Edicts of Ashoka

The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. These inscriptions were spread across areas that are now modern-day India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They give us the first clear evidence of Buddhism. Because they were carved in stone, we can see these messages exactly as they were written long ago.

Ashoka called his messages Dhaṃma Lipi, meaning “Inscriptions of the Dharma”. They talk about his ideas for a good and fair society. Even people far away, like the Greeks in the Mediterranean, heard about his ways of thinking. Though Ashoka became a Buddhist, his messages were for everyone and encouraged kindness, respect for others, and caring for all living things.

These messages were placed in public spots so people could read them. Ashoka called himself “Beloved of the Gods” (Devanampiya). Scholars figured out these stones were really from Ashoka after finding special inscriptions that used his name. The messages were written in different languages, depending on where they were placed.

The edicts talk mostly about Ashoka’s turn to Buddhism, his work to share his ideas of dhamma, and his programs for moral behavior and animal welfare. They show how Ashoka wanted to guide people to live well together and treat each other and animals with kindness.

Decipherment

Most of the Edicts were written in the Brahmi script and sometimes in the Kharoshthi script, two old Indian ways of writing that stopped being used around the 5th century CE. When these Edicts were found in the 19th century, people still didn’t know what these scripts meant.

The first big step in understanding the Brahmi script happened in 1836 by a scholar named Christian Lassen. He studied coins that had both Greek and Brahmi writing and figured out some of the Brahmi letters. Later, James Prinsep finished the job. He translated many stone messages found around India and worked out the whole Brahmi alphabet. He learned that the messages were from a king named Devanampriya Piyadasi, whom he later linked to Emperor Ashoka.

James Prinsep also helped understand the Kharoshthi script, which was written from right to left. He used coins with both Greek and Kharoshthi writing to solve this puzzle too. In just three years, from 1834 to 1837, people finally learned to read both the Brahmi and Kharoshthi scripts.

The Edicts

The Edicts of Ashoka are messages written by Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire. Ashoka ruled much of what is now India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. These messages are found carved on large stones and pillars, spread across many places. They are the earliest written records from India that we know the exact age of.

The Edicts are split into four groups based on their size and where they were carved: Minor or Major, and Rock or Pillar. Usually, the Minor Edicts came first, and the Rock Edicts were started before the Pillar Edicts.

• Minor Rock Edicts: These were written early in Ashoka’s rule, in languages like Prakrit, Greek, and Aramaic.
• Minor Pillar Edicts: These include the Schism Edict, Queen's Edict, Rummindei Edict, and Nigali Sagar Edict, written in Prakrit.
• Major Rock Edicts: There are 14 of these, plus two more in Odisha, written in Prakrit and Greek.
• Major Pillar Edicts: There are 7 of these, written in Prakrit near the end of Ashoka’s rule.

The Minor Rock and Pillar Edicts often talk about Buddhist beliefs, mentioning the Buddha, the Sangha (Buddhist community), and Buddhist teachings. The Major Rock and Pillar Edicts focus more on moral and political ideas, like good behavior, non-violence, and good government under the idea of “Dharma.” They also talk about how Ashoka managed his empire and kept friendly ties with other countries, especially in the Mediterranean area around the mid-3rd century BCE.

Minor Rock Edicts

Main article: Minor Rock Edicts

The Minor Rock Edicts are early messages by Ashoka, often with Buddhist themes. Some of these edicts mention Ashoka himself using the title “Devanampriya” (Beloved-of-the-gods).

The very first known Minor Rock Edict is the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, written in Greek and Aramaic. It was made in the 10th year of Ashoka’s rule (260 BCE) in Kandahar, Afghanistan, near the edge of his empire.

Later, Ashoka wrote edicts in Indian languages using the Brahmi script starting from the 11th year of his rule. These messages are usually short, and the carving quality is not always very good. One important Minor Rock Edict found in Maski helped confirm that “Devanampriya” referred to Ashoka.

There is also a special Minor Rock Edict found near Bairat Temple, listing Buddhist scriptures for monks to study.

Minor Pillar Edicts

Main article: Minor Pillar Edicts

The Minor Pillar Edicts are five messages carved on pillars. They were likely made early in Ashoka’s rule, around the 12th year (256 BCE).

