The Minor Rock Edicts of

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

(r. 269–233 BCE) are rock inscriptions which form the earliest part of the

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 Maurya Empire who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from 268 BCE to 2 ...

, and predate Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts. These are the first edicts in the Indian language of Emperor Ashoka, written in the

Brahmi Brahmi ( ; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' or ...

script in the 11th year of his reign. They follow chronologically the

Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription The Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, also known as the Kandahar Edict of Ashoka and less commonly as the Chehel Zina Edict, is an inscription in the Ancient Greek, Greek and Aramaic languages that dates back to 260 BCE and was carved b ...

, in Greek and in Aramaic, written in the 10th year of his reign (260 BCE),India: An Archaeological History: Palaeolithic Beginnings to Early ... by Dilip K. Chakrabart

/ref> which is the first known inscription of Ashoka. There are several slight variations in the content of these edicts, depending on location, but a common designation is usually used, with Minor Rock Edict N°1 (MRE1) and a Minor Rock Edict N°2 (MRE2), which does not appear alone but always in combination with Edict N°1), the different versions being generally aggregated in most translations. There is also a minor edict No.3, discovered in Bairat, for the Buddhist clergy. The inscriptions of Ashoka in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

are sometimes also categorized as "Minor Rock Edicts". The Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka refer to five separate Edicts inscribed on columns, the Pillars of Ashoka. These edicts are preceded chronologically by the Minor Rock Edicts and may have been made in parallel with the Major Rock Edicts.

Chronology

The Minor Rock Edict were written quite early in the reign of Ashoka, from the 11th year of his reign at the earliest (according to his own inscription, "two and a half years after becoming a secular Buddhist", i.e. two and a half years at least after the Kalinga conquest of the eighth year of his reign, which is the starting point for his gradual conversion to Buddhism). The technical quality of the engraving of the inscriptions is generally very poor, and generally very inferior to the pillar edicts dated to the years 26 and 27 of Ashoka's reign. John Irwin
"The True Chronology of Aśokan Pillars"
in:'' Artibus Asiae'', Vol. 44, No. 4 (1983), The Minor Rock Edicts therefore follow the very first inscription of Ashoka, written in year 10 of his reign, the

established at Chilzina,

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

, in the center of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

.Valeri P. Yailenk
''Les maximes delphiques d'Aï Khanoum et la formation de la doctrine du dharma d'Asoka''
Dialogues d'histoire ancienne vol.16 n°1, 1990, pp.239-256 This first inscription was written in Classical Greek and

exclusively. The Minor Rock Edicts maybe slightly earlier than the

Major Rock Edicts The Major Rock Edicts of Indian emperor Ashoka refer to 14 separate major Edicts of Ashoka which are significantly detailed and represent some of the earliest dated rock inscriptions of any Indian monarch. These edicts are preceded chronologica ...

established to propagate the

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

, from the 12th year of Ashoka's reign.Ashoka: The Search for India's Lost Emperor by Charles Alle

/ref> These Ashoka inscriptions are in Indian languages with the exception of the Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka inscribed on a limestone stele. It was only later, during the 26th and 27th years of his reign, that Ashoka wrote new edicts, this time on majestic columns, the

pillars of Ashoka The pillars of Ashoka are a series of Monolith, monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected—or at least inscribed with Edicts of Ashoka, edicts—by the 3rd Mauryan Emperor Ashoka the Great, who reigned from to ...

Text of the Minor Rock Edicts

The different variations of edicts on rock 1 and 2 are usually presented in the form of a compilation. There is also a minor edict on Rock No.3, discovered in Bairat only, addressing not the Ashoka officers as the first two edicts, but the Buddhist clergy, with the recommendation to study a very specific list of Buddhist scriptures. In the Minor Rock Edicts, Ashoka makes explicit mention of his religious affiliation by presenting himself as a "lay disciple" or "disciple of the Buddha" according to the versions, and speaking of his proximity to "the order" ( samgha), which is far from the case in most other edicts where he is only promulgating the moral laws of "

". ;Association of Ashoka with the title "Devanampriya" ("Beloved-of-the-Gods") Rock_edict-_closer_look

There are slight variations between each of the versions of the Minor Rock Edicts. The Maski version of Minor Rock Edict No.1 was historically especially important in that it confirmed the association of the honorific title ''"

Devanampriya Devanampriya (Devanagari: देवानंप्रिय or देवानम्प्रिय), also called Devanampiya ( Brahmi script: 𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀸𑀦𑀁𑀧𑀺𑀬, ''Devānaṃpiya''), was a Pali Pāli (, IAST: pā ...

