Page:Picturesque Nepal.djvu/51

 over two centuries the struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism continued, the former finally conquering in the third century B.C., when Asoka, the first ruler of the Indian Empire, proclaimed it as the national religion. At this time, therefore, another significant event is chronicled in the history of Nepal. In 249 B.C. King Asoka journeyed from his capital of Pataliputra (Patna in Bengal) to the various Buddhist holy places in the valley.

It is difficult to determine from the records the exact relationship which existed between this all-powerful monarch, whose dominions were as extensive as the Indian Empire of to-day, and the ruling raja of this small mountain kingdom, but what is referred to as a religious pilgrimage seems to have really resolved itself into an absorption of the lesser kingdom into the greater. Genuine local tradition—not merely literary legend—confirmed by the existence of well-preserved monuments, attests Asoka's effective possession of the secluded Valley of Nepal. He commemorated his visit by the foundation of a city and the erection of massive