These edicts include the Schism Edict, Queen’s Edict, Rummindei Edict, and Nigali Sagar Edict. The Rummindei and Nigali Sagar Edicts, made later in Ashoka’s rule, show better carving skills.

Major Rock Edicts

Main article: Major Rock Edicts

The Major Rock Edicts are 14 detailed messages giving practical advice for running the empire, like building irrigation systems, and talking about Ashoka’s beliefs in peaceful behavior. They don’t share much about his personal life.

These edicts were written in Prakrit, Greek, and Aramaic, using Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts so common people could read them. Some were found in modern-day Pakistan, written in the Kharoshthi script.

Major Pillar Edicts

Main article: Major Pillar Edicts

The Major Pillar Edicts are seven detailed messages carved on pillars, made near the end of Ashoka’s rule, around 237 to 236 BCE.

These edicts are found at places like Kausambi (now Allahabad Pillar), Topra Kalan, Meerut, Lauriya-Araraj, Lauria Nandangarh, and Rampurva. Some pillars in Afghanistan also have fragments of these edicts.

The pillars share a style with the Diamond Throne in Bodh Gaya, a Buddhist monument built by Ashoka.

Languages of the Edicts

The Edicts of Ashoka were written in three different languages: Ashokan Prakrit, Greek, and Aramaic. Prakrit showed some local differences, from early Gandhari language in the northwest to Old Ardhamagadhi in the east. The inscriptions were also written in four different scripts: Brahmi and Kharosthi for Prakrit, and the Greek and Aramaic scripts for their respective languages.

Most of the Edicts were in Ashokan Prakrit, but a few were in Greek or Aramaic. One inscription near Kandahar was written in both Greek and Aramaic, while another was only in Greek. These Greek inscriptions show a high level of language skill and understanding of the political ideas of the time. In southern India, in areas like Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Ashoka used only the northern Prakrit language with the Brahmi script, not the local Dravidian language.

Content of the Edicts

Ashoka taught about doing good, being kind, and helping others. He used different words to share his ideas, like Dhaṃma in Prakrit and Eusebeia in Greek.

Ashoka wanted to help everyone, even animals. He set up places where people and animals could get medicine. He also planted trees and dug wells along roads for shade and water.

Ashoka cared deeply about fairness and kindness. He wanted to make sure everyone was treated well, even prisoners. He gave people time to say goodbye to their families before punishment.

He also protected animals, asking that no living creature be harmed. He stopped royal hunts and asked people to be gentle with all living things. He believed being kind to others and to animals was very important.

Ashoka supported many religions and wanted people to respect each other’s beliefs. He encouraged everyone to live with kindness and care.

Rummindei pillar, inscription of Ashoka (circa 248 BCE)

Translation (English)	Transliteration (original Brahmi script)	Inscription (Prakrit in the Brahmi script)
When King Devanampriya Priyadarsin had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and worshipped (this spot) because the Buddha Shakyamuni was born here. (He) both caused to be made a stone bearing a horse (?) and caused a stone pillar to be set up, (in order to show) that the Blessed One was born here. (He) made the village of Lumbini free of taxes, and paying (only) an eighth share (of the produce). — The Rummindei Edict, one of the Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka.	𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀸𑀦𑀁𑀧𑀺𑀬𑁂𑀦 𑀧𑀺𑀬𑀤𑀲𑀺𑀦 𑀮𑀸𑀚𑀺𑀦𑀯𑀻𑀲𑀢𑀺𑀯𑀲𑀸𑀪𑀺𑀲𑀺𑀢𑁂𑀦 Devānaṃpiyena Piyadasina lājina vīsati-vasābhisitena 𑀅𑀢𑀦𑀆𑀕𑀸𑀘 𑀫𑀳𑀻𑀬𑀺𑀢𑁂 𑀳𑀺𑀤𑀩𑀼𑀥𑁂𑀚𑀸𑀢 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀺𑀢𑀺 atana āgācha mahīyite hida Budhe jāte Sakyamuni ti 𑀲𑀺𑀮𑀸𑀯𑀺𑀕𑀥𑀪𑀺𑀘𑀸𑀓𑀸𑀮𑀸𑀧𑀺𑀢 𑀲𑀺𑀮𑀸𑀣𑀪𑁂𑀘 𑀉𑀲𑀧𑀸𑀧𑀺𑀢𑁂 silā vigaḍabhī chā kālāpita silā-thabhe cha usapāpite 𑀳𑀺𑀤𑀪𑀕𑀯𑀁𑀚𑀸𑀢𑀢𑀺 𑀮𑀼𑀁𑀫𑀺𑀦𑀺𑀕𑀸𑀫𑁂 𑀉𑀩𑀮𑀺𑀓𑁂𑀓𑀝𑁂 hida Bhagavaṃ jāte ti Luṃmini-gāme ubalike kaṭe 𑀅𑀞𑀪𑀸𑀕𑀺𑀬𑁂𑀘 aṭha-bhāgiye cha — Adapted from transliteration by E. Hultzsch.

