Page:Asoka - the Buddhist Emperor of India.djvu/22

20 The tradition that Asoka, previous to his accession, served his apprenticeship to the art of government as Viceroy first of Taxila, and afterwards of Ujjain, may be accepted, for we know that both viceroyalties were held by princes of the royal family.

It seems to be true that the solemn consecration, or coronation, of Asoka was delayed for about four years after his accession in B. C. 273, and it is possible that the long delay may have been due to a disputed succession involving much bloodshed, but there is no independent evidence of such a struggle. The empire won by Chandragupta had passed intact to his son Bindusâra, and when, after the lapse of a quarter of a century, the sceptre was again transmitted from the hands of Bindusâra to those of his son Asoka, it seems unlikely that a prolonged struggle was needed to ensure the succession to a throne so well established and a dominion so firmly consolidated. The authentic records give no hint that Asoka's tranquillity was disturbed by internal commotion but on the contrary exhibit him as fully master in his empire, giving orders for execution in the most distant provinces with perfect confidence that they would be obeyed.

The numerous inscriptions recorded by Asoka are the leading authority for the events of his reign. All the inscriptions, except the latest discovered, that at Maski in the Nizam's Dominions, are anonymous, describing their author by titles only. The Maski record, beginning with Devânaṁpiyasa Asokasa, supersedes much argument concerning the identity of