IN the history of ancient India, the figure of Asoka (Ashoka) stands out like some great Himalayan peak, clear against the sky, resplendent in the sun, while the lower and nearer ranges are hidden by the clouds.

As an historical figure, his character has to-day a two-fold interest for us: political and religious. He was the most illustrious member of a great and powerful dynasty, which has left indelible traces of its achievements on Indian history, and he was the leader in his own day of a spiritual movement which, spreading far with profound effect, marked an epoch in the history of the Eastern world, and has exercised a religious influence upon a third of the human race.

It was inevitable that there should be a large admixture of legend and myth in the mass of tradition that has gathered round the name of Ashoka: the same is true of all the heroes of antiquity who have impressed themselves on the popular imagination; of the English King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, of the good King Alfred, and of St. Louis, the saintly King of France; but a remarkable fact about Ashoka is that we have at our disposal, clearly distinguishable from the almost unlimited amount of myth, a limited but still very considerable amount of authentic and indisputable evidence of a most interesting kind, by which he is brought nearer to us and made more real than any other monarch of ancient days in India. Recently this evidence has been accumulating. The researches of scholars and the excavations of the Archaeological Survey have combined to place at our disposal fresh sources of information, in some cases confirming what had previously been conjecture, and in others adding to the sum of ascertained knowledge new facts of very great value.

To understand the place that Ashoka held in Indian history and the work he did, it is necessary to consider briefly what may be termed his natural and also his spiritual pedigree, to trace, that is to say, the story of the Maurya dynasty and also the origin of Buddhism.

While no historian of India can ignore Ashoka and while every student of religion must take Buddha into account. Historians are, however been righteous in placing Ashoka in high esteem. THE invasion of North-West India by Alexander the Great, which is the first definite landmark in Indian history and marks the beginning of intercourse between India and the West, may be taken as the starting point in the secular history of Ashoka. In May, 327 B.C., Alexander crossed the Hindu Kush with his army, and after spending about ten months fighting the mountain tribes, he entered India in February, 326.

India was at that time divided into a large number of independent States, some large and some small, but none of them owing allegiance to any other as a paramount power. The task of the invader was made easier, as it was many years later in the days of Dupleix and Clive, through his aid being invoked on behalf of some of the warring kings and against the others. In May, 326 B.C., Alexander arrived at the Jhelum river, the Hydaspes of the Greek historians, and, stealing a march across it, fought a hard but successful battle against Porus, the Lion of the Punjab of that time. The Chenab, or Akesines, in full flood, was reached in July and crossed with difficulty. Then they came to the Ravi, or Hydraotes, which presented less difficulty. Three days' march further on was the Beas or Hyphasis River, which proved to be the limit of the Macedonian invasion. Owing to discontent among his troops, Alexander, to his great mortification, was compelled to abandon his design of conquering the rich territory that lay beyond.

Invasion of India by Alexander and The Maurya Empire