NATIONAL LAW INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY, BHOPAL

SESSION 2018-19

PROJECT- TRIMESTER V

HISTORY – I

TOPIC: ASOKA AND DISCOVERY OF EDICTS

Submitted to:-

Prof. Uday Pratap Singh

Submitted by :-

Anushri Bhalavi

2018 (BALLB) 53

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• INTRODUCTION

• DISCOVERY OF THE EDICTS

• ASHOKA AND BUDDHISM

• MORAL PRECEPTS AND SOCIAL AND ANIMAL WELFARE
• TRANSLATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE MAJOR
ROCK EDICTS

• CONCLUSION

• BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Introduction

King Asoka, the third monarch of the Indian Mauryan dynasty, has come
to be regarded as one of the most exemplary rulers in world history. The
British historian H.G. Wells has written: "Amidst the tens of thousands of
names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history ... the name of
Asoka shines, and shines almost alone, a star." Although Buddhist
literature preserved the legend of this ruler -- the story of a cruel and
ruthless king who converted to Buddhism and thereafter established a
reign of virtue -- definitive historical records of his reign were lacking.
Then in the nineteenth century there came to light a large number of
edicts, in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. These edicts, inscribed
on rocks and pillars, proclaim Asoka's reforms and policies and
promulgate his advice to his subjects. The present rendering of these
edicts, based on earlier translations, offers us insights into a powerful and
capable ruler's attempt to establish an empire on the foundation of
righteousness, a reign which makes the moral and spiritual welfare of his
subjects its primary concern.

King Ashoka

“All men are my children. I am like a father to them. As every father

desires the good and the happiness of his children, I wish that all men
should be happy always."

These are the words of an emperor who lived two thousand and three
hundred years ago. We see in history how even mere chieftains grew
arrogant and used their powers selfishly and unjustly. But the emperor
who said the above words ruled over the greater part of India. He had the
power of life and death over millions of his subjects.

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Ashoka was the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya who was the first
ruler of the Mauryan Empire. He ruled for about twenty four years, and
then, seeking peace of mind, handed over the reigns of his empire to his
son, Bindusara. This Bindusara was the father of Ashoka. Emperor
Bindusara had won the title ‘Amitraghatha’ which means ‘one who
strikes those who are unfriendly’. He was extremely fond of hunting;
according to Vedic legend, he even killed a lion using only a wooden
stick. His older half-brothers feared Ashoka, and convinced his father to
post him as a general to distant frontiers of the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka
proved a competent general, likely much to his brothers' dismay, putting
down a rebellion in the Punjabi city of Taxshila. Aware that his brothers
viewed him as a rival for the throne, Ashoka went into exile for two years
in the neighboring country of Kalinga. While there, he fell in love with a
commoner, a fisher-woman named Kaurwaki. The two later married.
Bindusara recalled his son to Maurya after two years to help quell an
uprising in Ujjain, the former capital of the Avanti Kingdom. Ashoka
succeeded, but was injured in the fighting. Buddhist monks tended to the
wounded prince in secret, so that his eldest brother, the heir-apparent
Susima, would not learn of Ashoka's injuries. Their patient learned the
basic tenets of Buddhism from them. A woman from Vidisha called Devi
also attended Ashoka during this period - he fell in love with her and
married her.

He had annexed the area between the east coast and the west coast in
south India and extended his empire. He ruled over this empire for
twenty-five years and died in 272 B.C. Ashoka was crowned king of
Magadha after the death of his father. There is a story that Ashoka had all
his brothers killed for the sake of the kingdom. There is no historical

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basis for this story. Ashoka has spoken affectionately about his brothers
in his rock inscriptions.

Ashoka was a very intelligent statesman. He ruled over Magadha wisely

and ably. The council of ministers and officers of state were obedient,
dutiful and able. Therefore peace and plenty brightened the land. For the
first eight years of his reign, Ashoka waged near-constant war. He had
inherited a sizable empire, but he expanded it to include most of the
Indian subcontinent, as well as the area from the current-day borders of
Iran and Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh and the Burmese border
in the east. Only the southern tip of India and Sri Lanka remained out of
his reach, plus the kingdom of Kalinga on the northeast coast of India.
Although it was the homeland of his second wife, Kaurwaki, and the king
of Kalinga had sheltered Ashoka before his accent to the throne, the
Mauryan emperor gathered the largest invasion force in Indian history to
that point and launched his assault. Kalinga fought back bravely, but in
the end it was defeated and all of its cities sacked.

