Jamia Millia Islamia

Faculty of Law

Topic: Critical Analysis of Ashokan Dhamma

Submitted by: Kamran Javeed Shah

Submitted to: Gulrukh Ma'am
Course: BA LLB Regular Semester 1 (2021-26)
Subject: History
Serial no: 25
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement................................................................................3
Introduction:.........................................................................................4
Why did Ashoka introduce the Dhamma?............................................4
What exactly is Dhamma?....................................................................6

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 Acknowledgement
I would like to express my gratitude to my teacher Gulrukh Ma'am for
providing support and guidance. I got to learn a lot more about this project
related to Ashokan Dhamma which will be very helpful for me.

In the end, I would like to thank my parents. Without them, I would not have
been able to complete this project.

Kamran Javeed Shah

BA LLB Sem 2
Regular

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Introduction:
Dhamma is the Prakrit form of the Sanskrit word Dharma, meaning, according to the context,
the universal law or righteousness. However, the term had a much more general connotation
at the time, and judging by how he used it in his edicts, Ashoka gave it a wider meaning 1.
Most of Ashoka's inscriptions are about Dhamma. Pillar edict 6 reveals that the practice of
having inscriptions on Dhamma inscribed in various parts of the empire began 12 (expired)
years after the abhisheka. From this time onwards, until the end of his long reign, Ashoka
seems to have been obsessed with explaining and propagating Dhamma. While the
inscriptions are quite eloquent and precise about what Dhamma consisted of, historians have
different assessments of its nature, especially its relationship with Ashoka's faith in the
Buddha's teaching2. In this project, I have tried to cover all these points.

Why did Ashoka introduce the Dhamma?

This question has troubled historians for a long time. The Mauryan Empire was well
established and politically stable at the time of Ashoka. Therefore the emperor didn't require
any form of religious or moral policy to consolidate the empire. Still, we find the inscriptions
of Ashokan Dhamma throughout the empire. Based on the evidence, historians have mainly
presented two views on the need for Dhamma. These are:
1. Kalinga War: The earliest event of Ashoka's reign, which we possess reliable
information, is his conquest of Kalinga in the ninth year after his consecration to the
throne. Kalinga usually denoted the long stretch of territory on the eastern coast of
India between the rivers Suvarnarekha and Godavari. Still, its exact limits in the days
of Asoka cannot be determined. However, there is no doubt that it was a populous and
powerful State. The thirteenth Rock Edict of Ashoka gives a vivid account of the
conquest of Kalinga after a terrible war in the course of which 150,000 persons were
captured, 100,000 were slain, and many times that number perished. Asoka, who
probably led the campaign in person, was struck by the horrors of the war and the
amount of misery and bloodshed it involved. The feelings which they evoked in him
are thus described in his inscription, probably in his own words:
"Thus arose is Sacred Majesty's remorse for having conquered the Kalingas because
the conquest of a country, previously unconquered, involves the slaughter, death, and
carrying away captive of the people. That is a matter of profound sorrow and regret to
His Sacred Majesty.
1
Thapar, Early India.
2
Singh Upinder, History of Ancient and Early Medieval India.

