Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c8.s1.t2.6

c8.s1.t2.6

Among the three Aśokan dialects the eastern dialect³ clearly predominates, as it was the local language of the imperial capital at Pāṭaliputra (whence it is sometimes referred to as the "Chancellery Language"). The original versions of the edicts were drawn up in this dialect, to be translated later into the other dialects where deemed necessary. The majority of the Aśokan inscriptions, including all the pillar edicts and minor rock edicts (MRE),⁴ as well as the rock edicts at Kālsī, Dhaulī, Jaugaḍa, and Erraguḍi, are in this dialect, and in some of them it is obviously being used far beyond its original geographical range.