Correct Option
The correct option isSyria, Egypt, Greece, and Sri Lanka
Explanation
Ashoka replaced the policy of Digvijaya (military conquest) with Dhammavijaya (conquest through Dhamma). He dispatched ambassadors and missionaries to propagate Dhamma within the Indian subcontinent and to foreign lands. These missions are recorded in his Major Rock Edicts.
Detailed Analysis
The 13th Major Rock Edict is the primary source regarding Ashoka's foreign missions. It explicitly states that Dhamma victory was achieved in the borderlands and as far as six hundred yojanas away, mentioning five Hellenistic (Greek) kings and southern neighbors:
- Syria (West Asia): Mentioned as the realm of Amtiyoko (Antiochus II Theos).
- Egypt: Mentioned as the realm of Turamaya (Ptolemy II Philadelphus).
- Macedonia/Greece: Mentioned as the realm of Amtikini (Antigonus Gonatas).
- Cyrene (North Africa): Mentioned as the realm of Maka (Magas).
- Epirus or Corinth: Mentioned as the realm of Alikasudaro (Alexander).
- Sri Lanka: Referred to as Tamraparni. Ashoka sent his son Mahendra and daughter Sanghamitra specifically to Sri Lanka.
Rock Edict II also mentions the provision of medical treatment for humans and animals in these neighboring kingdoms, including those of the Cholas, Pandyas, Satiyaputras, Keralaputras, and Tamraparni.
Options China, Japan, and Korea and Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan are incorrect because Buddhism spread to China, Japan, Korea, and Tibet centuries later (post-Mauryan period), primarily through the Silk Road and later missionary waves.
Key Takeaway
Major Rock Edict XIII records Ashoka's Dhamma missions to five Greek kingdoms (Syria, Egypt, Macedonia, Cyrene, Epirus) and the southern kingdom of Tamraparni (Sri Lanka).