Early India and Pakistan to Ashoka c10.3

c10.3

It is just possible that Ashoka had Seleukid blood in his veins; at least his reputed vice-royalty of Taxila in the Punjab during the reign of his father would have introduced him to the living memory of Alexander the Great, and, as king, he himself tells us of his proselytizing relations with the Western powers. But, though on one notable occasion he used Greek and Aramaic as his vehicle, it is as an Indian that he speaks to us through the graven rocks and pillars that bore his message to his people, from Afghanistan and the North-west Frontier to Mysore: his message of Moderation and Gentleness and Tolerance and Piety; his exhortation to forgo silliness and superstition and to regard the sacredness of life. And then, 'Let small and great exert themselves', he proclaims sharply from the granite slopes of that Brahmagiri which, with its ancient town-site and its megaliths, has recurred more than once in this survey. The alternation of a meekness which sometimes partakes of sentimentality with a recurrent and redeeming toughness is a dual character that has reappeared down to modern times amongst the greater Indian leaders.