Ashokan Edicts in Delhi
Ashokan Edicts | |
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General information | |
Architectural style | Edicts on sandstone pillars and on in-situ rocks |
Town or city | Delhi |
Country | India |
Coordinates | 28°37′N 77°14′E / 28.61°N 77.23°E |
Construction started | 3rd century BC |
Completed | 3rd century BC |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Ashoka |
The Ashokan edicts in Delhi are a series of edicts on the teachings of
The first in-situ rock edict was discovered in Delhi in 1966, and establishes the city's ancient historical link with the Ashokan era (273–236 BC).[1][2][3] Delhi's stone pillar edicts were transported from their original sites in Meerut and Ambala during the reign of Firuz Shah Tughlaq (1351–1388 AD). They were erected in Feruzabad, the fourth medieval city of Delhi, established by Feroz Shah Tughlaq.[2][4][5]
The inscriptions are written in Prakrit, a colloquial language used in everyday speech. The edicts were intended to teach the people of the morals and ideals of civilised living, to bring peace and harmony to the vast empire. The philosophy bears a striking resemblance to the teachings of the Buddha, which his followers believe lead to enlightenment (the universal law of nature), and the constituent elements of the world as it is experienced (the characteristic of elements).[6][2][7]
History
Until the 3rd century BC, a large region of the Indian subcontinent was ruled by
He avowed that his future actions would entirely be on spiritual lines and devoted to the spread of the doctrine of the right conduct.
While edicts inscribed on rocks were found in many parts of the world, erection of carved pillars was unique to Ashokan times, totally independent of any other structures.[10]
Edicts
Ashokan edicts are significant for the message they convey on the teachings of Buddhism. They have been found across his empire, written in several languages and scripts, but most of those found in India are written in
The edicts are of two types: the in-situ rock edicts and the pillar edicts, both of which are found in Delhi. The rock edicts are further subdivided into two categories, the "major rock edicts" and the "minor rock edicts", based on their age. Minor rock edits are the earliest, followed by major rock edicts, and then the pillar edicts.[11] Major rock edicts have been discovered across India, with 14 personal declarations by Ashoka. Two have been moved to Delhi from their original locations.[11]
The minor edicts, which predate the major edicts, have been discovered at 17 locations in different regions of the country. Ten of them are categorized as "minor rock edict I" that proclaim Ashoka's religious commitments and urge people to adopt this path. The last seven edicts, include the category of "minor rock edict II" that urges people to be obedient and respectful to parents, elders and teachers. The last seven rock edict include the Delhi edict (found in 1966) that is categorized as minor rock edict I. One particular minor rock edict that is housed in
The six basic pillar edicts, which are carved on sandstone, deal mainly with the spread of moral values; Ashoka's Dhamma cover topics such as kindness, forbearance, and concern for the welfare of his people. These edicts are fairly uniform in their language and text, unlike the rock edicts, but the Delhi-Topra pillar has a long additional message. It abridges and reaffirms the content of other pillars, and to some degree those of the Major Rock Edicts also.[11]
Rock edict in Delhi
The in-situ Bahapur rock edict (28°33′31″N 77°15′24″E / 28.55856°N 77.25662°E) was discovered in Delhi in an engraved form on a small patch of rock exposure in
Devanampiya (His Majesty) said thus: (it has been) more than two and a half years since I became a lay devotee.[12] At first no great exertion was made by me but in the last year I have drawn closer to the Buddhist order and exerted myself zealously and drawn in others to mingle with the gods. This goal is not one restricted only to let the people great to exert themselves and to the great but even a humble man who exerts himself can reach heaven. This proclamation is made for the following purpose: to encourage the humble and the great to exert themselves and to let the people who live beyond the borders of the kingdom know about it. Exertion in the cause must endure forever and it will spread further among the people so that it increases one-and-half fold.[8][13]
The rock edict
One interpretation for the rock edict at Bahapur in Delhi is that it represents the trans-regional trade route of
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Shelter on the surrounding rocky landscape
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Edict in Delhi surrounded by steel cage
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Ashoka's Rock Edict (close up)
Pillar edicts in Delhi
All of the Ashokan pillar or column edicts were made out of
The two pillar edicts are still in Delhi.[17] The one on the Delhi ridge opposite the entrance of Bara Hindu Rao Hospital, close to the Delhi University campus, is popularly known as the Delhi-Meerut Pillar. The other, in the grounds of Feroz Shah Kotla, is known as the Delhi-Topra Pillar.[18][2]
Delhi-Meerut pillar
The Delhi-Meerut pillar (28°40′26″N 77°12′43″E / 28.673853°N 77.211849°E), was shifted from
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Delhi-Meerut pillar
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Delhi-Meerut pillar inscription
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Transcription
Delhi-Topra pillar
The Topra Ashokan Pillar (28°38′09″N 77°14′43″E / 28.635739°N 77.245398°E), moved from Topra Kalan in Yamunanagar district of Haryana, was erected above the palace building at Feroz Shah Kotla is 13 metres (43 ft) high (with one metre below the platform) and made of sandstone. It is finished very well vis-à-vis the second pillar located in Delhi at the ridge.
