6. Ashoka's Shoka and Arjuna's Vishada

The Untold Story of the Bhagavad Gita

Revealing the True Intent and Spirit of the Bhagavad Gita in its Historical Context

By K.P.S. Kamath. Pkamath001@gmail.com

6. Ashoka’s Shoka and Arjuna’s Vishāda

Having neutralized Upanishadic revolution Brāhmanism continued to decay. A large number of aggrieved people of all classes began to abandon it to join Jainism, Buddhism, Ajīvika and Lokāyata. Leaving Brāhmanism meant giving up Varna Dharma, the class-designated duties based on Guna/Karma doctrine. To make matter worse, kings also began to abandon Brāhmanism and patronize heterodox Dharmas. The great kings of Magadha Bimbisāra (ruled 542-492 B.C.) and his son Ajātashatru (ruled 492-460) patronized Lord Buddha. Chandragupta Maurya, the first great emperor of India (ruled 320-298 B.C.) became a Jain monk, and his son Bindusāra (ruled 298-272 B.C.) became Ajīvika, a sect that believed in destiny.

1. Ashoka the Great: Upon the death of Bindusāra in 272 B.C., his son Ashoka usurped the throne of Magadha, and over the next four years he killed several of his half brothers in bloody conflicts. After consolidating his power, he formally crowned himself king of Magadha in 268 B.C.

2. The battle of Kalinga: In 261 B.C. Ashoka invaded Kalinga. A great battle took place on a battlefield near Dhauli, located 8 kilometer south of Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Kalingans fought Ashoka tooth and nail, but were annihilated by his formidable army. Over 100,000 people died and over 150,000 were taken prisoners. It is said that Dayā River, which borders the battlefield of Dhauli on west and north, turned red with blood for days. When Ashoka went to the battlefield of Dhauli to inspect his victory, he was shocked by the carnage he had wrought.

3. Ashoka laments: In his now famous Edicts erected all over India he expressed much grief (“Anusochana”) over both the dead and the living. He developed much ambivalence (Dwandwam) about Kshatriya Dharma, which required him to be both Paranthapa (enemy burner) and Dhananjaya (conqueror of wealth). He worried over the consequences (bad Karmaphalam) of war. After years of soul-searching he renounced violence and said that the best victory is victory of Dharma (Dharma Vijaya). He replaced Yajna Chakra with Dharma Chakra (Wheel of Dharma).

4. Ashoka patronizes Buddhism: Ashoka patronized Buddhism, added his own views to its tenets and called it the real Dharma. He condemned mindless rituals, animal sacrifices, and stopped patronizing Brāhmins. He promised his subjects that he would strive for the welfare of all living creatures. Encouraged by him, thousands of people, especially Kshatriyas, abandoned Varna Dharma of Brāhmanism and joined the Sangha of Buddhists as monks. These monks were godless, rite-less and classless. Soon Buddhism became the dominant Dharma of India. To add insult to injury, Ashoka sponsored the Third Great Buddhist Council held near Pātaliputra in 252 B.C. This was the most critical moment for Brāhmanism in its 1250-year long history. Brāhmanism went on deathbed.  

5. Brāhmanism strikes back: Brāhmanic loyalists believed that Ashoka suffered from a terminal case of Ahamkāra (egoism).[1] In fact, in his Edicts, Ashoka does come across as an egotist (one who boasts about himself). Ashoka had decreed in his Edicts that religious sects should not attack each other except by means of the mild words. This suited Brāhmanic scribes just fine, as they were masters of Sanskrit language, which lent itself admirably to double entendre, secret codes, and metaphors. Words such as Karma and Dharma have multiple meanings and thus a given shloka could mean one thing to one and entirely something else to another. True to the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword,” they decided to fight back Buddhism, its patron Ashoka, and his followers who were abandoning Brāhmanism in “mild words.” Palm leaves became their bows; quills became their arrows; melodious shlokas became their arrowheads and secret codes became their saboteurs.

6. Ballad of Arjuna’s Sorrow: The Mahābhārata epic, conceived for the purpose of bringing Vedic doctrines to general public, was already popular with the masses. This epic had progressed quite a bit, but that posed no problem for the clever scribes. They created a brief metaphoric parable called Arjuna Vishāda Gita, which they attached to Mahābhārata epic as a flashback. After being told that grandsire Bheeshma had died on the battlefield, blind king Dhrithsrāstra asks his confidant Sanjaya to narrate to him the scene on the battlefield just as the Great War was about to begin. Sanjaya, being gifted with divine vision (Divya Dristi), sings the parable of Arjuna Vishāda.    