The Kalinga war was a life altering experience for Asoka. After
conquering Kalinga, his heart was broken with grief and shame. He felt
unhappy over the victory, which he had won at the cost of so much
suffering. At this time Ashoka was at the height of his power; he was the
head of a vast empire; he had no equal in wealth or armed strength. And
yet the Kalinga war, which was his first war, also became his last war.
Ashoka swore that he would never again take to arms and that he would
never again commit such a crime against humanity. And it proved to be
the oath of a man of iron would. Ashoka had led the invasion in person,
and he went out into the capital city of the Kalingas the morning after his
victory to survey the damage. The ruined houses and bloodied corpses
sickened the emperor, and he underwent a religious epiphany. Although

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he had considered himself more or less Buddhist prior to that day, the
carnage at Kalinga led Ashoka to devote himself to Buddhism. He vowed
to practice ahimsa from that day forward. This metamorphosis won him
the noblest victory of all- Dharma. The teaching of Buddha brought peace
to Ashoka who was haunted by memories of the agony he had seen in
Kalinga. It was also during his time that he was given the name---
‘Chandashok’.

Buddha's message of nonviolence, kind-ness and love of mankind

appealed to the unhappy Ashoka. A disciple of Buddha- Upagupta
initiated him into Buddhism. From that day Ashoka's heart became the
home of compassion, right living, love and nonviolence. He gave up
hunting and eating meat. He put an end to the killing of animals for the
royal kitchen. Realizing that it was not enough if he lived a righteous life,
he proclaimed that all his subjects also should live a life of righteousness.
Two years after the Kalinga war, Asoka went on a pilgrimage which
started with his visit to Sambodhi, place where Gautama Buddha breathed
last. He visited other holy places too, his purpose being to meet Brahmins
and Shramans and give them gifts and to preach and discuss Dhamma.
But he wasn’t content with just this, he did not want the message of
Dhamma to be stagnant, therefore, he got the laws of Dharma engraved
on rocks and stone pillars both inside and outside the country. These
inscriptions related to Dhamma, social ethics and moral living. Ashoka
himself has proclaimed that his desire was that his message should reach
the people of all lands and enable them to follow and propagate the
Dharma for the welfare of the world. Such inscriptions can be seen even
today both in India and outside. In India they have been discovered in
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Andhra
Pradesh and at Siddapura of Chitradurga District, Koppala and Maski in

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Raichur District of Karnataka. Outside India they have been found in
Peshawar District in Pakistan as well as near Khadahar in Afghanistan
and on the borders of Nepal.
To this day they are like lights of wisdom. The laws of Dharma are like
the seeds of virtue sown in the hearts of the people. They are steps
leading to salvation.
Asoka appointed officers called 'Dharma - Mahamatras' in order to spread
these ideas among the people. It was the duty of the Dharma -
Mahamatras to also see that the money meant for religious purposes was
spent properly. They toured the empire and visited the courts of justice
also. They set right the errors in the conduct of affairs and in the awards
of punishments. Such officers do not seem to have been appointed
anywhere else in the history of the world.

Ashoka worked hard especially for the spread of education in his land.
Nalanda is famous in history; it was the center of education and the
University of Magadha. It is said that Ashoka founded it. During his time
trade with foreign countries was carried on by sea routes. He encouraged
agriculture, trade and industries. There were canals to help irrigation. All
the money paid into the government treasury was spent for the welfare of
the people.

Asoka has big roads laid to help the growth of business and industries.
For the benefit of travellers he had trees planted on both sides of the
roads. Wells were dug and guesthouses and rest houses were put up.
There was free medical aid both for men and for animals. Asoka is among
the first in the world who built hospitals for the treatment of animals. He
got medicinal plants and a variety of fruit-bearing trees from several
places and planted them where they were not found. In one inscription he

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has expressed the wish that even the forest dwellers in his empire should
live happily.

