Bhandarkar[12] claims that Ashoka the great was a Buddhist and his policy of dhamma was actually original Buddhism as preached by the Buddha.

In recent decades, scholars such as Nayanjot Lahiri and Romila Thapar has argued that Ashoka's Dhamma stands apart from Buddhist ideas, even while being informed by them.

[16][17] The response of the Brahmanical social order, which was based on the fourfold varna division, was to make the caste system more rigid and deny a higher status to the commercial class.

[17] The Brahmanical hold over society, assiduously built through the later Vedic period, was coming under increasing attack.

[citation needed] The privileges of the priests, the rigidity of the caste system and the elaborate rituals were being questioned.

The Vaishyas, who were technically included in the higher social category, were treated as inferior to both Brahmans and Kshatriya.

The opposition of the commercial class to Brahmanism was to give a fillip[clarification needed] to the other sects of the society.

[16][17] It was characterized by: The complexity of the state system demanded an imaginative policy from the emperor which required minimal use of force in such a large empire having diverse forms of economy and religions.

A more feasible alternative was the propagation of a policy that would work at an ideological level and engage all sections of the society.

A small group of inscriptions reveal that the king was a follower of Buddhism and were addresses to the Buddhist church—the Sangha.

[26][27] All the sites of Ashokan inscription were chosen carefully to ensure that they were accessible to large numbers of people.

There has been a tendency in the past among historians to study the policy of Dhamma and Ashoka as Buddhist in the same context without making any distinction.

An examination of the inscriptions suggests that Ashoka declared his personal association with a Buddhist order and on the other he tried to teach, through the policy of Dhamma, the importance of social responsibility and tolerance amongst different members of the society.

[28][29] The policy of Dhamma was an earnest attempt at solving some of problems and tensions faced by a complex society.

[23] By the time Ashoka ascended the throne, the Mauryan imperial system had become complex, encompassing various cultures, beliefs and social and political patterns.

It emphasized tolerance of people and the notion of showing consideration towards slaves and servants; there is stress on obedience to elders; generosity towards the needy, Brahmans and Sarmanas.

[35] The policy of Dhamma also laid stress on non-violence, which was to be practiced by giving up war and conquests and also as a restraint on the killing of animals.

[37] Ashoka made them responsible for carrying his message to various sections of society, However, they gradually developed into a type of priesthood of Dhamma with great powers and soon began to interfere in politics.

He consciously tried to adopt it as a matter of state policy; he declared that "all men and my children" and "whatever exertion I make, I strive only to discharge debt that I owe to all living creatures."

This kind of charity work was a radically different attitude from the king of the Arthashastra, who would not incur any expenses unless they brought more revenues in return.

[55] Ashoka also prohibited useless sacrifices and certain forms of gatherings which led to waste, indiscipline and superstition.

He and his high officials were to tour the country propagating Dhamma and establishing direct contact with his subjects.

It has also been suggested · that it was the original Buddhist thought that was being preached by Ashoka as Dhamma and later on certain theological additions were made to Buddhism.

[27][58][59][60] According to Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, Dhamma was not the policy of a heretic but a system of beliefs created out of different religious faiths.

believe that stopping of wars and the emphasis on non-violence crippled the military might of the empire, leading to its collapse after the death of Ashoka.

[62][63] According to Romila Thapar, Ashoka's Dhamma is a superb document of his essential humanity and an answer to the socio-political needs of the contemporaneous situation.

[64] Also, Ashoka warned the forest tribes that although he hates to use coercion, he may be required to resort to force if they continued to create trouble.

The plea for tolerance was a wise course of action in an ethnically diverse, religiously varied, and class divided society.