Political History of Ancient India, from the Accession of Parikshit to the Extinction of the Gupta Dynasty c15.s2.69

c15.s2.69

It is clear from the extract quoted above that the order regarding *Vyavahāra-samatā* and *Daṇḍa-samatā* is to be understood in connection with the general policy of decentralisation which the Emperor introduced. Aśoka allowed discretion to the *Rājūkas* in the award of penalties, but he did not like that the *Daṇḍa* and *Vyavahāra* prevalent within the jurisdiction of one *Rājūka* should be entirely different from those prevailing within the jurisdiction of others.¹ He wanted to maintain some uniformity (*samatā*) both in *Daṇḍa* (penalties) as well as in *Vyavahāra* (legal procedure). As an instance he refers to the rule about the granting of a respite of three days to condemned men. The *Samatā* which he enforced involved a curtailment of the autonomy of the *Rājūkas* and did not necessarily infringe on the alleged immunity of the Brāhmaṇas from capital punishment.