The Mauryan Polity c8.s4.t4.19

c8.s4.t4.19

There is an exaggerated statement in the *Aśokavadāna* where Aśoka is said to have totally abolished capital punishment on account of his repentance for having caused death to a monk who was his own unfortunate brother.¹ How this statement has no basis in fact is proved by the inscriptions themselves where the sentence of death is recognized as the punishment for extreme forms of criminal offence. But Aśoka was prepared to mitigate the severity of punishment provided somebody interested in the culprit would get the sentence revoked by satisfying the judicial officers concerned as to their innocence. This reminds us of Kauṭalya’s advocacy of the release of prisoners on payment of proper compensation price.²