He worked hard without rest and taught the people to live a life of
truthfulness, Dharma, Justice and morality. There was happiness and
peace. There were social gatherings at which people of all castes and
creeds gathered and enjoyed themselves without feeling of high and low.

Not much is known about the last ten years of his life and about his death.
Some say, 'The emperor got disgusted in life and therefore he went on a
pilgrimage as a Buddhist monk with his teacher, for the peace of his
mind. At last he reached Taxila and stayed there. Ashoka, the beloved of
Gods and men, left the earth at the age of seventy-two.

Discovery of the Edicts

Had Ashoka simply vowed to himself that he would live according to

Buddhist principles, later ages would not remember his name. However,
he published his intentions across his empire. Ashoka wrote out a series
of edicts, explaining his policies and aspirations for the empire, and
urging others to follow his enlightened example. The Edicts of King
Ashoka were carved onto pillars of stone 40 to 50 feet high, and set up all
around the edges of the Mauryan Empire as well as in the heart of
Ashoka's realm. Dozens of these pillars dot the landscapes of India,
Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In his edicts, Ashoka vows to care for
his people like a father. He promises neighboring people that they need
not fear him; he will use only persuasion, not violence, to win people
over. Ashoka notes that he has made available shade and fruit trees for
the people, as well as medical care for all people and animals. With the
rediscovery and translation of Indian literature by European scholars in

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the 19th century, it was not just the religion and philosophy of Buddhism
that came to light, but also its many legendary histories and biographies.
Amongst this class of literature, one name that came to be noticed was
that of Asoka, a good king who was supposed to have ruled India in the
distant past. Stories about this king, similar in outline but differing greatly
in details, were found in the Divyavadana, the Asokavadana, the
Mahavamsa and several other works. They told of an exceptionally cruel
and ruthless prince who had many of his brothers killed in order to seize
the throne, who was dramatically converted to Buddhism and who ruled
wisely and justly for the rest of his life.

But in 1837, James Prinsep succeeded in deciphering an ancient

inscription on a large stone pillar in Delhi. Several other pillars and rocks
with similar inscriptions had been known for some time and had attracted
the curiosity of scholars. Prinsep's inscription proved to be a series of
edicts issued by a king calling himself "Beloved-of-the-Gods, King
Piyadasi." In the following decades, more and more edicts by this same
king were discovered and with increasingly accurate decipherment of
their language, a more complete picture of this man and his deeds began
to emerge. Gradually, it dawned on scholars that the King Piyadasi of the
edicts might be the King Asoka so often praised in Buddhist legends.
However, it was not until 1915, when another edict actually mentioning
the name Asoka was discovered, that the identification was confirmed.
Having been forgotten for nearly 700 years, one of the greatest men in
history became known to the world once again.

The Ashokan rock texts add up to about 5000 words, none of which
contain any criticisms of any foreign country, any tribe, any clan or any
person. The basis of all of Ashoka's edicts was that there was no greater

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god than truth, nothing surpasses truth {Satyameva Jayate). Never once
did he invoke the name of any god, Hindu or otherwise, in his edicts.

With a few exceptions they contain no commemoration of any historical

incident. They were intended not only for the guidance of contemporaries
but for the perpetual guidance of posterity, of future generations of rulers
and subject

Asoka's edicts are mainly concerned with the reforms he instituted and
the moral principles he recommended in his attempt to create a just and
humane society. As such, they give us little information about his life, the
details of which have to be culled from other sources. Although the exact
dates of Asoka's life are a matter of dispute among scholars, he was born
in about 304 B.C. and became the third king of the Mauryan dynasty after
the death of his father, Bindusara. His given name was Asoka but he
assumed the title Devanampiya Piyadasi which means "Beloved-of-the-
Gods, He Who Looks On With Affection." There seems to have been a
two-year war of succession during which at least one of Asoka's brothers
was killed. In 262 B.C., eight years after his coronation, Asoka's armies
attacked and conquered Kalinga, a country that roughly corresponds to
the modern state of Orissa. The loss of life caused by battle, reprisals,
deportations and the turmoil that always exists in the aftermath of war so
horrified Asoka that it brought about a complete change in his
personality. It seems that Asoka had been calling himself a Buddhist for
at least two years prior to the Kalinga war, but his commitment to
Buddhism was only lukewarm and perhaps had a political motive behind
it. But after the war Asoka dedicated the rest of his life trying to apply
Buddhist principles to the administration of his vast empire. He had a
crucial part to play in helping Buddhism to spread both throughout India

