Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c9.s2.t3.19

c9.s2.t3.19

The rock edicts are concerned with such matters as the protection of animal life by decreasing the number of creatures killed in the royal kitchen (I); the provision by the king of public works such as medical clinics and tree planting (II); the promotion of public morality (III, IV, VII, XI, etc.); and respect for rival sects (*pāṣaṇḍa*, XII). Of special interest is edict XIII, by far the longest of the group, in which Aśoka expresses his regrets for the enormous loss of life and other suffering inflicted in the course of his conquest of Kaliṅga.