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Edicts of Asoka
"A literary translation which is also easy and pleasing to read."—Ludwik Sternbach, Journal of the American Oriental Society
96 pages, Paperback
First published October 15, 1978
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March 8, 2023
While H. G. Wells wrote that 'the name of Ashoka shines, and shines, almost alone, a star' amid the 'tens of thousands of names of monarchs that crowd the columns of history', there seems a strong possibility that he did not exist at all as a singular king of such religious and political significance. He was forgotten until the 19th century when the Brahmi script in which his attributed ‘Edicts’ are written was translated. So while it seems clear that an 'Ashoka the Great' was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire in India from around 268 to 232 BCE, the inscriptions upon stone pillars, boulders, and cave walls that are the 'Edicts of Ashoka’ may be the work of more than one ruler (the Edicts also refer to a 'King Piyadasi’ who may or may not be Ashoka). The Edicts testify to the spread of Buddhism across not just India, but also Afghanistan and as far as the Mediterranean - but they also reflect the influence of other religious traditions, including Jainism, and earlier forms of Buddhist thought that have disappeared.
But assuming Ashoka did exist, he certainly stands out as a one of the few rulers to comprehensively reject violence and conquest as a monarch's main preoccupation, and to have embraced a heavily religious philosophy of ‘good government’ with an emphasis on human and animal welfare. His second Rock Edict says that:
'Everywhere … has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals.'
It helped that Ashoka and his predecessors had already done plenty of conquering. The legend is that the young ruler Ashoka, having brutally won the battle of Kalinga, came to the same conclusion as the Duke of Wellington after the Battle of Waterloo who said: 'Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won'. The Rock Edict number four of Ashoka states that:
'In the past, for many hundreds of years, killing or harming living beings and improper behavior towards relatives, and improper behavior towards Brahmans and ascetics has increased. But now due to Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's Dhamma practice, the sound of the drum has been replaced by the sound of the Dhamma. The sighting of heavenly cars, auspicious elephants, bodies of fire and other divine sightings has not happened for many hundreds of years. But now because Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi promotes restraint in the killing and harming of living beings, proper behavior towards relatives, Brahmans and ascetics, and respect for mother, father and elders, such sightings have increased.'
‘Dhamma’ (or Dharma) refers to the propagation of the teachings of Gautama Buddha, to which Ashoka was purported converted by a travelling monk. Some of the narrative of Ashoka’s previous brutality may well be the type of exaggeration common to conversion tales which emphasise the transformational quality of new religion based on how terrible you were before (‘I was lost, but now I’m found’).
However Dhamma also seems to be for Ashoka a moral and political outlook, similar to what we might call an ideology today. He appointed officers called the dhamma-mahamattas who were to
'… work among all religions for the establishment of Dhamma, for the promotion of Dhamma, and for the welfare and happiness of all who are devoted to Dhamma. They work among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Gandharas, the Rastrikas, the Pitinikas and other peoples on the western borders. They work among soldiers, chiefs, Brahmans, householders, the poor, the aged and those devoted to Dhamma — for their welfare and happiness — so that they may be free from harassment. They (Dhamma Mahamatras) work for the proper treatment of prisoners, towards their unfettering, and if the Mahamatras think, “This one has a family to support," "That one has been bewitched," "This one is old," then they work for the release of such prisoners.'
These officers sound quite similar to idealised Party Cadres of many future socialist movements who were to be (in Mao Zedong’s words) 'modest and prudent … and serve the … people'. However Ashoka’s governance also relied a lot on the beneficence and attentiveness of the ruler. His Rock Edict six states that
'In the past, state business was not transacted nor were reports delivered to the king at all hours. But now I have given this order, that at any time, whether I am eating, in the women's quarters, the bed chamber, the chariot, the palanquin, in the park or wherever, reporters are to be posted with instructions to report to me the affairs of the people so that I might attend to these affairs wherever I am. And whatever I orally order in connection with donations or proclamations, or when urgent business presses itself on the Mahamatras, if disagreement or debate arises in the Council, then it must be reported to me immediately.'
