MCQ
Q.
What is the script of the Ashokan edicts?
Correct Answer: B
The correct answer is Brahmi.
- The Edicts of Ashoka are in total 33 inscriptions written on the Pillars, boulders, and cave walls of the Mauryan Period, during the reign of the Emperor Ashok that are dispersed throughout the Indian Sub-continent covering India, Pakistan, and Nepal.
- Inscriptions found in the eastern parts of the Mauryan empire are written using the Brahmi script in Magadhi language.
- While in the western parts of the empire, the script used is Kharoshti, written in Prakrit. To add to the variety, one extract in the Edict 13 is written in Greek and Aramaic.
- A notable thing in these inscriptions is, that Ashoka refers to himself in many of these inscriptions as “Devampiyaa” which means “Beloved of the Gods” and “King Piyadassi.”
- The world came to know of these details of the Mauryan empire and Ashoka when the edicts and inscriptions were decoded by British Archaeologist James Princep.
Key Points
- These edicts have mentioned that Buddhism as a religion had reached as far as the Mediterranean under the Ashokan reign.
- Many Buddhist monuments had been created in the wide-spread area.
- In these edicts, Buddhism and the Buddha are also mentioned.
- But primarily these edicts focus more on social and moral precepts rather than the religious practices (or the philosophical dimension) of Buddhism during Ashoka’s reign.
