Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c11.s37.32.2

c11.s37.32.2

Aśoka's letter to the Saṅgha (the Calcutta-Bairat inscription or Bhābrū edict as it is called) commending seven scriptural passages to them, far from asserting royal authority, is couched in the most respectful terms and ends with the statement: 'I desire, sirs, that many groups of monks and many nuns may repeatedly listen to these expositions of Dhamma and may reflect on them. In the same way both laymen and laywomen should act. For the following purpose, Sirs, am I causing this, to be written, (viz.) in order that they may know my intention'¹. Surely this expression of opinion on the part of the great king, coming from him at the conclusion of his study of Dhamma, with the aid of the Saṅgha and the reflection that followed upon it, would have been received with all the respect it merited; but this is hardly an instance of the use of authority of any kind, royal or ecclesiastical. The edict on Saṅghabheda can with better justice be regarded as use of royal authority, for in plain terms it orders the officials of the civil administration to see that within their respective jurisdictions all schismatic monks are expelled from the Saṅgha, compelled to wear white robes, and driven to live in places not suited for the residence of monks (avāsa)². But here the authority of the king was obviously invoked by the Saṅgha which had recently experienced great difficulty by the intrusion of undesirable elements within its fold;