As admirable as this devotion to duty is, it is also unsustainable past a particularly dedicated King. After Ashoka's death, the Maurya dynasty declined rapidly to the extent that memory of it virtually disappeared in India itself. While the flag of the modern Indian Republic uses a ‘wheel of righteousness’ design from an Ashokan pillar - neither Hinduism and Islam were interested in promoted the historical memory of a Buddhist ruler in India. Nevertheless, that Buddhism is a prominent multinational religion at all must surely be attributed to Ashoka’s proselytism. His Edicts are not sophisticated statements (they are aimed at an almost entirely illiterate population), however their simplicity is their strength.
But assuming Ashoka did exist, he certainly stands out as a one of the few rulers to comprehensively reject violence and conquest as a monarch's main preoccupation, and to have embraced a heavily religious philosophy of ‘good government’ with an emphasis on human and animal welfare. His second Rock Edict says that:
'Everywhere … has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals.'
It helped that Ashoka and his predecessors had already done plenty of conquering. The legend is that the young ruler Ashoka, having brutally won the battle of Kalinga, came to the same conclusion as the Duke of Wellington after the Battle of Waterloo who said: 'Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won'. The Rock Edict number four of Ashoka states that:
'In the past, for many hundreds of years, killing or harming living beings and improper behavior towards relatives, and improper behavior towards Brahmans and ascetics has increased. But now due to Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's Dhamma practice, the sound of the drum has been replaced by the sound of the Dhamma. The sighting of heavenly cars, auspicious elephants, bodies of fire and other divine sightings has not happened for many hundreds of years. But now because Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi promotes restraint in the killing and harming of living beings, proper behavior towards relatives, Brahmans and ascetics, and respect for mother, father and elders, such sightings have increased.'
‘Dhamma’ (or Dharma) refers to the propagation of the teachings of Gautama Buddha, to which Ashoka was purported converted by a travelling monk. Some of the narrative of Ashoka’s previous brutality may well be the type of exaggeration common to conversion tales which emphasise the transformational quality of new religion based on how terrible you were before (‘I was lost, but now I’m found’).
However Dhamma also seems to be for Ashoka a moral and political outlook, similar to what we might call an ideology today. He appointed officers called the dhamma-mahamattas who were to
'… work among all religions for the establishment of Dhamma, for the promotion of Dhamma, and for the welfare and happiness of all who are devoted to Dhamma. They work among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Gandharas, the Rastrikas, the Pitinikas and other peoples on the western borders. They work among soldiers, chiefs, Brahmans, householders, the poor, the aged and those devoted to Dhamma — for their welfare and happiness — so that they may be free from harassment. They (Dhamma Mahamatras) work for the proper treatment of prisoners, towards their unfettering, and if the Mahamatras think, “This one has a family to support," "That one has been bewitched," "This one is old," then they work for the release of such prisoners.'
These officers sound quite similar to idealised Party Cadres of many future socialist movements who were to be (in Mao Zedong’s words) 'modest and prudent … and serve the … people'. However Ashoka’s governance also relied a lot on the beneficence and attentiveness of the ruler. His Rock Edict six states that
'In the past, state business was not transacted nor were reports delivered to the king at all hours. But now I have given this order, that at any time, whether I am eating, in the women's quarters, the bed chamber, the chariot, the palanquin, in the park or wherever, reporters are to be posted with instructions to report to me the affairs of the people so that I might attend to these affairs wherever I am. And whatever I orally order in connection with donations or proclamations, or when urgent business presses itself on the Mahamatras, if disagreement or debate arises in the Council, then it must be reported to me immediately.'
As admirable as this devotion to duty is, it is also unsustainable past a particularly dedicated King. After Ashoka's death, the Maurya dynasty declined rapidly to the extent that memory of it virtually disappeared in India itself. While the flag of the modern Indian Republic uses a ‘wheel of righteousness’ design from an Ashokan pillar - neither Hinduism and Islam were interested in promoted the historical memory of a Buddhist ruler in India. Nevertheless, that Buddhism is a prominent multinational religion at all must surely be attributed to Ashoka’s proselytism. His Edicts are not sophisticated statements (they are aimed at an almost entirely illiterate population), however their simplicity is their strength.
August 21, 2018
Dhammaraja? Dhammavijaya? Dhsmmamahamatta? What's not to love? Administrative genius! Profound, lasting effects resonate still in secret places in the arts and letters of Asia.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews