭhas or Nirgranthas who were another dissenting sect of the Hindus.⁴ We know from references in the Buddhist Piṭakas that the Nigaṇṭhas were a sect hostile to the Buddhists. It would appear that Nigaṇṭha Nātaputta, the founder of the Jaina sect, was an opponent of Gotama the Buddha and hence one of his contemporaries.⁵