The Mauryan Polity c6.s4.t1.1

c6.s4.t1.1

We may point out *en passant* that the Aśokan inscriptions betray a scheme of decentralisation, the signs of which are already visible in the *Arthaśāstra*. The insistence on the principle of *svadharma* in the Kauṭalīya,² and the inculcation of the laws of dharma or practice of morality by Aśoka have no other end in view than the attainment of heavenly bliss. If this was the chief purpose of the state, what were then the proximate ends which contributed to the realization of this ultimate end?