Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c11.s25: Rock Edicts

c11.s25.1

The thirteenth and fourteenth years (252—1 B. C.) after the coronation were marked by the issue of the most important set of proclamations for the whole reign, the Fourteen Rock Edicts, and the two Kalinga Edicts which, in Kalinga, take the place of Nos. 11-13 in the series, and concern themselves particularly with the administration of the newly conquered country. In the Rock-Edicts which were engraved at different places all over the empire, Aśoka sets forth the principles of Dhamma which he wishes to inculcate on his officials and on the people over whom they were set to rule, and the steps he took to secure the observance of these principles within his empire and to propagate them in foreign lands. These we shall consider later in some detail.