"Fresh excavations at Ujjain stupa seek to verify Mauryan-era Ashokan connections"
Stupa
hemispherical Buddhist mound built to enshrine relics of the Buddha or Buddhist teachers
Kumara
Sanskrit term for prince; used in Ashokan edicts to refer to a viceroy or provincial governor
Ujjayini (modern Ujjain), situated on the banks of the Sipra river — a tributary of the Chambal — was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Avanti. Mud fortifications were first built around the city in the seventh century BCE. By the sixth century BCE, Avanti had emerged as a powerful independent kingdom. The city was also a major commercial hub. Historian Romila Thapar notes that Ujjain linked trade routes to western coastal ports such as Broach and Sopira, as well as to Pataliputra, the Mauryan capital. The Greek geographer Ptolemy referred to it as 'Ozone'. Historian Nayanjot Lahiri describes Ujjain as the 'Greenwich of India' because Hindu astronomers reckoned the prime meridian of longitude from the city.
The Mauryan Empire, at its height under Ashoka (r. c. 268–232 BCE), was one of the largest political formations in the ancient world. Ashoka's reign is particularly significant for the spread of Buddhism, the construction of stupas and pillars, and the issuance of rock and pillar edicts across the subcontinent. These edicts — deciphered by James Prinsep in the 19th century — remain the primary epigraphic source for reconstructing Ashokan policy and ideology. Ujjain's role in Ashoka's personal and political biography makes it a site of considerable historical interest.
Ashoka was sent to Avanti as viceroy by his father, Bindusara. Unlike his brief posting in Taxila, he is believed to have spent approximately a decade in Avanti, with Ujjain as his headquarters — arriving around 282 BCE, roughly a decade before Bindusara's death. His own edicts, issued after he became emperor, refer to the presence of a kumara (prince) at Ujjain, lending epigraphic support to his viceregal appointment there.
On his way to Ujjain, Ashoka stopped in Vidisha, where he met Vedisadevi (Devi), the daughter of a merchant. The couple had a son, Mahinda, and a daughter, Sanghamitta — both of whom later played pivotal roles in spreading Buddhism to Sri Lanka. Thapar, however, notes that historical records do not explicitly confirm a formal legal marriage between Ashoka and Devi.
The two mounds at Ujjain — Vaishya Tekri and Kumhar Tekri — are the focus of current archaeological interest. Vaishya Tekri is the larger of the two, reportedly about 350 feet at its base and 100 feet high, and has been compared in scale to the Great Stupa at Sanchi. …
In which of the following relief sculpture inscriptions is 'Ranyo Ashoka' (King Ashoka) mentioned along with the stone portrait of Ashoka?
Who among the following rulers advised his subjects through this inscription?
"Whosoever praises his religious sect or blames other sects out of excessive devotion to his own sect, with the view of glorifying his own sect, he rather injures his own sect very severely."
Who of the following had first deciphered the edicts of Emperor Ashoka?
Ashokan inscriptions suggest that 'Pradeshika', 'Rajuka' and 'Yukta' were important officers at the
With reference to the Mauryan-era sites at Ujjain, consider the following statements:
1.Vaishya Tekri stupa is locally associated with Devi, the merchant's daughter whom Ashoka met at Vidisha.
2.Kumhar Tekri is associated with a 'hellish prison' built by Ashoka, as recorded by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.
3.Ashokan pillars and edicts have been found at both Vaishya Tekri and Kumhar Tekri.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Historical site — Associated feature
1.Kanganahalli — Stone portrait of Ashoka with inscription 'Ranyo Ashoka'
2.Sanchi — First site where Ashokan edicts were deciphered by James Prinsep
3.Vaishya Tekri, Ujjain — Comparable in scale to the Great Stupa at Sanchi
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
With reference to the architectural features of Buddhist stupas, which of the following statements is/are correct?
1.The harmika is a square railing structure at the top of the stupa mound.
2.Worshippers circumambulated the stupa in an anti-clockwise direction.
3.The torana refers to the elaborately carved gateways installed at the four cardinal points of a stupa complex.
Assertion (A): Fresh excavations at Vaishya Tekri in Ujjain cannot by themselves confirm Ashokan authorship of the stupa.
Reason (R): No Ashokan pillars or edicts have been found at Ujjain, and the only prior excavation relied on brick size and punch-marked coins as dating evidence without modern stratigraphic methods.
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