Rock edicts of Khalsi

Coordinates: 30°31′05″N 77°50′54″E / 30.5180°N 77.8482°E / 30.5180; 77.8482
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30°31′05″N 77°50′54″E / 30.5180°N 77.8482°E / 30.5180; 77.8482

Rock edicts of Khalsi
Dehradun District, Uttarakhand, India
Antigonos II Gonatas, Magas of Cyrene and Alexander II of Epirus[1]
The Khalsi inscription is one of many Edicts of Ashoka, which ultimately cover almost all of his territory.

The Rock edicts of Khalsi, also spelled Kalsi, are a group of an Indian rock inscriptions written by the Indian Emperor

Khalsi, a village in Uttarakhand, northern India, by Alexander Cunningham
about 1850.

The inscription

The Rock edicts of Khalsi are among the many inscriptions of Ashoka, the first being the

Kandahar Greek Edict of Ashoka, and were only published from around 3 to 4 years later, and until 27 years after his coronation.[1]

The Khalsi edicts, placed in North-Western India, were located near the Hellenistic world represented by the

Ai Khanoum.[1] The language of these edicts is Pali and the script is Brahmi.[2]

The inscriptions were written on a solid

Brahmi Gajatama, of uncertain meaning,[3] possibly "Supreme Elephant".[4] On the left side (south face) is the continuation of the inscription started on the main face, with the second part of Edict 13 and Edict 14.[5]

This last edict, Edict No.13, is particularly important in that it mentions the main Hellenistic kings of the time, as well as their precise geographical location, suggesting that Ashoka had a very good understanding of the Greek world of the time.[1] It is also this inscription which made it possible to date the reign of Ashoka with a certain precision, between 260 and 230 BCE.[1] This Edict also appears, although in a less well preserved form, in the Girnar inscription,[6] and very damaged in the Mansehra inscription.[7]

  • Shelter of the inscription nowadays.
    Shelter of the inscription nowadays.
  • The edicts from 1 to 12, and beginning of edict N°13.
    The edicts from 1 to 12, and beginning of edict N°13.
  • The Elephant motif, and continuation of edict N°13.
    The Elephant motif, and continuation of edict N°13.
  • Continuation of Edict No13 of the Khalsi inscription.
    Continuation of Edict No13 of the Khalsi inscription.

Edict 13 refers in particular to contemporary rulers of the

Antigonos II Gonatas, Magas of Cyrene and Alexander II of Epirus.[8]

Now, it is the conquest by the Dharma that the Beloved of the Gods considers as the best conquest. And this one (the conquest by the Dharma) was won here, on the borders, and even 600

Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni

— Extract from Edict No.13.[9]

Some scholars believe that Buddhist communities have emerged in the Hellenistic world following Ashoka's reign, notably in Alexandria (this community being mentioned four centuries later by Clement of Alexandria). Given Ashoka's particularly moral definition of "Dharma" it is possible that he simply wants to say that virtue and piety now exist from the Mediterranean to the south of India. An expansion of Buddhism to the West is unconfirmed historically. In other inscriptions, Ashoka also states that he sent emissaries to the West to transmit medical care and medicinal plants (Major Rock Edict No.2). We do not know what the influence of these emissaries was on the Greek world.

Stamping

The inscriptions have been remarkably stamped and published by E. Hultzsch in "Inscriptions Of Asoka", the full text of which is available online.[10]

  • Stamping of the inscription: Edicts from 1 to 12, and beginning of 13.
    Stamping of the inscription: Edicts from 1 to 12, and beginning of 13.
  • Stamping of the south portion of the inscription. Continuation of Edict 13, and Edict 14.
    Stamping of the south portion of the inscription. Continuation of Edict 13, and Edict 14.
  • The Elephant.
    The Elephant.

Relation to Greek philosophy

According to Valeri Yailenko, the Kineas inscription of

Ai Khanoum, both in terms of content and formulation.[1] Short, aphoristic expressions, the subjects being discussed, the vocabulary itself, are all elements of similarity with the inscription of Kineas.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Yailenko 1990, pp.239-256
  2. ^ "Archaeological Survey of India Dehradun Circle -Dehradun". www.asidehraduncircle.in. Retrieved 2022-09-17.
  3. ^ a b Inscriptions of Asoka by Alexander Cunningham, Eugen Hultzsch, 1877 pp.15-16
  4. ISBN 978-0-19-802673-0
    .
  5. ^ S.Dhammika, The Edicts of Ashoka King The Fourteen Rock Edicts / 13
  6. ^ Inscriptions Of Asoka, E.Hultzsch, 1925 p.25
  7. ^ Inscriptions Of Asoka, E. Hultzsch, 1925 p.83
  8. ^ VP Yailenko, "Aï Khanoum's Delphic Maxims and the Formation of Asoka's Dharma Doctrine", in: Ancient History Dialogues, 1990, volume 16, number 1, pp.239-256
  9. ^ S.Dhammika, The Edicts of King Ashoka The Fourteen Rock Edicts/13
  10. ^ Inscriptions Of Asoka, E.Hultzsch, 1925 Full text

Sources

  • Valeri P. Yailenko, Aï Khanoum's delphic maxims and the formation of the Asoka dharma doctrine, Dialogues d'histoire ancienne, volume 16, number 1, 1990, 239-256

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ashoka Major Rock Edict, Khalsi.
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