"'' with

: In the Gujarra Minor Rock Edict also, the name of Ashoka is used together with his titles: "Devanampiya Piyadasi Asokaraja". ;Pre-existence of pillars In the Minor Rock Edicts, Ashoka also mentions the duty to inscribe his edicts on the rocks and on the pillars ("wherever there is a pillar or rock"). This has led some authors, especially John Irwin, to think that there were already pillars in India before Ashoka erected them. For John Irwin, examples today of these pillars prior to Ashoka would be the bull pillar of Rampurva, the elephant pillar of

Sankissa Sankissa (also ''Sankasia'', ''Sankassa'' and ''Sankasya'') is an ancient city in India renown for the descent of Gautama Buddha from the Tushita heavens where he taught his mother before landing at Sankissa. Considered among the eight great p ...

, and the Allahabad pillar of Ashoka. None of these pillars received the inscription of the Minor Rock Edicts, and only the pillar of Allahabad has inscriptions of Ashoka, which weakens this theory, since, according to the orders of the same of Ashoka, they should have been engraved with his Minor Rock Edicts. ;Language of the edicts Several edicts of Ashoka are known in Greek and Aramaic; by contrast the many minor edicts on rock engraved in southern India in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

use the

Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...

of the North as the language of communication, with the

script, and not the local Dravidian idiom, which can be interpreted as a kind of intrusion and authoritarianism in respect to the southern territories.A Sourcebook of Indian Civilization published by Niharranjan Ray, Brajadulal Chattopadhyay
p.592
/ref>

Full texts of the Minor Rock Edicts

;Minor Rock Edict No.1 In this Edict, Ashoka describes himself as a Buddhist layman (

Upāsaka Upāsaka (masculine) or Upāsikā (feminine) are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism (or, historically, of Gautama Buddha) who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, ...

) /a

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

- ŚakaMaski inscription /a

Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...

,Rupnath inscription and also explains he has been getting closer to the

Sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

and has become more ardent in the faith. ;Minor Rock Edict No.2 Only appears in a few places, in conjunction with Minor Edict No.1 ;Minor Rock Edict No.3 Only appears at Bairat, where it was discovered in front of the Bairat Temple, possibly the oldest free-standing temple in India. The Edict is now located in the Museum of The Asiatic Society,

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, and because of this is sometimes called the "Calcutta-Bairāṭ inscription". Also known as the Bhabru Edict. Ashoka claims "great is my reverence and faith in the

, the

(and) the Samgha", and makes a list of recommended Buddhist scriptures that Buddhist monks as well as the laity should repeatedly study.

Locations

The minor rock edicts of Ashoka are exclusively inscribed on rock. They are located throughout the Indian subcontinent. Edict N°1 appears alone in Panguraria, Maski, Palkigundu et Gavimath, Bahapur/Srinivaspuri, Bairat, Ahraura, Gujarra,

Sasaram Sasaram (), also spelled as Shahasaram, is a historical city and a municipal corporation region in the Rohtas district of Bihar state in eastern India. The city served as the capital of the Sur dynasty during Sher Shah Suri's rule over India in ...

, Rajula Mandagiri, Rupnath, Ratampurwa and in conjunction with Edict N°2 at Yerragudi, Udegolam, Nittur, Brahmagiri, Siddapur, Jatinga-Rameshwara.India: An Archaeological History: Palaeolithic Beginnings to Early Historic Foundations ... by Dilip K. Chakrabart
p.395
/ref> The traditional Minor Rock Edicts (excluding the miscellaneous inscriptions in

found in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

) are located in central and southern India, whereas the

were located at the frontiers on Ashoka's territory.

Miscellaneous inscriptions often catalogued in the Minor Rock Edicts

Some Ashoka inscriptions in Greek or Aramaic, or the inscriptions of the

Barabar Caves The Barabar Hill Caves are the oldest surviving rock-cut caves in India, dating from the Maurya Empire (322–185 BCE), some with Ashokan inscriptions, located in the Makhdumpur region of Jehanabad district, Bihar, India, north of Gaya. The ...

, are difficult to categorize, and are sometimes included in the "Minor Rock Edicts". This is sometimes also the case with the

(the designation of "Minor Rock Edict No.4" was proposed), although its nature is quite different from other edicts and it is the oldest of Ashoka's inscriptions (10th year of his reign).Inscriptions of Asoka by DC Sirca
p.33
/ref> The inscriptions in Aramaic, especially the Aramaic Inscription of Laghman and the Aramaic Inscription of Taxila are also often catalogued among the minor rock edicts, although their character of edict is not very clear, and if the first was inscribed on rock, the second was inscribed on an octagonal marble pillar. The inscriptions of the

are purely dedicatory, without moral content.

References