Patna, Dec. 18: The move to mark April 14 as Mauryan emperor Asoka's birthday is based on the Hindi (lunar) calendar, the government clarified today.

The Telegraph had reported in its December 15 edition that the Bihar government plans to celebrate the day as a state holiday to honour the third Mauryan king.

Asoka's date of birth is mentioned as ashtami of shuklapaksha in the month of Chaitra in some historical documents, state chief secretary Anjani Kumar Singh said today. In 2016, this day is on April 14 and hence the government decision, he added.

Amir Subhani, principal secretary, general administration department, said the date would vary every year as per the Hindi calendar. "So far the government has not made any declaration about the state celebration on the occasion," he said, adding that only a holiday has been announced.

As this newspaper had reported earlier, there is no evidence to pinpoint the exact date of birth of the ancient Indian king whose empire spanned almost the entire Indian subcontinent.

"Asoka's epigraphs, the only written version of events in his lifetime, don't mention either the date or year of his birth," said noted historian Nayanjot Lahiri of Delhi University, who has written a book on Asoka.

Acharya Kishore Kunal, a former IPS officer who heads the Bihar Board of Religious Trusts and has written books on ancient history, echoed Lahiri.

"While writing my book Dalit Devo Bhav I had referred to all important sources related to the Mauryan dynasty, but didn't come across a definite date of Asoka's birth," Kunal said. There has been speculation that the state government's move is linked to the Kushwaha vote, the second largest OBC grouping in the state. In the run-up to the Assembly elections, the BJP had wooed Kushwahas by backing a little-known organisation that suggested Chandragupta Maurya, Asoka's paternal grandfather, was a Kushwaha. Never mind that historians say there is no historical evidence to establish that.

The lower-caste theory also got a boost on Thursday when JD(U) spokesperson Ajay Alok was quoted as saying that Asoka was being tagged with BR Ambedkar - whose birthday is April 14 - because of the Mauryan king's role in the propagation of Buddhism.

Kunal, however, punched holes in the lower-caste theory.

Referring to historical evidences, Kunal said that Asoka's mother Subhadrangi (also known as Dharma) was a low-ranked queen of Bindusara. Unlike other queens, she was not a princess but the daughter of a poor Brahmin from the Anga region. Her father had been told that her son will be a great emperor and that was why he brought his daughter to Pataliputra to marry Bindusara. The other queens were jealous of her, Kunal said, and made her a hairdresser. However, Bindusara was pleased with her and when Asoka her sorrows ended.

Kunal added that he was not able to comprehend how the government could pinpoint Asoka's date of birth so easily.