7. The metaphor: In this metaphorical parable, just as the Mahābhārata war was about to begin, Arjuna, the greatest warrior among the Pāndavas, suddenly suffers from the same three maladies Ashoka did after the Great Kalinga War: Shokam, Dwandwam and fear of bad Karmaphalam. Careful analysis of the legend of Ashoka and comparing it with Arjuna Vishāda reveals numerous parallels between Ashoka the Great and Arjuna the Great. The following parallels should be sufficient for discerning readers to see that Brāhmanism modeled Arjuna after Ashoka: 

A. Whereas, according to the legend, Ashoka had to fight off “ninety-nine half-brothers and one uterine brother (Tisya)” to acquire his father’s kingdom, Arjuna had to fight off ninety-nine cousins (Kauravas) and one uterine brother (Karna) to regain his father’s kingdom.

B. Whereas Ashoka spent about thirteen years in exile before usurping his father’s kingdom Arjuna spent thirteen years in exile before waging the war to gain back his father’s kingdom.

C. Whereas Ashoka inspected the carnage of Kalinga war standing in the middle of the battlefield after the war Arjuna inspected both armies standing on his chariot parked in the middle of the battlefield before the war. (1:21-25).

D. Whereas Ashoka suffered from severe grief (Anusochana) after witnessing the slaughtered soldiers, civilians and his own people on the battlefield, Arjuna suffered a severe grief (Shokam, 1:47) before the war just looking at soldiers and his own people he was about to slaughter. 

E. Whereas Ashoka lamented over having killed and injured innocent people living in his enemy’s kingdom such as, “Brāhmins, ascetics, householders, mothers, fathers, elders, friends, acquaintances, relatives, servants and employees,” Arjuna’s despaired over having to kill his own people living in his enemies’ kingdom, such as “paternal uncles, grandfathers, teachers, maternal uncles, cousins, sons, grandsons, comrades, fathers-in-law, brothers-in-law, benefactors” (1:26, 34).

F. Whereas Ashoka expressed doubts about the goals of Kshatriya Dharma Arjuna expressed his doubts about the goals of Kshatriya Dharma (1:31,32, 35).

G. Whereas Ashoka displayed his egoism (Ahamkāra) by doubting his own Dharma and refusing to wage war anymore, Arjuna displayed his Ahamkāra by doubting and questioning Brāhmanism’s two rewards (1:31-37) for performing one’s duty, and refusing to fight (1:35).

H. Whereas Ashoka expressed in his Rock Edicts horror over the consequences to himself and the conquered people as a result of war, Arjuna expressed fear of incurring bad Karmaphalam (sin, 1:36, 39, 45) for killing his own people and becoming the cause of destruction of families (1:38-44).

I. Whereas Ashoka felt compassion for the dead and the injured on the battlefield after the war, before the war Arjuna felt compassion for his enemies he was about to kill (Kripayā Parayāvisto, 1:27), and worried about the consequences to the society following death of men (1:38-44).

J. Whereas Ashoka embraced nonviolent Buddhism after the war, Arjuna threatened to become a nonviolent beggar (Bhikku) before the war (1:35, 46, 2:5).

            These similarities between Arjuna and Ashoka left no doubt in the mind of contemporary listeners as to who the real targets of the song were.

Thus the central theme of the Bhagavad Gita –Arjuna’s Sorrow- was born on the battlefield of Dhauli, Odisha, during the winter of 261-262 B.C. In the Mahābhārata epic, Arjuna’s Sorrow happens on the battlefield of Kurukshetra.   

8. Manifesto of Varna Dharma: There are 77 shlokas of the Original Gita known as Arjuna Vishāda Gita in the text of the Bhagavad Gita-Upanishad. Of these, 47 are in the first chapter. Shlokas 1:1-20 are devoted to the preparation for the Great War, and shlokas 1:21-47 are devoted to Arjuna’s Shokam, Dwandwam and fear of Karmaphalam (sin) before the Great War, the same three maladies of Ashoka suffered from after the Great Kalinga War. The final editor of the Bhagavad Gita scattered the remaining 30 shlokas of this poem (Gita), haphazardly throughout the text. These 30 shlokas represent the Manifesto of Varna Dharma based on the Gun/Karma doctrine. The main thrust of these shlokas was directed toward Ashoka and his Buddhist followers, and those who were thinking of abandoning Varna Dharma due to its imperfections. It can be summed up in the following five shlokas:

