The State in Ancient India: A Study in the Structure and Practical Working of Political Institutions in North India in Ancient Times c12.172

c12.172

For the rest the institutions of Aśoka may be presumed to be similar to those noticed by Megasthenes. The Divyâvadâna has preserved a tradition that Aśoka's ‘waste’ of treasure on religion at length forced his ministers to depose him and instal his grandson Samprati on the throne.² It is impossible to verify the statement but it is possible that the dedication of the resources of the state to ecclesiastical interests provoked some discontent in political circles.