The inscription in Brahmi script, which was deciphered by
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Delhi-Topra Ashoka pillar
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Inscriptions (Brahmi on top, Devanagaribelow)
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Delhi-Topra pillar Ashoka inscriptions (Edicts I to VII)
Transportation techniques
The transportation of the massive pillars to Delhi, planned under the direction of Sultan Feruz Shah, was documented by contemporary historian Shams-i-Siraj.[19][28]
The truncated pillar now at the ruined palace of Feruz Shah came from Khizrabad, in the upstream reaches of the
See also
- Related topics
- Ancient iron production
- Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts
- Dhar iron pillar
- History of metallurgy in South Asia
- Iron pillar of Delhi
- List of Edicts of Ashoka
- Pillars of Ashoka
- Stambha
- Other similar topics
Notes
- ^ Sharma, pp. 1, 10–11 A glorious chapter to Delhi’s history was added as recently as 1966 with the discovery of an inscription by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, engraved on a rugged rock, an outcrop of the Arvallis, near Srinivaspuri, west of Kalkaji temple… Direct association of emperor Ashoka (273–236 BC.) of the Maurya Dynasty with Delhi has been brought to light only recently by the discovery of a shorter version of his Minor Rock Edicts carved on a rock near Srinivaspuri. This discovery also indicates that Delhi lay on the trunk route connecting the main cities of ancient India
- ^ )
- ^ Peck, p.26. The city is situated where a spur of the Aravalli Hills meets the Yamuna River, and these outcrops were the sites of some early settlements ... Before the 3rd century BC, India was controlled by numerous competing chiefs and kings, and during this time urban centres of some size developed. One of these became the base of powerful Mauryan Empire, created by Chandra Gupta Maurya and consolidated by his grandson Ashoka (reigned 272–232 BC). Ashoka ruled from Pataliputra, modern Patna, but held sway over most of the Indian subcontinent. He aimed at government in a very real sense, controlling the affairs, or at least exhorting a certain way of life, through his famous edicts… However, the most exciting Mauryan discovery, made in 1966 was of an Ashokan Rock Edict found at Kalkaji (East of Kailash), in South Delhi, indicating that there must have been a reasonably important settlement nearby.
- ^ Sharma, pp.1,10–11
- ^ Peck, p.28.The remains of an inscription, on a smooth rock face projecting from the top of a rocky hillock, can be seen under an ugly concrete shelter in a small neighbourhood park in East of Kailash, nor far from the ISKCON temple on the Raja Dhirsain Marg it was discovered in 1966 and is an important part of Delhi’s history and heritage, because it implies that somewhere nearby was a settlement important enough in the 3rd century BC for an edict to have been carved. Among the cluster of religious institutions on the nearby hilltops, the Kalkaji Temple is said to be of great antiquity, and might have had a settlement around it.
- ^ a b Sharma, pp. 1, 10–11
- ^ Peck, p.28
- ^ a b Peck, pp.26–28
- ^ )
- ^ "Bhandarkar pp.205–206">Bhandarkar pp.205–206
- ^ )
- JSTOR 25202984.
- ^ Singh pp.121–122
- )
- ^ Bhandarkar p.206
- ^ Bhandarkar pp. 206–207
- ^ "Delhi's air pollution behind corrosion of Ashoka Pillar?". The Times of India.
- ^ "Kotla's Ashoka pillar, over 2,000 years old, suffers heavy damage". The Times of India.
- ^ )
- ^ Flood p. 248
- ^ Peck p. 82
- ^ Sharma pp.136–137
- ^ Peck p. 91
- ^ Sharma p.131
- ^ Peck p.85
- )
- ^ Flood pp.249–250
- ^ a b Bhandarkar pp. 207–209
References
- Bhandarkar, R. G; D.R. Bhandarkar (2000). Asoka. Asian Educational Services. )
- Flood, Finbarr B. (2009). Objects of Translation. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-12594-7.
- Peck, Lucy (2005). Delhi -A thousand years of Building. New Delhi: Roli Books Pvt Ltd. )
- Sharma, Y.D. (2001). Delhi and its Neighbourhood. New Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
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