3:35, 18:47-48, and 59-60: One’s own Dharma (Svadharmam, duty as per Varna Dharma), though imperfect, is better than Paradharma (Buddhism) well discharged. Better death in one’s own Dharma (for one goes to heaven, and returns to earth to enjoy Punyam); Paradharma is full of fear (of disgrace and poverty here on earth, and inferior birth hereafter). He who does the duty ordained by his nature (Svabhāva, Guna) does not incur sin. One should not abandon the duty (Karma as per one’s Guna) to which one is born, though it is attended with evil, for all undertakings are enveloped by evil, as fire by smoke. If filled with Ahamkāra you think, “I will not fight,” vain is this, your resolve. Your Prakriti (Guna) will compel you to fight. Bound by your own Karma born of your Svabhāva (Guna, natural disposition), that, which from delusion (of Ahamkāra) you wish not to do, even that you shall do helplessly against your own will!

 

9. Two contexts: Thus, Arjuna Vishāda Gita has two contexts: 1. Mahābhārata epic context, which is applicable to grief-stricken Arjuna who wants to abandon his Karma ordained by his Rajas Guna. 2. Historical context, which is applicable to Ashoka and his followers, who abandoned Varna Dharma following the Great War, and became rite-less (Akarmani).

10. Secret Codes: Brāhmanic poets used double entendre, secret codes and metaphors to attack their enemies. Only people knowing their historical context could understand their inner meanings. Most of these shlokas have secret codes embedded in them. Space does not permit me to reveal them in these articles, but I have revealed them in my book.

Before studying the remaining 30 shlokas promoting Varna Dharma, let us study just two shlokas, which are applicable to Arjuna in the Mahābhārata epic context and Ashoka and his followers in the historical context. Taken literally, they are applicable to Arjuna; read between the lines, they are applicable to Ashoka and his cronies.

Example 1: In the Mahābhārata context the following shloka is obviously applicable to grieving Arjuna. In the historical context, it is applicable to Ashoka and his Kshatriya followers who abandoned Varna Dharma at Brāhmanism’s most critical moment. The poet scolds them mercilessly, as uttered by Achyuta, (prince Krishna):  

2:2-3: Whence has this ignoble, heaven-barring and disreputable timidity come upon you at this dangerous moment (Vishamae Samupasthitam)? Do not succumb to this cowardice! It does not befit you. Give up this despicable feeble-heartedness, and stand up, O Scorcher of Foes! 

Example 2. Interpreted literally, the following shloka is applicable to Arjuna in the Mahābhārata context; read between the lines, it is applicable to Ashoka and his followers.   

2:11: Ashochyān anvashochas tvam prajnyāvādāmscha bhāshase/ Gatāsūn agatāsūnscha, na anushochanti Panditāh//

You grieve for those who should not be grieved for; and yet you utter words of wisdom. The wise grieve neither for the dead nor for the living.

In its historical context, it is applicable to Ashoka who grieved for both the dead and the living. There are several secret codes in this shloka.

The word Ashochyān is a play on the word Ashoka. Prajnāvāda is the code word for Buddhism (Prajnā, Sheela and Samadhi are three main branches of Buddhism). Gatāsūn is the code word for Lord Buddha, who referred to himself as Thathāgatha (one who has thus gone –attained Nirvāna); Agathāsūn refers to Lord Buddha’s followers known as Thathā āgatha (those who are yet to attain Nirvāna). The word anushochanti (grieve) is straight from Ashoka’s Edicts.

So the hidden meaning of this shloka is as follows: Ashoka, speaking words of Buddhist wisdom, grieves for those who should not be grieved for (A true Kshatriya is both Dhananjaya and Paranthapa, and he never grieves for anyone he kills in a righteous war). A Panditāh (wise man) grieves neither for the dead nor for the living (which means Ashoka is not wise). A wise men of Brāhmanism should not grieve for either the Buddha or for his Buddhist followers. Attack them mercilessly.

In the next article, we will study 30 shlokas of Arjuna Vishada, the Original Brāhmanic Gita promoting Varna Dharma based on Guna/Karma doctrine.

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[1] This was Brahmmāstra, the Ultimate Weapon of Brāhmanism, against dissenters. To this day, Hindu loyalists condemn people who question their practices as suffering from Ahamkāra.