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 "There is; however, another reason for His Sacred Majesty feeling still more regret, in
as much as in such a country dwell Brahmans or ascetics, or men of various
denominations, or householders...Such people in such a country befalls violence,
slaughter, or separation from their loved ones. Or misfortune befalls the friends,
acquaintances, comrades, and relatives of those who are themselves well protected
while their affection is undiminished. Thus for them also, that is a mode of violence."
The feeling of remorse and misery led Ashoka to embrace the Buddhist religion, one
of whose cardinal doctrines was non-injury to living beings. He instructed his high
officials to proceed on the circuit every five years to spread the Dhamma among the
people at large. Besides, he instituted a special class of officers known as
Dharmamahamatras, whose sole business was to propagate Dhamma3.
2. Religious Conflicts: Diverse religious ideas and practices existed in the vast empire
of the Mauryas. But the followers of such sects as Buddhism, Jainism, and Ajivikism
were held in contempt by the Brahmanas, whose position they must have undermined.
Kautilya described them as vrishala and pashanda. The ideological conflict between
the Vedic Brahmanas and the newly born protestant creeds followers may have been a
potential source of social and religious tension. However, actual instances of this are
unrecorded. It was against this background that Ashoka expounded his policy of
Dhamma to eliminate social tension and sectarian conflicts and promote a harmonious
relationship between the diverse elements of the vast empire. Ashoka's insistence on
abstinence from killing, considerate relationships between parents and children, elders
and young people, friends, masters and servants, various religious sects, and his
excessive concern for the general welfare of the subjects suggest that his Dhamma
was an ethical code aimed at building up an attitude of social responsibility among the
people. His policy of Dhamma sought to make a strong case for the recognition of the
dignity of man; it was a plea for the inculcation of virtuous behaviour transcending all
social, religious, and cultural barriers. The concept of Dhamma was very likely
conditioned by the vastness of the empire, whose unity would be preserved by
overcoming tensions generated by the existence of divergent social, religious and
cultural elements. Ashoka, therefore, emphasized toleration, which was one of the
basic principles of Dhamma. By pleading for 'consideration towards slaves and
servants, obedience to mother and father, generosity towards friends, acquaintances

3
R.C Majumdar, Ancient India.

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 and relatives, and priests and monks,' Ashoka promoted harmony in the family and
community4
Thus we can see that Dhamma was aimed to promote social harmony between different
religious groups. Dhamma also involved various policies of pacifism adopted by Ashoka
after the Kalinga War. Many historians also see Dhamma as an early form of secularism. The
main argument given by the historians in favour of this is that Dhamma was not implemented
for a specific religion like Buddhism. It was meant for all, whether Hindus, Buddhists, Jains,
or others.

What exactly is Dhamma?

The principal method within India that Ashoka adopted in propagating his Dhamma was
issuing a set of edicts and having them inscribed on the faces of cliffs and hillocks (rock
edicts) and pillars (pillar edicts) in different parts of the empire. With a few exceptions, the
language used for the inscriptions at most sites was Prakrit, carved in Brahmi, the most
ancient of the intelligible Indian scripts5. These inscriptions were discovered in the 19th
century and are the primary sources available to us about the Ashokan Dhamma. The Brahmi
script used in the inscriptions was deciphered by a British historian – James Princep, in 1838.
These inscriptions provide us an insight into what Dhamma was, and I will discuss them in
detail later. The Ashokan edicts can be classified into three separate groups. Firstly, there are
the fourteen major rock edicts inscribed on rock in Prakrit in Brahmi script in a single corpus
or a partial form. These are found at sites as varied as Kalsi (Himachal Pradesh), Girnar
(Gujarat), Sopara (Maharashtra), Yerragudi (Andhra Pradesh), and Jaugada and Dhauli
(Orissa). At the last two sites, two separate edicts are also inscribed, known as the Kalinga
Edicts, which may be considered part of the major rock edicts. At two further sites in
Pakistan, Shahbazgarhi, and Mansergh, on the upper Indus, the fourteen edicts are inscribed
in another script, known as Kharoshthi, derived from the Persian Aramaic. Major rock edicts
have also been recently found at Sannathi, in Karnataka, and Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Secondly, three minor rock edicts have been found at nearly twenty different places in the
subcontinent, covering areas such as the Deccan, the Ganga valley, the lands east of the
Yamuna river, and in Afghanistan. A minor rock edict, recently discovered at Kandahar, was
inscribed in two scripts, Greek and Aramaic. Thirdly, in the Brahmi script, there are seven
pillar edicts in Prakrit, again inscribed as a single corpus or in a partial form. They can be
seen today in Delhi, Allahabad, Buner in Pakistan, Amaravati on the east coast, and at three
4
Jha, Ancient India.
5
Avari, India.

