Asoka king of magadha office of the superintendant of government printing, 1877 141 trang. In the dhauli and jaugada texts of asokas series of rock inscriptions, the lltb, 12th, and th edicts are omitted, but both texts close with a copy of the. Ashoka inscription rock edicts james prinsep, a british antiquary and colonial administrator was the first person to decipher ashokas edicts. The inscriptions revolve around a few recurring themes. Skip to main content this banner text can have markup. Epigraphist to the government of madras, retired with 55 plates printed for the government of india at the clarendon press, oxford and published through the official agents preface the printing of this volume was stopped in 1914 by the outbreak of war. Asoka s edicts are mainly concerned with the reforms he insti tuted and the moral principles he recommended in his attempt to create a just and humane society. A study on ashokas inscriptions with the special focus on.
By this he did not mean specifically buddhism, but righteousness as he understood it. The inscriptions are known as major and minor rock edicts and consist of repetitive copies of texts attributed to the. Ashokas edicts and inscriptions history study material. Almost all of asokas inscriptions are about dhamma. These ashokas inscriptions are the first tangible evidence of buddhism. The greek inscriptions of asoka, studies and essays in honour of valery p. These are inscribed on 15 rocks found across india. They were kept in public places and along trade routes so that maximum number of people would read them.
These inscriptions are of paramount importance in the study of ancient indian history and its life. Ashokas conversion to buddhism, the description of his efforts to spread buddhism, his moral and religious precepts, and his social and animal welfare program. Nikonorov on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday presented by. Considering that bairat has yielded two ashokan inscriptions the calcutta bairat rock edict and the minor rock edict iit must have formed a region of.
Cunningham on the inscriptions of asoka, being vol. There are fourteen major rock edicts in series and two separate. Several other pillars and rocks with similar inscriptions had been known for some time and had attracted the curiosity of scholars. Book from the archaeological survey of indiacentral archaeological library, new delhibook number. In these inscriptions, ashoka refers to himself as beloved servant of the gods devanampiyadasi. Asokan inscription, the delhitopra pillar edict, by prinsep, who published his reading.
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