The Mauryan Polity c11.s3.t3.36
The Mauryan Polity c11.s3.t3.36
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c11.s3.t3.36
(4) Non-injury to creatures emphasised by the emperor is as much Brahmanical as the Jaina or even Buddhist. Aśoka’s *ahiṃsā* was not of the rigid type peculiar to the Jaina prescriptions. For the practice of slaughtering animals for the royal kitchen was continued. It is more in accord with the epic notions of *ahiṃsā* where it is characterised as *paramo dharmaḥ*. The recognition of this principle is admitted by the Upaniṣads and the early *Dharmasūtras* as well.²