According to 'Mahavansh' how many stupas were constructed in the whole of India by Ashoka ?

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:
The figure 84,000 is directly cited in the ancient Buddhist chronicle, the *Mahavamsa* (Great Chronicle), which is the source material explicitly mentioned in the question. The *Mahavamsa*, written in Pali, is one of the most important texts providing a detailed account of the history of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and ancient India, including the reign of Emperor Ashoka. According to this tradition, after his conversion to Buddhism, Ashoka resolved to propagate the faith widely by constructing a massive number of stupas—which are dome-shaped structures housing relics, often of the Buddha or his disciples—across his vast empire. The number 84,000 is symbolic and denotes an incredibly large, innumerable quantity, suggesting a colossal and unprecedented state-sponsored religious building campaign aimed at distributing the Buddha's relics to 84,000 cities or provinces. This legendary number underscores the unparalleled scale of Ashoka's patronage, cementing his image in Buddhist lore as the great universal ruler (Chakravartin) who devoted his immense power to the Dharma.

The incorrect option is 1:
The figure 69,000 is not mentioned in the *Mahavamsa* or any other primary Buddhist canonical texts in relation to the number of stupas constructed by Emperor Ashoka. While Ashoka's building campaign was immense and involved thousands of monuments, 69,000 does not align with the specific, traditionally accepted symbolic number recorded in the chronicles. Students must remember that questions referencing specific texts like the *Mahavamsa* require adherence to the numbers cited within those particular historical narratives, not general estimation. Therefore, choosing 69,000 would be incorrect because it lacks the necessary textual validation from the specified source.

The incorrect option is 2:
The number 93,000 does not appear in the established accounts of Ashoka's religious activities, particularly as documented in the *Mahavamsa*. The Buddhist tradition aims to connect Ashoka's actions symbolically to a higher spiritual truth, and the number 84,000 holds specific significance, often linked to the 84,000 sections of the Dharma (teachings of the Buddha). A figure like 93,000 is simply an arbitrary value that deviates from the historical and religious number enshrined within the Pali tradition. In the context of multiple-choice questions based on historical texts, a candidate must recall the precise number cited by the source, which is not 93,000.

The incorrect option is 3:
Similarly, 76,000 is an incorrect answer because it is not the figure recorded in the *Mahavamsa* concerning Ashoka's monumental stupa-building project. The primary source for this specific question demands the legendary figure of 84,000, which has been passed down through centuries of Buddhist tradition as a testament to the Emperor's devotion. Although the actual, archaeologically verifiable number of Ashoka's stupas is much smaller, the magnitude is consistently expressed as 84,000 in the specified historical account. Any number other than the one sanctioned by the chronicle must be discounted in this academic context.