When we talk about the mysteries of Indian history left unsolved, we have to mention a society so inscrutable and unfathomable that whether it existed or not is still a myth left for discussion. This is none other than the great 'Emperor Ashoka's Secret Society' and the 'Nine Unknown Men'. This was believed to be an arcane group of nine men, founded and put together by the great Mauryan emperor Ashoka to guard knowledge so extreme and esoteric that it could destroy the world if it fell into the wrong hands
We've all heard stories about the ferocious warrior Ashoka and his reign being the most glorious time written in Indian history. He's known for his many conquests, where he emerged victorious, although one of them that stands out is the Kalinga War. Although he had won the battle, when he looked around in bloodsoaked armor, crimson from the blood of the 150,000 people killed in the war, he realized his horrific actions and thus emerged a changed man from within. As he went on to take the path of Buddhism, it was then that he realised real power did not lie in killing and destruction, rather in knowledge and peace.
The fact that he needed to preserve this token of knowledge before it fell into the wrong hands is what pushed him to form the secret society of the Nine Unknown Men. Although their identity was concealed, these men were considered to be India's most brilliant minds in their respective disciplines: Propaganda, Physiology, Microbiology, Alchemy, Communication, Gravity, Cosmology, Light and Sociology. Ashoka had asked each of the nine members to create, update and revise books of their disciplines, which included topics like time travel, anti-gravity, secrets of metal transmutation, strategies to manipulate and control the mind, cholera vaccine, and others. In this way, the content remained constant and relevant.
The myth of this society still exists to this day and is believed by many to be carefully safeguarded and hidden from others. There was no written mention of this society until Talbot Mundy released his book titled "The Nine Unknown Men" in 1923. This is what sparked a wave of curiosity among the masses. People like Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier started discussing it more in their book "The Morning of the Magicians" in 1960. This book was what made people actually start to believe the claims Mundy had made in his book. In addition to this, they recounted the alleged in-person meeting between Pope Silvester II and the men themselves, and the pope returning with mysterious gadgets far ahead of their time. It was rumoured that he returned bearing a 'talking bronze head' that could answer yes or no to questions asked to it. In today's time, this is being compared to binary systems. This was made even more complicated when the pope died mysteriously soon after.
Alexandre Emile Jean Yersin was the man who had saved the world from the virulent cholera and the plague. However, unbeknownst to most people, he met descendants of the secret society in Madras, India, and they helped him make an immunotoxin for cholera treatment that saved the whole world. Louis Jacolliot, a French barrister, colonial judge, and author, believed that the nine unknown men were the ones who invented a technique to sterilise the water by radiation before even science had considered it, which is the reason why the water of the holy river Ganges remains uncontaminated even after millions of people bathe in it every day. He even said that Ganga had a secret temple in the riverbed, which generated radiation and thus kept the water pure.
The book written by the unknown men—Vaimanika Shastra—revealed secrets of gravity, aerodynamics, and space travel. There were speculations that ancient India possessed aeroplanes that could fly and travel across space, as mentioned in the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Moreover, it is speculated that the first book of secrets kept by the nine unknown men had precise instructions about physiological warfare. Adolf Hitler is said to have been fascinated by such knowledge, as he tried to extract these manuscripts several times. This was made even more believable when he dispatched numerous expeditions to Tibet and India to gather more information.
The enigma of whether the great Mauryan Emperor Ashoka's secret society is a myth or a veiled reality still remains a mystery, hidden behind layers holding secrets unknown.