The monk who influenced Ashoka to embrace Buddhism was
(A) Vishnu Gupta
(B) Upagupta
(C) Brahma Gupta
(D) Brihadratha
Answer: (B) Upagupta was a Buddhist monk. According to some stories in the Sanskrit Avadana, he was the spiritual teacher of Asoka the great Mauryan emperor. Prague ta’s teacher was Sanavasi who was a disciple of Ananda, the Buddha’s attendant. Due to the absence of his name in Theravada literature, it is assumed that Upagupta was a Sarvadin monk.