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and abroad, and probably built the first major Buddhist monuments.
Asoka died in 232 B.C. in the thirty-eighth year of his reign.

Asoka's edicts are to be found scattered in more than thirty places

throughout India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Most of them are
written in Brahmi script from which all Indian scripts and many of those
used in Southeast Asia later developed. The language used in the edicts
found in the eastern part of the sub-continent is a type of Magadhi,
probably the official language of Asoka's court. The language used in the
edicts found in the western part of India is closer to Sanskrit although one
bilingual edict in Afghanistan is written in Aramaic and Greek. Asoka's
edicts, which comprise the earliest decipherable corpus of written
documents from India, have survived throughout the centuries because
they are written on rocks and stone pillars. These pillars in particular are
testimony to the technological and artistic genius of ancient Indian
civilization. Originally, there must have been many of them, although
only ten with inscriptions still survive. Averaging between forty and fifty
feet in height, and weighing up to fifty tons each, all the pillars were
quarried at Chunar, just south of Varanasi and dragged, sometimes
hundreds of miles, to where they were erected. Each pillar was originally
capped by a capital, sometimes a roaring lion, a noble bull or a spirited
horse, and the few capitals that survive are widely recognized as
masterpieces of Indian art. Both the pillars and the capitals exhibit a
remarkable mirror-like polish that has survived despite centuries of
exposure to the elements. The location of the rock edicts is governed by
the availability of suitable rocks, but the edicts on pillars are all to be
found in very specific places. Some, like the Lumbini pillar, mark the
Buddha's birthplace, while its inscriptions commemorate Asoka's
pilgrimage to that place. Others are to be found in or near important

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population centres so that their edicts could be read by as many people as
possible.

There is little doubt that Asoka's edicts were written in his own words
rather than in the stylistic language in which royal edicts or proclamations
in the ancient world were usually written in. Their distinctly personal tone
gives us a unique glimpse into the personality of this complex and
remarkable man. Asoka's style tends to be somewhat repetitious and
plodding as if explaining something to one who has difficulty in
understanding. Asoka frequently refers to the good works he has done,
although not in a boastful way, but more, it seems, to convince the reader
of his sincerity. In fact, an anxiousness to be thought of as a sincere
person and a good administrator is present in nearly every edict. Asoka
tells his subjects that he looked upon them as his children, that their
welfare is his main concern; he apologizes for the Kalinga war and
reassures the people beyond the borders of his empire that he has no
expansionist intentions towards them. Mixed with this sincerity, there is a
definite puritanical streak in Asoka's character suggested by his
disapproval of festivals and of religious rituals many of which while
being of little value were nonetheless harmless.

Asoka and Buddhism

It is also very clear that Buddhism was the most influential force in
Asoka's life and that he hoped his subjects likewise would adopt his
religion. He went on pilgrimages to Lumbini and Bodh Gaya, sent
teaching monks to various regions in India and beyond its borders, and he
was familiar enough with the sacred texts to recommend some of them to
the monastic community. It is also very clear that Asoka saw the reforms
he instituted as being a part of his duties as a Buddhist. The association of

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Asoka’s name with Buddhist sources led to his edicts being interpreted
almost as Buddhist documents. Undoubtedly, Asoka was a Buddhist and
much of the ideology of Dhamma which he enunciated was inspired by
Buddhism. But to equate it totally with Buddhism and to suggest that
Asoka was propagating Buddhism as the State religion is to read more
into edicts than was intended by the monarch. While he was an
enthusiastic Buddhist, he was not partisan towards his own religion or
intolerant of other religions. He seems to have genuinely hoped to be able
to encourage everyone to practice his or her own religion with the same
conviction that he practiced his.

