Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2.t3.16

c9.s2.t3.16

The inscriptions of Aśoka are divided into two main groups, rock edicts and pillar edicts. The former group is further subclassified into (major) rock edicts (including the separate rock edicts), minor rock edicts, and cave inscriptions; the latter into (major) pillar edicts and minor pillar edicts. The minor rock edicts were apparently the earliest group, followed by the (major) rock edicts, while the pillar edicts were the last to be promulgated.