Ashoka's proselytism according to the Edicts

Ashoka, the ruler of a large empire in ancient India, wanted to share his beliefs in a way that helped everyone. He sent messengers and gifts, including plants that could heal, to leaders far away, even to places around the Mediterranean Sea. He believed that his ideas about right and wrong, called Dharma, had reached many lands.

Proselytism beyond India

Ashoka believed the best way to bring peace was through his ideas of Dharma, not through fighting. He said his beliefs had reached places very far from India, even to where kings like Antiochus ruled. These kings were leaders in areas that are now parts of countries like Greece, Egypt, and Macedonia.

We do not know for sure if these messengers were received or if they changed anything in those faraway places. But the messages Ashoka sent were written in a sophisticated Greek style, showing that there was communication between Greek thinkers and Indian ideas. Some historians think that Greeks in places like Kandahar might have helped share Indian thoughts with others in the Mediterranean.

Proselytism within Ashoka's territories

Inside his own empire, Ashoka shared his beliefs with many different groups of people. There were Greek communities living in parts of what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan, left from earlier times. Other groups, like the Kambojas and the Andhras, also lived in his empire and followed his ideas about Dharma.

Influences

Achaemenid inscriptional tradition

The inscriptions of Ashoka show influences from earlier inscriptions, including similarities in style and the use of words borrowed from older languages. Ashoka used a special word, Lipī, to describe his writings, which likely came from an even older language.

Hellenistic inscriptions

It is thought that writings from nearby areas, such as those with Greek wise sayings, may have also influenced Ashoka's messages. These Greek writings shared similar ideas and ways of expressing them with Ashoka's edicts.

Ancestor of the Hindu–Arabic numeral system

The earliest known examples of numbers similar to those we use today appeared in Ashoka's writings. Though the system was not yet complete, it showed the beginning of a new way to write numbers that later evolved into the numerals we use now.

Influence on the Indian epigraphy

Main article: Early Indian epigraphy

Ashoka's inscriptions in a language called Prakrit were written many years before inscriptions in another language called Sanskrit appeared. His use of stone inscriptions started a long tradition in India of rulers leaving messages carved in stone. These inscriptions remained understandable for many centuries, showing their lasting impact.

Later mention

The Chinese traveler Fa Hian wrote about one of Ashoka's edicts in a city called Ni-li. However, the exact edict he mentioned has not been found yet.

He described a stone pillar in Ni-li with writing on it. The pillar told a story about Ashoka giving a land called Jambudvipa to priests and then buying it back three times with money. Near the pillar was a place where Ashoka once lived, and he built the city of Ni-li there. The pillar was very tall, about 35 feet, and had a lion on top. It also had a record of important events in Ni-li with the dates they happened. This was written in a book called "The travels of Fa Hian" from the year 400 A.D.

Questions of authorship

The Edicts are messages written by rulers a long time ago. Some are signed "Piyadasi" or "Devanampiya Piyadasi," meaning "King Piyadasi." Others are signed "Ashoka" or just "Devanampiya," meaning "King." These different names and styles might mean that more than one ruler gave these messages.

Some scholars think Piyadasi and Ashoka might have been two different kings. One idea is that Piyadasi was an earlier king who talked about being kind and good but did not mention Buddhism. Ashoka, if he was a different king, might have been later and spoke more about Buddhism. Most scholars, however, believe Ashoka wrote all the Edicts.

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