A careful analysis of the inscriptions reveals that they were of 2

categories; some were addressed specifically to the Buddhist church or
Sangha and were concerned with entirely with matters relating to the
Sangha. The majority of the inscriptions however addressed to the public
at large and deal with questions of wider interest.

Scholars have suggested that because the edicts say nothing about the
philosophical aspects of Buddhism, Asoka had a simplistic and naive
understanding of the Dhamma. This view does not take into account the
fact that the purpose of the edicts was not to expound the truths of
Buddhism, but to inform the people of Asoka's reforms and to encourage
them to be more generous, kind and moral. This being the case, there was
no reason for Asoka to discuss Buddhist philosophy. Asoka emerges from
his edicts as an able administrator, an intelligent human being and as a
devoted Buddhist, and we could expect him to take as keen an interest in
Buddhist philosophy as he did in Buddhist practice. Although the Buddha
had been dead for almost 300 years it would appear that Ashoka's rock
inscription's contained the first Buddhist teachings committed to writing,
although there is no mention either by name or instantiation of the Four

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Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, the Chain of Causation, or the word or
idea of Nirvana. Heaven is mentioned 3 times but ultimate peace not even
once.

Moral precepts and Social and animal welfare

The contents of Asoka's edicts make it clear that all the legends about his
wise and humane rule are more than justified and qualify him to be
ranked as one of the greatest rulers. In his edicts, he spoke of what might
be called state morality, and private or individual morality. The first was
what he based his administration upon and what he hoped would lead to a
more just, more spiritually inclined society, while the second was what he
recommended and encouraged individuals to practice. Both these types of
morality were imbued with the Buddhist values of compassion,
moderation, tolerance and respect for all life. The Asokan state gave up
the predatory foreign policy that had characterized the Mauryan empire
up till then and replaced it with a policy of peaceful co-existence. The
judicial system was reformed in order to make it more fair, less harsh and
less open to abuse, while those sentenced to death were given a stay of
execution to prepare appeals and regular amnesties were given to
prisoners. State resources were used for useful public works like the
importation and cultivation of medical herbs, the building of rest houses,
the digging of wells at regular intervals along main roads and the planting
of fruit and shade trees. To ensue that these reforms and projects were
carried out, Asoka made himself more accessible to his subjects by going
on frequent inspection tours and he expected his district officers to follow
his example. To the same end, he gave orders that important state
business or petitions were never to be kept from him no matter what he
was doing at the time. The state had a responsibility not just to protect
and promote the welfare of its people but also its wildlife. Hunting certain

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species of wild animals was banned, forest and wildlife reserves were
established and cruelty to domestic and wild animals was prohibited. The
protection of all religions, their promotion and the fostering of harmony
between them, was also seen as one of the duties of the state. It even
seems that something like a Department of Religious Affairs was
established with officers called Dhamma Mahamatras whose job it was to
look after the affairs of various religious bodies and to encourage the
practice of religion.

The individual morality that Asoka hoped to foster included respect

(susrusa) towards parents, elders, teachers, friends, servants, ascetics and
brahmins -- behavior that accords with the advice given to Sigala by the
Buddha. He encouraged generosity (dana) to the poor (kapana valaka), to
ascetics and brahmins, and to friends and relatives. Not surprisingly,
Asoka encouraged harmlessness towards all life (avihisa bhutanam). In
conformity with the Buddha's advice in the Anguttara Nikaya, II:282, he
also considered moderation in spending and moderation in saving to be
good (apa vyayata apa bhadata). Treating people properly (samya
pratipati), he suggested, was much more important than performing
ceremonies that were supposed to bring good luck. Because it helped
promote tolerance and mutual respect, Asoka desired that people should
be well-learned (bahu sruta) in the good doctrines (kalanagama) of other
people's religions.