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sites in Bihar: Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya-Nandangarh, and Rampurva. In Delhi, there are two
pillars, Delhi-Meerut and Delhi-Topra. In the fourteenth century, they were originally
brought down to Delhi from Meerut and Topra (both in Uttar Pradesh) by Sultan Firoz Shah
Tughluq and given pride of place in his new medieval Delhi. Finally, two minor pillar edicts
are at Lumbini in Nepal, known as the Rummindei Pillar Inscription, and another at
Kausambi, called the Schism Edict. The geographical spread of the rock and pillar edicts
delineates the extent of the Mauryan Empire. The empire's influence spread as far west as
Afghanistan but stopped short of penetrating the far south. Also, no rock or pillar edicts have
been found in Punjab, Sind, the deserts of Rajasthan, or the lands immediately south of the
Vindhya hills in central India6.
The discovery of the edicts in many places shows that the Mauryan Empire was vast and that
Ashoka wanted to spread his Dhamma throughout the empire.

Analysis of Major Rock Edicts

As mentioned earlier, the rock edicts were used by Ashoka to promulgate his Dhamma. The
best way to approach an analysis of the edicts would be in the chronological order of the
issue to retrace the order and manner in which the public was addressed and retrace Ashoka's
ideas. All quotes mentioned hereby are excerpts chosen by me from the edict as a whole.
Rock Edict 1: It states, "Here no living thing is to be killed and sacrificed, and no assembly
to be held…."
Although both killing and sacrificing are mentioned here, the emphasis is more on
sacrificing. Evidence for this is found in records of animals slaughtered in the kitchens of
Ashoka, especially in his palace at Pataliputra. Two peacocks, a deer, and other animals were
still slaughtered in the royal kitchens. If there were a general ban on killing animals, surely
the emperor himself would have been the first to discontinue this practice7.
Here we need to point out that the ban was on the ritual sacrifice of the animals. A
prohibition on killing itself would have been hypocritical and caused much uproar in the
nation. His objective was to give this sacrificing a primitive and backward character and
thereby undermine the authority of the powerful Brahmins, a group that regularly indulged in
this practice. The very notion of having added the word "killing" to the passage in the edict
softens the gravity of Ashoka's vested interests and subliminally justifies his declaration.

6
Avari, India.
7
Nilakanta Sastri, Age of the Nandas and Mauryas.

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Rock Edict 2: The activities listed in rock edict two must have been part of what he
considered his Dhamma as king. Here, he refers to having made provisions for medical
treatment, planting beneficial medicinal herbs, roots, fruits, and digging wells. While all this
might come under what would be considered a king's Dharma in all traditions, what makes it
unique is that the edict states that all these things had been done for the benefit not only of
people but also animals8.
Dhamma also preached good communication through the encouragement given to building
roads and canals. Wells, roads, canals, medical centers, and parks facilitated good
communication and the spread of ideas.
Rock Edict 3: It mentions various aspects of Dhamma, such as consisting in proper courtesy
to slaves and servants, respectful behaviour towards elders, restraint in one's dealings with all
living beings, and liberality to Shramanas and Brahmanas 9. It also shows Ashoka's liberal and
tolerant attitude towards the Brahmanas. Various historians, however, also point out that this
tolerant attitude might be a result of a backlash caused by the banning of animals for ritual
sacrifices, which was a direct attack on Brahmans.
Ashoka's message of Dhamma was also orally propagated by officials such as the kumaras,
yutas, rajukas, mahamatas, anta-mahamatas, pulisani, and members of the Parishad. Rock
edict 3 states that the rajukas and pradeshikas were to go on inspection tours every five years
as part of their other duties and for preaching Dhamma.
Rock Edict 4:

8
Singh Upinder, History of Ancient and Early Medieval India.
9
Singh Upinder, History of Ancient and Early Medieval India.