The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c30.12

v1.c30.12

If you ask, ‘With regard to the unsubdued borderers what is the King’s command to us?’ or ‘What truth is it that I desire the borderers to grasp?’—the answer is that the King desires that ‘they should not be afraid of me, that they should trust me, and should receive from me happiness, not sorrow.’ Moreover, they should grasp the truth that ‘the King will bear patiently with us, so far as it is possible to bear with us,’ and that ‘for my sake they should follow the Law of Piety, and so gain both this world and the next.’ And for this purpose I give you instructions. (Kaliṅga Edict I, trans. V. A. Smith, *Asoka*², p. 178.)