Buddhist accounts Buddhist texts claim that Pushyamitra cruelly persecuted the Buddhists. The earliest source to mention this is the 4-5th Century CE text
Ashokavadana (a part of
Divyavadana). According to this account, Pushyamitra (described as the last Mauryan emperor) wanted to be famous. His ministers advised him that as long as Buddhism remained the dominant faith, he would never be as famous as his ancestor
Ashoka, who had commissioned 84,000
stupas. One advisor told him that he could become famous by destroying Buddhism. Pushyamitra then tried to destroy the
Kukkutarama monastery, but it was saved by chance. He then proceeded to
Shakala in the north-west, where he offered a prize of one hundred
Roman denarii (coins) for every head of a Buddhist monk brought to him. Next, he proceeded to the Koshthaka kingdom, where a Buddhist
yaksha named Damshtranivasin killed him and his army with help of another yaksha named Krimisha. Like other portions of the text, these accounts are regarded by many historians as being exaggerated.
Vibhasa, another 2nd century text, states that Pushyamitra burned Buddhist scriptures, killed Buddhist monks, and destroyed 500 monasteries in and around
Kashmir. In this campaign, he was supported by yakshas,
kumbhandas, and other demons. However, when he reached the
Bodhi tree, the deity of that tree took the form of a beautiful woman and killed him.
Shariputrapariprichha, translated into Chinese between 317 and 420 CE also mentions this legend, but this particular version is more detailed, and describes eastern India (not Kashmir) as the center of Pushyamitra's anti-Buddhist campaign. The medieval-era
Arya-Manjushri-Mula-Kalpa mentions a wicked and foolish king named Gomimukhya ("cattle-faced"), or Gomishanda ("Gomin, the bull"), who seized the territory from the east to Kashmir, destroying monasteries and killing monks. Ultimately, he and his officers were killed in the north by falling mountain rocks. This king is identified with Pushyamitra by
Jayantanuja Bandyopadhyaya. The 16th-century Tibetan Buddhist historian
Taranatha also states that Pushyamitra and his allies killed Buddhist monks and destroyed monasteries from
madhyadesha (midland) to
Jalandhara. These activities wiped out the Buddhist doctrine from the north, within five years.
Authenticity of Buddhist claims : 𑀧𑀼𑀰𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀺𑀢𑁆𑀭) in the
Ayodhya Inscription of Dhana. Based on Buddhist tradition, some scholars believe that Pushyamitra was indeed a persecutor of the Buddhist faith. However, others believe that Buddhist scholars were biased against Pushyamitra, because he did not patronize them. According to archaeologist
John Marshall, there is evidence of some damage to Buddhist establishments at
Takshashila around the time of Shunga rule. He also theorized that the
Sanchi stupa was vandalized in 2nd century BCE (that is, during Pushyamitra's reign), before being rebuilt on a larger scale. G. R. Sharma, who excavated the Buddhist ruins at
Kaushambi, suggested that the destruction of the local monastery might have happened during the reign of Pushyamitra Shunga. P. K. Mishra believes that the damage to the
Deur Kothar stupa is also datable to Pushyamitra's period. H. C. Raychaudhari pointed out that Buddhist monuments were constructed at
Bharhut during the Shunga rule. However, according to N. N. Ghosh, these were constructed during the reign of later Shunga rulers, not Pushyamitra's period. H. Bhattacharya theorized that Pushyamitra might have persecuted Buddhists for political, rather than religious, reasons: the politically active Buddhists probably supported the
Indo-Greek rivals of Pushyamitra, which might have prompted him to persecute them. The
Ashokavadana states that Pushyamitra declared a reward for killing Buddhist monks in
Shakala (present-day Sialkot), which was located near the Indo-Greek frontiers. According to K. P. Jayaswal, this further highlights a political motivation behind his alleged persecution of Buddhists. Others have expressed skepticism about the Buddhist claims of persecution by Pushyamitra.
Étienne Lamotte points out that the Buddhist legends are not consistent about the location of Pushyamitra's anti-Buddhist campaign and his death. The
Ashokavadana claims that Pushyamitra offered Roman
dinaras as a reward for killing Buddhist monks, but the
dinara did not come into general circulation in India before the 1st century BCE.
Ashokavadana also claims that Ashoka persecuted
Nirgranthas (
Ajivikas), which some assert is a fabrication, considering that Ashoka's edicts express tolerance towards all religious sects. The Sri Lankan Buddhist text
Mahavamsa suggests that several monasteries existed in present-day Bihar, Awadh and Malwa at the time Pushyamitra's contemporary
Dutthagamani ruled in Lanka. This suggests that these monasteries survived Pushyamitra Shunga's reign. H. C. Raychaudhury argued that Pushyamitra's overthrow of the Mauryans cannot be considered as a Brahmin uprising against Buddhist rule, as Brahmins did not suffer during the Mauryan rule: Ashoka's edicts mention the Brahmins before
Shramanas, and the appointment of a Brahmin general (Pushyamitra) shows that the Brahmins were honoured at the Mauryan court. The fact that the
Ashokavadana mentions Pushyamitra as a Mauryan further erodes its historical credibility, and weakens the hypothesis that he persecuted Buddhists because he was a Brahmin. Raychaudhury also argued that according to
Malavikagnimitra, a Buddhist nun named Bhagavati Kaushiki attended Pushyamitra's court, which indicates that they did not persecute Buddhists. However, Shankar Goyal states that there is no evidence of Kaushiki being a Buddhist nun. Historian Eric Seldeslachts states that there is "no proof whatsoever that Pushyamitra actually persecuted the Buddhists" though he may not have actively supported the Buddhists, invoking the Buddhist wrath.
Romila Thapar writes that the lack of concrete archaeological evidence casts doubt on the claims of Buddhist persecution by Pushyamitra. It is possible that the Buddhist influence at the Mauryan court declined during Pushyamitra's reign, and the Buddhist monasteries and other institutions stopped receiving royal patronage. This change might have led to discontent among the Buddhists, resulting in exaggerated accounts of persecution.
Michael Witzel states that
Manu Smriti, which emphasizes the role of orthodox faith in state-craft and society, was first compiled under Pushyamitra's rule. According to Kaushik Roy, it was a Brahmanical reaction to the rise of Buddhism and Jainism.
Accounts against persecution No. 2 at
Sanchi. Stupa, 2nd century BCE.
Indian Museum,
Kolkata. Shunga emperors were seen as amenable to Buddhism and as having contributed to the building of the stupa at
Bharhut. During his reign the Buddhist monuments of Bharhut and
Sanchi were renovated and further improved. There is enough evidence to show that
Pushyamitra patronised buddhist art. == Succession of the throne ==