Editing Ashoka (section)

=== Brothers ===

According to the ''Ashokavadana'', Ashoka had an elder half-brother named Susima.{{sfn|Strong|1989|p=204}}
* According to Sri Lankan tradition, this brother was Tissa, who initially lived a luxurious life, without worrying about the world. To teach him a lesson, Ashoka put him on the throne for a few days, then accused him of being an usurper, and sentenced him to die after seven days. During these seven days, Tissa realised that the Buddhist monks gave up pleasure because they were aware of the eventuality of death. He then left the palace, and became an ''arhat''.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=27}}
* The Theragatha commentary calls this brother Vitashoka. According to this legend, one day, Vitashoka saw a grey hair on his head, and realised that he had become old. He then retired to a monastery, and became an arhat.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=28}}
* Faxian calls the younger brother Mahendra, and states that Ashoka shamed him for his immoral behaviour. The brother then retired to a dark cave, where he meditated, and became an arhat. Ashoka invited him to return to the family, but he preferred to live alone on a hill. So, Ashoka had a hill built for him within Pataliputra.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=28}}
* The Ashoka-vadana states that Ashoka's brother was mistaken for a [[Tirthika|non-Buddhist]] [[Jainism|Jain]], and killed during a massacre of the Jains ordered by Ashoka.{{sfn|Thapar|1961|p=28}}