The Mauryan Polity c11.s1.t3.3

c11.s1.t3.3

Aśoka’s special insistence on the moral and ethical relations¹ among men and women because of the fleeting nature of life, has been taken by some scholars to mean that Aśoka had no respect for the rituals and ceremonials pertaining to the religion of the land. There is no evidence to demonstrate that Aśoka condemned them. Insistence on a general principle is not the negation of the existing practices. For example, the Bhagavad Gītā which insists on the svadharma so much in all its eighteen chapters concludes by saying “Give up all dharmas. Identify yourself with me. I shall emancipate you from the bondage of all sins.” On this account can we say that the Gītā teaches here against the practice of dharmas and prescribes giving them up? Certainly not. This is exactly the position with regard to the moral precepts of the Aśokan inscriptions.