Minor Pillar Edicts Explained

Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka
Material:Sandstone
Created:3rd century BCE
Location:India, Nepal

The Minor Pillar Edicts of Indian Emperor Ashoka refer to 4 separate minor Edicts of Ashoka (Schism Edict, Queen's Edict, 2 Commemorative inscriptions) inscribed on columns(Pillars of Ashoka) at 5 locations which are among the earliest dated inscriptions of any Indian monarch. A full English translation of the Edicts was published by Romila Thapar.[1]

These edicts are preceded chronologically by the Minor Rock Edicts(11th year of his reign) and may have been made in parallel with the Major Rock Edicts(12th year of his reign). The inscription technique is generally poor compared for example to the later Major Pillar Edicts. However they are often associated with some of the artistically most sophisticated pillar capitals of Ashoka. This fact led some authors to think that the most sophisticated capitals were actually the earliest in the sequence of Ashokan pillars and that style degraded over a short period of time.[2]

These were probably made at the beginning of the reign of Ashoka (reigned 262-233 BCE), from 12th year of his reign, that is, from 250 BCE.[3]

History

Ashoka was the third monarch of the Maurya Empire in India, reigning from around 269 BCE.[4] Ashoka famously converted to Buddhism and renounced violence soon after being victorious in a gruesome Kalinga War, yet filled with deep remorse for the bloodshed of the war. Although he was a major historical figure, little definitive information was known as there were few records of his reign until the 19th century when a large number of his edicts, inscribed on rocks and pillars, were found in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. These many edicts were concerned with practical instructions in running a kingdom such as the design of irrigation systems and descriptions of Ashoka's beliefs in peaceful moral behavior. They contain little personal detail about his life.[4]

List of the Minor Pillar Edicts

Asoka’s Minor Pillar Edicts are exclusively inscribed on several of the Pillars of Ashoka, at Sarnath, Sanchi, Allahabad (a pillar initially located in Kosambi), Rummindei and Nigali Sagar. They are all in the Prakrit language and the Brahmi script.

These pillar edicts are:[1]

The Schism EdictsAsoka’s injunction against shism in the Samgha. Found on the Sarnath, Sanchi and Allahabad pillars.These are among the earliest inscriptions of Ashoka, at a time when inscription techniques in India where not yet mature. In contrast, the lion capitals crowning these edicts (Sarnath and Sanchi) are the most refined of those produced during the time of Ashoka.[5]

All the Schism edits are rather fragmentary, but the similarity of their messages permit a clear reconstruction:

The Queen's EdictAshoka announces that his second queen should be credited for her gifts. Found on the Allahabad pillar.

Commemorative inscriptions

Although generally catalogued among the "Minor Pillar Edicts", the two inscriptions found in Lumbini and at Nigali Sagar are in the past tense and in the ordinary third person (not the royal third person), suggesting that are not pronouncements of Ashoka himself, but rather later commemorations of his visits in the area.[6] Being commemorative, these two inscriptions may have been written significantly later than the other Ashokan inscriptions.[6]

The Lumbini pillar inscription

See main article: Lumbini pillar inscription. Records the visit of Ashoka to Lumbini, location of the birth of the Buddha, in today's Nepal.

The Nigali Sagar pillar inscription

See main article: Nigali Sagar. At Nigali Sagar, Ashoka mentions his dedication for the enlargement of the Stupa dedicated to the Kanakamuni Buddha.

Inscription techniques

The inscription technique of the early Edicts, particularly the Schism Edcits at Sarnath, Sanchi and Kosambi-Allahabad, is very poor compared for example to the later Major Pillar Edicts, however the Minor Pillar Edicts are often associated with some of the artistically most sophisticated pillar capitals of Ashoka, such as the renowned Lion Capital of Ashoka which crowned the Sarnath Minor Pillar Edict, or the very similar, but less well preserved Sanchi lion capital which crowned the very clumsily inscribed Schism Edict of Sanchi. These edicts were probably made at the beginning of the reign of Ashoka (reigned 262-233 BCE), from the year 12 of his reign, that is, from 256 BCE.[3]

According to Irwin, the Brahmi inscriptions on the Sarnath and Sanchi pillars were made by inexperienced Indian engravers at a time when stone engraving was still new in India, whereas the very refined Sarnath capital itself was made under the tutelage of craftsmen from the former Achaemenid Empire, trained in Perso-Hellenistic statuary and employed by Ashoka.[7] This suggests that the most sophisticated capitals were actually the earliest in the sequence of Ashokan pillars and that style degraded over a short period of time.[8]

The Rummindei and Nigali Sagar edicts, inscribed on pillars erected by Ashoka later in his reign (19th and 20th year) display a high level of inscriptional technique with a good regularity in the lettering.[7]

Description of the Minor Pillar Edicts

The Minor Rock Edicts of Ashoka are exclusively inscribed on some of the Pillars of Ashoka, at Sanchi, Sarnath, Allahabad, Rummindei and Nigali Sagar.

Name !! scope = "col"
Location !Map Pillar & inscription Capital/ Close-up
Sarnath


(Lion Capital of Ashoka)
Located in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh
Schism Edict.[9]

Sarnath Schism Edict of Ashoka:
Located in Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh
Schism Edict.

Sanchi Schism Edict of Ashoka:

See main article: Allahabad pillar. Located in Allahabad (originally in Kosambi, Bihar
Schism Edict, Queen's Edict. Several Major Pillar Edicts (1-6) are also inscribed.

Allahabad Schism Edict of Ashoka:

Allahabad Queen's Edict:

Rummindei
/Paderia
Located in Lumbini, Nepal
Rummindei Edict.

Rummindei Edict of Ashoka:


Nigali SagarLocated in Nigali Sagar, Nepal
Nigali Sagar Edict.

Nigali Sagar Edict of Ashoka:


See also

Related topics
Other similar topics

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. 1997. Columbia University. Oxford University Press. Delhi. Romila Thapar. 12 July 2018. 17 May 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170517144931/http://www.learn.columbia.edu/indianart/pdf/asoka_thapar.pdf. dead.
  2. The True Chronology of Aśokan Pillars, John Irwin, Artibus Asiae, Vol. 44, No. 4 (1983), pp. 247-265 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3249612?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
  3. Yailenko . Valeri P. . Les maximes delphiques d'Aï Khanoum et la formation de la doctrine du dhamma d'Asoka . Dialogues d'Histoire Ancienne . 16 . 1990 . 239–256 . fr-FR. 10.3406/dha.1990.1467 .
  4. Web site: The Edicts of King Ashoka. 15 March 2007. Ven. S. Dhammika. https://web.archive.org/web/20070314160034/http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html. 14 March 2007.
  5. Irwin . John . The True Chronology of Aśokan Pillars . Artibus Asiae . 44 . 4 . 1983 . 247–265 . 3249612 . 10.2307/3249612 .
  6. Book: Beckwith . Christopher I. . Greek Buddha: Pyrrho's Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia . 2017 . Princeton University Press . 978-0-691-17632-1 . 246 . en.
  7. Irwin . John . The True Chronology of Aśokan Pillars . Artibus Asiae . 44 . 4 . 1983 . 250&264 . 10.2307/3249612 . 3249612 .
  8. The True Chronology of Aśokan Pillars, John Irwin, Artibus Asiae, Vol. 44, No. 4 (1983), pp. 264 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3249612?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
  9. The Geopolitical Orbits of Ancient India: The Geographical Frames of the ... by Dilip K Chakrabarty p.32