Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c7.47

c7.47

Lastly, it may be noted that the same spirit of idealism informed the king's foreign policy. If he is bent on conquest, it should not be for mere power, pelf, and greed, lust for dominion. Kauṭilya [XII. 1] mentions three classes of conquerors in the order of merit: (1) *Dharma-vijayī* (2) *Lobha-vijayī* and (3) *Asura-vijayī*. Thus Asoka follows this idealism by declaring that 'the best of all conquests is *Dharma-vijaya*' [R. E. XIII].