PREFACE
The purposeof this edition of the Edicts of A6oka is
twofold: to make the Edictsavailablein simpleidiomatic Englishand to presenttheir teachingsin intelligible sequence.Many translationsof the Edictsare
available.For the most part, however, translator
have beeninhibited-by a desireto remain faithful
to texts which are often fragmentary,to reproduce
the languageand form of expressionof the original,
and to refect the aumosphereand attitudes of the
times-from expressingthe high idealsand straightforward methodsof ASokain a languagesuitedto his
thoughts. The presenttranslationseeksto give the
Edictsa modern expression,but without distortion
or anachronism;it avoids inversionsand archaisms
it makesexplicit the conjecturalmeaningsand hypotheticalconnectionswhich are presentevenin more
literal and cautiousversions.
The customaryarrangementof the Edicts is according to archeologicalkind and geographicallocation-Rock Edicts, Pillar Edicts, Cave Edicts.They
havebeenarrangedin this edition to permit them to
tell a sequentialstory: I: ASoka'sdescriptionof the
edictsand their relatiousto eachother and to their
circumstances.
II: His accountofhis experiencein the
Kalinga war which led him to the policy put into
efil'ectin the Edicts.III: His purposein promulgating
Dharmaor morality.IV: The meanshe usedin carryxviii
Prefac
ing out this policy. V: His interpretationof Dharma
VI: The applications of Dharma, universal and
particular.
This arrangementis intendedto provide the reade
with meansby which to come to his own interpreta
tion ofthe Edictsand their significanceratherthan to
imposea systemon them or to read a doctrine into
them. The Edicts should speakfor themselves.
Each
Edict is translatedin its entirety. Four of the longer
Edicts-Pillar Edict VII, Rock Edicts V and X, and
the Maski Roclc Edict-have beenbroken into parts
to fit the arrangement,but for the most part the
Edicts have beenprinted as singleunits, even when
their contentsgo beyond the limits of the sectionsin
which they are placed.Clear indicationsare given in
the text and Table of Contentsof the location and
relationsof the parts of the four edictswhich have
been divided. The effect of the reordering of the
Edictsshouldbe to makeit easierto understandthem
asEdicts-the operation,objectives,and assumption
-rather than to translatethem into a moral code,a
philosophicsystem,or religiouscredo.Furtherinformation concerningthe Edictsis found in the Introdlrction; speculationconcerningASoka'sconceptio
of Dharma is found in the Foreword.
ASoka'sEdicts are relevant to the world today.
ASokafaced a problem of tensionsand fearsamong
religioussects,peoples,and nations;he
socialclasses,
soughta constructivepoliry to avoid war by advancing human welfire and happiness.He sought to esPreface
tablishthe community of all mankind on moral law,
on Dharma,rather than on conquest;he soughtto
purify religiousobservances
and to eliminatedoctrinal disputesandsectarianintoleranceby identifying
the commonmoral idealunderlyingdivergentinterpretationsof Dharma; he sought to elevatemoral
practice,not by prescriptionsand imperatives(which
he thought of little value) but by meditation and
insight (by which he soughtto translatethe whole of
morality, politics,and religion into two interdepend
ent obligations-to respect others and to perform
good deeds).Asoka thought of his problemin a remarkably broad geographicscope-embracingnot
only the whole oflndia but extendingthreethousan
miles beyond its boundaries.The problem today is
the problem of mankind, of a commonwealth of
men, of a world community; it is, as ASokarecognized his problem to be, a moral problem of clari$ring the common aspirationson which community
can be establishedand of making pluralismof belie6
concerningthat common end a sourceof enrichmen
and unification rather than a causeof restrictionand
dissension.
'We are
grateful to our colleaguesin the International Institute of Philosophy: ProfessorsRaymond
Klibansky (Mccill University, Montreal, Canada)
A. J. Ayer (University College,London, England),
and Julius Ebbinghaus (Marburg, Germany) and
Dr. A. C. Ewing (Cambridge,England)for reading
and criticizing the translation.
Prefac
W'e have consulted the following texts, and the
reader is referred to them for a variety of versions of
the Edicts and commentaries on them:
(Calcutta:
B. M. Barua, Asokaand His Inscriptions
New Age Publishers,1946).
d'Asoka(Paris:"LesBelles
JulesBloch, LesInscriptions
Lettres,"rgjo).
of ,4soka,CorpusInscriptionu
E. Hultzsch,Inscriptions
Inilicarum,Vol. I (Oxford: ClarendonPress,r9z5).
RadhakumudMookerji,,Asokn(London: Macmillan
& Co., r9z8).
G. SrinivasaMurti and A. N. Krishna Aiyzng*, The
(zd ed.; Madras: Adyar
nilcts of Asoba (Priyadar'sin)
Library,rgir).
(Patna,r9r7).
Inscri2ttions
Ramavatara
Sarma,Piyadasi
,4sokn(rq+8).
Kaisers
des
Die
&likte
W. Schumacher,
Amulya&andra Sen,,Asoka'sEilicts(Calcutta: Indian
Publiciry Society,r9i6).
(Delhi: Governmen
of '4solen
D. C. Sircar,Insoiptions
of Indian PublicationsDivison, rgsT).
Vincent A. Smith, Asoka: The BuddhistEmperorof
India $d ed.; Oxford: ClarendonPress,rgzo).
Vols. I-II
A. C. Woolner, AsokaText andGlossary,
Press,
r9z4).
(Oxford: Oxford University
In consulation with Dr. A. N. Upadhye, M.A.,
D.Litt., Professor of Sanskrit and Prdkrit, Rajaram
College, Kolhapur, we have gone through th" original text and made our own version, taking into account existing translations. Shri K. V. Raghavacher,
M.A., Assistant Professor of Philology, Maharaja's
Preface
College,Mysore, has beenvery helpful in preparin
the text. ProGssorGeorgeV. Bobrinskoyand Dr.
Hansvon Buitenen,of the University of Chicago
mademany suggestions
and criticismsfrom which
we haveprofited.
This edition of the Edics of ASokaforms parr of
the collection of texts planned by the Internationa
lnstitute of Philosophy under the title "philosophy
and World Community." The collection is to consistof a smallnumber of texts which are to be translated and publishedin asmany languagesaspossible.
The collectionis plannedby an Editorial Committee
composedof G. Calogero (Rome). J. Ebbinghaus
(Marburg-L"htr), R. Klibansky (Montreal), Chairman,J. Lameere(Brussels),and R. McKeon (Chicago). The first volume in the serieswas a German
translationof John Locke's A l*au concerning
Toleration.This English translation of the Edicm of
ASokais the secondvolume.
The InternationalInstitute of philosophy was assistedin the preparationof the manuscriptand the
publication of The Edic* of Asoka by a subvention
securedthrough the good officesof the International
Federationof PhilosophicalSocietiesfrom the International Council for Philosophy and Humanistic
Studies.
N. A. Nxau
RrcrrenoMcKnoN
(Jr.rrvensrry
Mysons
and
(Jr.lrysnsrry or Csrcaco