According to which Buddhist text, Asoka distributed portions of the Buddha’s relics to important towns and ordered the construction of stupas over them?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Ashokavadana
Stupas were mounds built over relics of the Buddha, such as his bodily remains or objects he had used, and so the whole stupa came to be honoured as a symbol of the Buddha and of Buddhism. According to the Buddhist text Ashokavadana, Asoka distributed portions of the Buddha’s relics to every important town and ordered stupas to be built over them. By the second century BCE stupas had been built at Bharhut, Sanchi and Sarnath.
Note: A same/similar question was asked in CUET (UG) in the papers below.
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
| 13-05 S2 | 13-05 S2* 15-05 S2* | – | 21-06 S1* | 21-08 S1* |
* A similar question.
NCERT (2025-26): “7.1 Why were stupas built? … There were other places too that were regarded as sacred. This was because relics of the Buddha such as his bodily remains or objects used by him were buried there. These were mounds known as stupas. The tradition of erecting stupas may have been pre-Buddhist, but they came to be associated with Buddhism. Since they contained relics regarded as sacred, the entire stupa came to be venerated as an emblem of both the Buddha and Buddhism. According to a Buddhist text known as the Ashokavadana, Asoka distributed portions of the Buddha’s relics to every important town and ordered the construction of stupas over them. By the second century BCE a number of stupas, including those at Bharhut, Sanchi and Sarnath (Map 1), had been built.…” |