The qualities of heart that are recommended by Asoka in the edicts

indicate his deep spirituality. They include kindness (daya), self-
examination (palikhaya), truthfulness (sace), gratitude (katamnata), purity
of heart (bhava sudhi), enthusiasm (usahena), strong loyalty (dadha
bhatita), self-control (sayame) and love of the Dhamma (Dhamma
kamata).

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We have no way of knowing how effective Asoka's reforms were or how
long they lasted but we do know that monarchs throughout the ancient
Buddhist world were encouraged to look to his style of government as an
ideal to be followed. King Asoka has to be credited with the first attempt
to develop a Buddhist polity. Today, with widespread disillusionment in
prevailing ideologies and the search for a political philosophy that goes
beyond greed (capitalism), hatred (communism) and delusion
(dictatorships led by "infallible" leaders), Asoka's edicts may make a
meaningful contribution to the development of a more spiritually based
political system.

Translation and interpretation of the Major rock edicts

1st Major Rock Edict

The Beloved of the Gods, Piyadassi the king as he is called in his

inscriptions propagates animal welfare that no living is to be killed or
sacrificed; nor is the holding of a festival permitted as there is evil in
festivals although the king approves of some. It goes on to say that
formerly in the kitchens of the Beloved of the Gods, the king Piyadassi,
many hundreds of thousands of living animals were killed daily for meat.
But now, at the time of writing this inscription on Dhamma, only three
animals were killed, two peacocks and a deer, and the deer not invariably.
Even these three animal were not killed in future.

2nd Major Rock Edict

This edict talks about the various medical facilities that were made
available to the people. Everywhere in the empire and even in the lands
on its frontiers, two medical services have been provided. These consist
of the medical care of man and the care of animals. Medicinal herbs

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whether useful to man or to beast, have been brought and planted
wherever they did not grow; similarly, roots and fruit have been brought
and planted wherever they did not grow. Along the roads wells have been
dug and trees planted for the use of men and beasts.

3rd Major Rock Edict

The inscription on this edict reflects the moral precepts that King Asoka
preached and that he sent the yuktas [subordinate officers] with the
rajukas [rural administrators] and the pradesikas [heads of the districts],
on tour every five years, in order to instruct people in the Dhamma as
well as for other purposes. They were instructed to record the teachings to
preach to the people and also explain why it is good to be obedient to
one's mother and father, friends and relatives, to be generous to brahmans
and sramanas, it is good not to kill living beings, it is good not only to
spend little, but to own the minimum of property and lead a simple
humble life.

4th Major Rock Edict

This edict basically inscribes the principle of non violence. In the past,
the killing and injuring of living beings, lack of respect towards relatives,
brahmans and sramanas had increased. But King Asoka, through his
instruction in Dhamma abstention from killing and non-injury to living
beings, deference to relatives; brahmans and sramanas, obedience to
mother and father, and to elders have all increased as never before for
many centuries. These and many other forms of the practice of Dhamma
have increased and will increase.

The edict also tells the reason why all these teachings are being inscribed
on rocks; for the simple reason that Asoka wanted his sons, his grandsons

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and his great grandsons to advance the practice of Dhamma , until the end
of the world.

5th Major Rock Edict

Thus talks about Asoka’s administration and his devotion to spread

Dhamma. In the past there were no officers of Dhamma, but later they
were appointed to establish Dhamma, increase the interest in Dhamma,
and attend to the welfare and happiness of those devoted to Dhamma and
for the removal of their troubles. They would promote the welfare of
prisoners should they have behaved irresponsibly, or release those that
have children, are afflicted, or are aged. Everywhere throughout the
empire the officers of Dhamma were involved in everything relating to
Dhamma.

6th Major Rock Edict

In the past the quick dispatch of business and the receipt of reports did
not take place at all times. But later wherever the king may be, his
informants would keep him in touch with public business. Whether it
concerned a donation or a proclamation or whatever urgent matter is
entrusted to the officers, if there was any dispute or deliberation about it
in the Council, it was reported immediately. This shows that the King was
always available to solve the problems of the people and how he
promptly attended to business for the welfare of his people.

