The Mauryan Empire — Part 4: Ashoka and Dhamma
Ashoka, the Mauryan emperor, is renowned for his edicts inscribed on stone, promoting the principles of Dhamma, a moral code emphasizing non-violence, respect, and welfare for all beings, and establishing a system of officials to spread these teachings.
At a glance
Inscribed messages on stone, categorized into Major Rock Edicts, Minor Rock Edicts, and Pillar Inscriptions.
Core principles include non-violence, respect for others' traditions, and welfare measures for people and animals.
Special officers created by Ashoka to spread Dhamma and ensure welfare inspections across the empire.
Ancient India — Part 4 of 5
6. Ashoka and Dhamma
6.1 Ashokan Edicts: Pillars and Rock Edicts
Ashoka was the first ruler in Indian history to inscribe his messages to subjects and officials on hard stone surfaces—natural rocks as well as polished pillars. These inscriptions are categorised as follows:
- Major Rock Edicts (14 sets): Found at Girnar (Gujarat), Shahbazgarhi, Mansehra (Pakistan), Kalsi (Uttarakhand), Dhauli and Jaugada (Odisha), Sopara (Maharashtra), Brahmagiri (Karnataka)
- Minor Rock Edicts: Found at Maski (first inscription to name 'Ashoka' explicitly), Brahmagiri, Siddapur, Jatinga Rameshwar, Bairat, Rupnath, Sasaram, Gavimath, Palkigundu, Udegolam, Nittur, and others
- Pillar Inscriptions: Found at Lauriya Nandangarh, Lauriya Araraj, Rampurwa, Sarnath, Sanchi, Topra (moved to Delhi), Meerut (moved to Delhi), Nigalisagar, Rummindei (marking the Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini)
Most inscriptions were written in the Prakrit language in the Brahmi script. Inscriptions in the northwest of the subcontinent used the Kharosthi script. Those in Afghanistan were in Aramaic and Greek. James Prinsep, an officer in the mint of the East India Company, deciphered Brahmi and Kharosthi in the 1830s, thereby opening up the scientific study of Asokan inscriptions. Most inscriptions referred to the king as Piyadassi; some also as Devanampiya Piyadassi. The Maski minor rock edict is notable as the first inscription where Ashoka explicitly names himself 'Ashoka.'
The Junagadh Rock Inscription near Girnar, Gujarat, illustrates the layered significance of Asokan edicts: it bears Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts in Prakrit (3rd century BCE), later Sanskrit records of the Western Satrap Rudradaman I (c. 150 CE), and later still the records of the Gupta emperor Skandagupta (5th century CE)—spanning about 700 years on a single rock and showing continuity of the site as a place of political and administrative record-keeping.
6.2 Principles of Dhamma
Ashoka's Dhamma was not a sectarian religious creed but a practical moral code applicable to all people regardless of their faith. Its core principles as found in the edicts include:
- Respect towards elders and parents
- Generosity towards Brahmanas and those who renounced worldly life (shramanas)
- Treating slaves and servants with kindness
- Non-violence (ahimsa) towards all living beings
- Respect for the religions and traditions of others
- Truthfulness and avoidance of falsehood
- Compassion, charity, and purity of mind
Ashoka also undertook concrete welfare measures: he established rest houses and wells at regular intervals along major roads, had fruit trees and shade trees planted, provided medical care for people and animals even beyond his empire's borders, prohibited hunting and cruelty to animals, and ordered medical treatment for sick animals. He encouraged different sects to accept each other's best teachings and study them.
Ashoka's edicts give direct instructions to his officials: 'All men are my children, and just as I desire for my children that they should obtain welfare and happiness both in this world and the next, the same do I desire for all men.' He further instructed that 'men are never to be imprisoned or tortured without good reason,' and announced that a touring officer would be sent out every five years to verify that his instructions were being followed.
6.3 Dhamma Mahamattas
To spread the message of Dhamma, Ashoka created a new cadre of special officers known as the Dhamma Mahamatta. They were dispatched to various parts of the empire, to neighbouring kingdoms, and to regions as far as Sri Lanka, Greece, and Egypt to propagate the principles of Dhamma. Ashoka also sent out touring officers every five years to investigate whether his instructions were being implemented and to check on subjects' well-being. This represents one of the earliest examples of a welfare inspection mechanism in recorded Indian administrative history.
The emissaries sent by Ashoka to Sri Lanka played a decisive role in establishing Theravada Buddhism on the island: tradition holds that his son Mahinda (or Mahendra) and daughter Sanghamitta were among the key missionaries. The spread of Buddhism to Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and eventually East Asia can trace one of its earliest impetuses to Ashoka's missionary activity.