Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2.t3.10

c9.s2.t3.10

The Aśokan inscriptions are written in various MIA dialects which are referred to collectively as the "Aśokan Prakrits." The principal dialect is the eastern, which evidently represents the imperial language of the Mauryan dynasty and its capital at Pāṭaliputra (modern Patna, Bihar). All of the pillar edicts and several of the rock edicts are in this language. Other rock inscriptions, however, are written in the western (notably Girnār) and northwestern ("Gāndhārī"; Shāhbāzgaṛhī and Mānsehrā) dialects.⁶⁶