Which One of the Following Rulers did not Contribute towards Expansion of Buddhism? 1. Harshvardhan 2. Kanishka 3. Ashoka 4. Pushyamitra Shunga

By Balaji

Updated on: March 14th, 2023

Pushyamitra Shunga did not contribute to the expansion of Buddhism. Buddhism is one of the top 5 religions in the world after Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Pushyamitra Shunga was a famous ruler and a follower of Hinduism who was not a Buddhist proponent. According to Buddhist texts, he showed cruelty to the people who were followers of the Buddhism religion.

Table of content

1. Ruler who did not Contribute towards the Expansion of Buddhism
2. Facts about Pushyamitra Shunga
3. Buddhism
4. Which One of the Following Rulers did not Contribute towards Expansion of Buddhism?

Ruler who did not Contribute towards the Expansion of Buddhism

As per the Buddhism sources, Pushyamitra Shunga was cruel to the Buddhism religion. He killed people and monks and destroyed around five monasteries. He wanted to be famous around the world, and his ministers advised him that Pushyamitra Shunga could be famous only if he destroyed the Buddhism religion.

For this goal, he demolished almost 500 monasteries in the Patliputra region and proceeded to other parts of the country. He even announced prize money of 1000 coins to slit the throat of every head of people who follows Buddhism. Later, he was killed by Buddhist Yaksha, including the army of Pushyamitra Shunga.

Facts about Pushyamitra Shunga

Here are some quick facts about Pushyamitra Shunga:

Pushyamitra Shunga was the first emperor/ruler of the Shunga Empire.
He was the founder of the Shunga Empire.
Pushyamitra wanted to be famous, so he did everything possible, including worship and battles.
He became king after killing the last kind of Brihadratha, his master.
He was a follower of the Hindu religion.

Buddhism

According to Buddhism texts, the ministers of Pushyamitra said he could not be famous if Buddhism and Buddhists were alive. They told him that as long as Buddhism was being followed, people would see only Emperor Ashoka, a Mauryan King who built over 84,000 monasteries to make Buddhism religion famous. That’s why. Pushyamitra Shunga was advised to finish the Buddhism Religion.

However, there is no proof has been found by scholars regarding this claim. They also claim that it’s a fake allegation against Pushyamitra Shunga as he didn’t follow or promote the Buddhism language.

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