For the first time in history, this book reveals direct connection between Ashoka the Great's Edicts and the Bhagavad Gita. It explains how the Vedic Dharma (religion) decayed over several centuries before Ashoka's rule due to its obsession with a animal sacrifices. As a result of degradation of the Vedic Dharma, there arose much loss of culture, civility and etiquette in India.Following the Great Kalinga War (262 BCE) Ashoka suffered from three maladies: Grief, ambivalence about his own Dharma (religion) and fear of sin. To cope with these three maladies, Ashoka took three decisive actions, which posed existential threat to the contemporary Dharmas of India: Brahmanism, Upanishadism and Bhagavatism. His First Deed was to abandon Kshatriya Dharma (warrior class duty based on Brahmanic Guna-Karma doctrine). His Second Deed was to replace Brahmanism with Ashokadharma. His Third Deed was to exhort people of all Dharmas to abandon their Dharmas and join his Dharma, which would liberate them from all their sins. In response to Ashoka's First Deed, Brahmanic poet created Arjuna Vishada Gita, a parody of Ashoka's discomfiture on the battlefield of Kalinga. The message of this 70-shloka long poem was that warriors should follow example of Arjuna in the story and not Ashoka in real life. In response to Ashoka's Second Deed, Upanishadic poet created the Upanishadic Gita in two stages. Seizing the initiative from Ashoka, the poet offered Upanishadism as an alternative to both decadent Brahmanism and Ashokadharma.In response to Ashoka's Third Deed, a Bhagavata poet offered Bhagavatism centered on Lord Krishna lone as the alternative to all Dharmas of India, and seizing the initiative from Ashoka, the poet exhorted all people of India: Abandon all Dharmas and surrender unto Me alone, I shall deliver you from all evil. Do not grieve. In the course of time, using the Bhagavad Gita as their guide, chastened Brahmanic pundits reformed decadent Brahmanism; renounced animal sacrifices, declared cows as sacred, appointed Lord Krishna as the protector of cows (Govinda, Gopala), and encouraged vegetarianism. They appointed the minor Vedic god Vishnu as Parameshwara, demoted Lord Krishna as one of His Avataras, swallowed Bhagavatism, and promoted Vaishnavism. They renounced the ancient Vedic gods, created an entirely new set of gods, and created numerous elaborate mythologies to enthrall the adherents. And they reintroduced their ancient traditions, fire worship and rituals in disguised forms. They added to the vertical Varna Dharma (class system) horizontal Jati Dharma (caste-system), and created thousands of Jatis. They fabricated thousands of superstitions to encourage people to perform various rituals to counter them. Thus they re-conquered hearts of naïve people. This was how, in response to the existential threat Ashoka posed, Brahmanic pundits delivered their decadent Dharma in its disguised form as the Dharma of people living east of Sindhu River -Hinduism. By and by, Hindus managed to destroy Ashokadharma, Ashoka's legacy, his memory and most of his monuments. Aside from Ashoka's Edicts, the Bhagavad Gita is the only other contemporary source of information on Ashoka the Great. We can still hear echoes of Ashoka's Song in the secret codes of the Bhagavad Gita. Thus the central theme of the Bhagavad Gita -Arjuna Vishada- was born on the battlefield of Kalinga at the base of Dhauli hill 8 kilometer south of the modern city of Bhubaneswar, and not on the mythical battlefield of Kurukshetra. That Ashoka was responsible for making Buddhism a World Religion is a well-known fact. However, few people know that he instigated the creation of the Bhagavad Gita-Upanishad, and consequent birth of Hinduism. Welcome to the fascinating story of Ashoka's Song in the Bhagavad Gita.
About the Author: Dr. Prabhakar S. Kamath (Dharma Kamata) is a retired psychiatrist living in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, U.S.A. His previous books are: Servants, Not Masters, a Guide for Consumer Activists in India (1987); Is Your Balloon About to Pop? Owner's Manual for the Stressed Mind (2007), and The Untold Story of the Bhagavad Gita, The True Intent and Spirit of the Bhagavad Gita in its Historical Context (2013)