7th Major Rock Edict

This edicts also reflect some of the moral teachings of Asoka, he said that
all men must seek self control and purity of mind, even though everyone

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has varying desires, they should only practice what is required and that
even he who is generous but has no self control and purity of mind id
regarded mean.

8th Major Rock Edict

In the past, kings went on pleasure tours, which consisted of hunts and
other similar amusements, but King Asoka would go to the tree of
Enlightenment. From that time arose the practice of tours connected with
Dhamma, during which meetings were held with ascetics and brahmans,
gifts were bestowed, meetings were arranged with aged folk, gold was
distributed, instruction in Dhamma was given, and questions on Dhamma
were answered. The king Piyadassi, derived more pleasure from this, than
from any other enjoyments.

9th Major Rock Edict

In this edict, the relevance of ceremonies was discussed. People would

practice all kinds of ceremonies, at times of marriage, illness, birth but
the King said that these ceremonies are useless as they render small
results. But the one ceremony which has great value is that of Dhamma.
This ceremony includes, regard for slaves and servants, respect for
teachers, restrained behaviour towards living being and donations to
sramanas and brahmans -- these and similar practices are called the
ceremony of Dhamma. The ceremony of dhamma is effective forever, as
endless merit would be produced for the life to come or in the next life.

10th Major Rock Edict

This edict shows the selfless disposition of King Asoka, it says so in the
edict that he desired no fame and glory, the king only wanted glory to the

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extent that people adopt Dhamma and follow it. He wanted all men to
escape evil inclinations, for a better after life.

11th Major Rock Edict

Here, the King Piyadassi talks about the gift of Dhamma and praises it.
That is good behaviour towards slave and servants, obedience to mother
and father, generosity towards friends, acquaintances, and relatives and
towards sramanas and brahmans, and abstention from killing living
beings. People should do what’s good and that way there would be gain
in this world and infinite merit.

12th Major Rock Edict

The 12th rock edict reflects the secular outlook of King Asoka, that one
should honour all sects and both ascetics and laymen with gifts and
recognition. But that is not as important as advancement of the doctrine
of the sects. One should never disparage anyone else’s sect even out of
honour to it, as by doing so one diminishes the influence of one’s own
sect and harm the other man’s. Instead one should honour the other man’s
sect.

13th Major Rock Edict

The 13th rock edict is probably the most important of all the edicts. It
talks about Asoka’s conversion to Buddhism and the impact that the
Kalinga war had on Asoka.

A hundred and fifty thousand people were deported, a hundred thousand

were killed and many times that number perished. On conquering Kalinga

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Asoka felt remorse. What was even more deplorable to him was that
those who dwelled there, whether brahmans, sramanas, or those of other
sects, or householders who showed obedience to their superiors, mother
and father, their teachers and behaved well and devotedly towards their
friends, acquaintances, colleagues, relatives, slaves, and servants - all
suffered violence, murder, and separation from their loved ones. Even
those who were fortunate to have escaped, suffer from the misfortunes of
their friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and relatives. This participation
of all men in suffering, weighed heavily on Asoka’s mind.

Asoka believed that one who does wrong should be forgiven as far as it is
possible to forgive him. Thereafter, he embraced Dhamma and preached
selflessness, generosity and purity of mind. Asoka considered victory by
Dhamma to be the foremost victory. And moreover he gained this victory
on all his frontiers to a distance of six hundred yojanas [i.e. about 1500
miles], where reigns the Greek king named Antiochus, and beyond the
realm of that Antiochus in the lands of the four kings named Ptolemy,
Antigonus, Magas, and Alexander; and in the south over the Colas and
Pandyas as far as Ceylon. Likewise in the imperial territories among the
Greeks and the Kambojas, Nabhakas and Nabhapanktis, Bhojas and
Pitinikas, Andhras and Parindas, everywhere the people follow the
Beloved of the Gods' instructions in Dhamma. Even where the envoys of
the Beloved of the Gods had not gone, people heard of his conduct
according to Dhamma, his precepts and his instruction in Dhamma, and
they followed dhamma and continued to follow it.

This pleasure obtained through victory by Dhamma was just a slight

pleasure, what mattered to King Asoka were the results which pertained
to the next world.

