The Mauryan Polity c7.s1.t13: The king, no despot
The Mauryan Polity c7.s1.t13
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The king, no despot
c7.s1.t13.1
The above observations will then lead to the irresistible conclusion that the king was no despot who harassed the people at his will and pleasure, but a constitutionalist who promoted their welfare at all times, in all places, and at all costs. The king therefore felt that he was only the servant of the state. No pleasure was greater to him than to discharge the duties and responsibilities which he owed to the people and which he regarded as something sacred and religious. Any amount of reading through the several Edicts of Aśoka does not bring home to us the claim of royal prerogatives, privileges and rights. Aśoka tells us clearly and plainly that he would be available to his people at all times, and at all places, even when he dines and even when he bathes.¹ This is surely a lofty conception of the responsibility he feels to discharge, and not a privilege which he desires to abuse. Speaking on the special tone of the Edicts, L. Rice remarks: “Solicitude for the welfare here and hereafter of all his subjects, high and low, is manifest throughout and it extended even to peoples beyond his boundaries in an all-embracing humanity.” A king who feels or is made to feel that he is only a superior servant of the state could hardly be termed an absolute ruler. In the light of the above observations there is no justification for the remark that the Mauryan kings were autocrats or absolutists.
c7.s1.t13.2
¹ s(a)ve kāle bhumj(a) mānasa me orodhanamhi gabhāgāramhi vachamhi va vinītamhi cha uyāneṣu cha sarvatra paṭivedakā ṣitā athe me (ja)nasa paṭivedetha iti| sarvatra cha janasa athe karomi|| VI. R. E. Corpus, p. 11.
c7.s1.t13.3
¹ Mysore and Coorg from Inscriptions, p. 14.