Major Pillar Edicts
The Major Pillar Edicts of Indian Emperor Ashoka refer to seven separate major Edicts of Ashoka inscribed on columns, the Pillars of Ashoka, which are significantly detailed and are among the earliest dated inscriptions of any Indian monarch. A full English translation of the Edicts was published by Romilla Thapar.
These edicts are preceded chronologically by the Minor Rock Edicts and the Major Rock Edicts, and constitute the most technically elegant of the inscriptions made by Ashoka. They were made at the end of the reign of Ashoka, from the years 26 and 27 of his reign, that is, from 237-236 BCE. Chronologically they follow the fall of Seleucid power in Central Asia and the related rise of the Parthian Empire and the independent Greco-Bactrian Kingdom circa 250 BCE, and Hellenistic rulers are not mentioned anymore in these last edicts. The last Major Pillar Edicts is testamental in nature, making a summary of the accomplishments of Ashoka during his life.
History
was the third monarch of the Maurya Empire in India, reigning from around 269 BCE. Ashoka famously converted to Buddhism and renounced violence soon after being victorious in a gruesome Kalinga War, yet filled with deep remorse for the bloodshed of the war. Although he was a major historical figure, little definitive information was known as there were few records of his reign until the 19th century when a large number of his edicts, inscribed on rocks and pillars, were found in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. These many edicts were concerned with practical instructions in running a kingdom such as the design of irrigation systems and descriptions of Ashoka's beliefs in peaceful moral behavior. They contain little personal detail about his life.List of the Major Pillar Edicts
The Major Pillar Edicts of Ashoka were exclusively inscribed on the Pillars of Ashoka or fragments thereof, at Kausambi, Topra Kalan, Meerut, Lauriya-Araraj, Lauria Nandangarh, Rampurva, and fragments of these in Aramaic However many pillars, such as the bull pillar of Rampurva, or the pillar of Vaishali do not have inscriptions.These pillar edicts include:
Major Pillar Edict I
Asoka’s principle of protection of the people
Major Pillar Edict II
Defines dhamma as a minimum of sins, many virtues, compassion, liberality, truthfulness and purity
Major Pillar Edict III
Abolishes sins of harshness, cruelty, anger, pride etc.
Major Pillar Edict IV
Deals with duties of Rajukas.
Major Pillar Edict V
A list of animals and birds which should not be killed on some days, and another list of animals which have not to be killed at all occasions. Describes the release of 25 prisoners by Asoka.
Major Pillar Edict VI
Dhamma Policy
Major Pillar Edict VII
Works done by Asoka for Dhamma Policy. He says that all sects desire both self-control and purity of mind.
Language of Inscriptions
Only one language was used on the pillars: Prakrit in the Brahmi script. A few derived inscriptions were made on rock in Aramaic, in areas of Afghanistan. The edicts are composed in non-standardized and archaic forms of Prakrit.Authorship
The Major Pillar Edicts are very generally attributed to Ashoka. Strictly speaking though, the inscriptions of the Major Pillar Edicts, just as those of the Major Rock Edicts, are not inscribed in the name of "Ashoka", but in the name of "Devanampriya", "Devanampriya Priyadasi" or "Devanampriya Priyadasi Raja". This title also appears in Greek in the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, when naming the author of the proclamation as βασιλεὺς Πιοδασσης, and in Aramaic in the same inscription as "our lord, king Priyadasin".The association of the Major inscriptions with "Ashoka" is only a reconstruction based on the 3rd-4th century CE Dipavamsa which associates the name "Ashoka" with the name "Priyadarsi", and an extrapolation based on the fact that the name "Ashoka" appears with the title "Devanampriya" in a few of the Minor Rock Edicts. Christopher Beckwith has suggested that "Priyadarsi" was a king in his own right, probably the son of Chandragupta Maurya known to the Greeks as Amitrochates, and Ashoka was either a Buddhist legend or a much later king who authored the Buddhist Minor Rock Edicts around the 1st century CE.
Conversely, the Major Pillar Edicts in the name of King Priyadasi do not have a clear Buddhist character, being mainly codes of conduct gathered under the name of "Dharma", and never mentioning Buddhism, the Buddha or the Samgha.
Description of the pillars
The Major Pillar Edicts of Ashoka are exclusively inscribed on the Pillars of Ashoka or fragments thereof, although many pillars, such as the bull pillar of Rampurva, or the pillar of Vaishali do not have inscriptions. A few other pillars only have very short inscriptions, forming the Minor Pillar Edicts.The Major Pillar Edicts are all located in central India.
Content of the Edicts
Major Pillar Edict 1
Asoka’s principle of protection of the people.Major Pillar Edict 2
Defines dhamma as a minimum of sins, many virtues, compassion, liberality, truthfulness and purity.Major Pillar Edict 3
Abolishes sins of harshness, cruelty, anger, pride etc.Major Pillar Edict 4
Deals with duties of Rajukas.Major Pillar Edict 5
A list of animals and birds which should not be killed on some days, and another list of animals which have not to be killed at all occasions. Describes the release of 25 prisoners by Asoka.Major Pillar Edict 6
Dhamma Policy.Major Pillar Edict 7
Works done by Asoka for Dhamma Policy. He says that all sects desire both self-control and purity of mind.7th Edict: issues of authenticity
The authenticity of the 7th Edict is generally not disputed, but Christopher Beckwith has challenged it, and he suggests it is a later inscription, possibly made as late as the 5th century CE, when the old Brahmi script had not yet evolved much, and was still readable for any literate person. He gives numerous reasons for his doubts:- This 7th edict is unique, and unseen anywhere else, in direct contrast with the other six pillar edicts, which are inscribed on numerous pillars.
- This edict appears to be a compilation, a "hodgepodge", of parts of the other pillar edicts and also parts of the Major Rock Edicts.
- The script and layout of the text is of a much lower quality than the other edicts, although it is supposed to have been written only one year after the 6th Edict, in the year 27. The lettering is also quite irregular, lightly inscribed and different in shape.
- This edict claims the existence of several religion organizations: the Buddhist Samgha, the Brahmanas, and, uniquely among all the edicts of Ashoka, the Ajivikas and Nirgranthas. This may be an attempt by some faiths, especially the Ajivikas and Nirgranthas, to claim Mauryan antiquity, possibly during the time of the Kushan Empire.
- The edict contains many repetitions, consistent with assembling multiple copies of existing inscriptions. Most strangely, the opening royal statement "King Priyadarsin, Beloved of the Gods, says..." is repeated nine times in the 7th Edict, whereas it only appears once at the beginning of all the other known edicts.
Possible derived inscriptions in Aramaic