Dasaratha Maurya

Dasaratha ( Sanskrit: दशरथ ) was a ruler of the Mauryan dynasty, who ruled from about 232-224 BC. He was a direct descendant of Emperor Ashoka, the greatest ruler of ancient India. Probably Dasaratha was a grandson of the Emperor and came to power because the designated successor and son Ashoka was blinded by the name Kunala in a court intrigue. About the successor of Emperor Ashoka the statements of the Puranas, however, are sometimes a bit contradictory.

As inscriptions prove in the three Nagarjuna caves located near the Barabar Caves, Dasaratha donated these hostels for ascetics of Ajivikas immediately after his accession to the throne.

Swell

• Dailendra Nath Sen: Ancient History and Civilization. New Age International, New Delhi 1999, ISBN 81-224-1198-3, pp. 151-152.
• Vincent Arthur Smith: Ashoka: The Buddhist Emperor of India. Clarendon, Oxford 1920 p 226 ( reprint of Asian Educational Services, New Delhi 1997, ISBN 81-206-1303-1 )