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This inscription of Dhamma has been engraved to tell Asoka’s
descendants that they should not think of gaining new conquests and in
whatever victories they may gain should be satisfied with patience and
light punishment. They should only consider conquest by Dhamma to be
a true conquest, and delight in Dhamma should be their whole delight, for
this is of value in both this world and the next.

14th Major Rock Edict

This inscription of Dhamma was engraved at the command of the

Beloved of the Gods, the king Piyadassi. It exists in abridged, medium
length, and extended versions, for each clause has not been engraved
everywhere. Since the empire is large, much has been engraved and much
has yet to be engraved. There is considerable repetition because of the
beauty of certain topics, and in order that the people may conform to
them. In some places it may be inaccurately engraved, whether by the
omission of a passage or by lack of attention, or by the error of the
engraver.

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Conclusion

Asoka addressed his edicts to the entire populace, inscribing them on rock
surfaces or on specially erected and finely polished sandstone pillars, in
places where people were likely to congregate. It has been suggested that
the idea of issuing such decrees was borrowed from the Achaemenian
emperors, especially from Darius, but the tone and content of Asoka's
edicts are quite different. Although the pillars, with their animal capitals,
have also been described as imitations of Achaemenian pillars, there is
sufficient originality in style to distinguish them as fine examples of
Mauryan imperial art. (The official emblem of India since 1947 is based
on the four-lion capital of the pillar at Sarnath near VaIanasi.) The
carvings contrast strikingly with the numerous small gray terra-cotta
figures found at urban sites, which are clearly expressions of Mauryan
popular art.

It would appear that Asoka aimed at creating an attitude of mind among

his subjects in which social behaviour had the highest relevance.
Asoka defines the main principles of dhamma as nonviolence, tolerance
of all sects and opinions, obedience to parents, respect for the Brahmans
and other religious teachers and priests, liberality toward friends, humane
treatment of servants, and generosity toward all. These suggest a general
ethic of behaviour to which no religious or social group could object.
They also could act as a focus of loyalty to weld together the diverse
strands that made up the empire. Interestingly, the Greek versions of
these edicts translate dhamma as eusebeia (piety), and no mention is
made in the inscriptions of the teachings of the Buddha, which would be
expected if Asoka had been propagating Buddhism. His own activities
under the impact of dhamma included attention to the welfare of his

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subjects, the building of roads and rest houses, the planting of medicinal
herbs, the establishment of centres for tending the sick, a ban on animal
sacrifices, and the curtailing of killing animals for food.

Yet the ideology of Dhamma died with the death of the emperor. As an
attempt to solve the problems of the time, it can hardly be described as a
revolutionary doctrine since it was largely an emphatic reiteration of
certain existing principles of ethics. But credit must be given to the man
who had the vision to seek such a solution and the courage to attempt it.
50 years after the death of Asoka, the Mauryan Empire declined. Some
historians have traced this decline to the policies of Asoka, claiming that
the Pro- Buddhist sympathies led to a Brahmanical Revolt against the
Mauryan rulers. Others have suggested that his adherence to non violence
led to a weakening of the military strength of the empire and laid it open
to attacks. But evidence in support of these theories is far too slight.
Other possibilities must also be considered, like the latter Mauryan rulers
may have been weak and ineffectual rulers, unable to hold together such a
vast empire, Furthermore, the pressure of a highly paid bureaucracy and a
large army could not have been sustained over a period of 150 years
without a strain on agricultural economy. Finally, the strongest bond in
uniting people into a political entity- the desire on the part of the people
to become a nation was lacking. The divergencies in the various parts of
the sub continent were too great to allow the formation of a national unit.
The doctrine of Dhamma which might have created a common factor of
loyalty failed to do so.

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Bibliography

Books referred:

1. Cultural History of India A.L. Bhashan

Websites referred:

1. http://www.freeindia.org/biographies/ashoka/
2. www.iloveindia.com/history/ancient-india/maurya-dynasty/rock-
edicts.html
3. www.katinkahesselink.net/tibet/asoka1.html
4. www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html

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