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Art. XIX.—The Authorship of the Piyadasi Inscriptions.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 March 2011
Extract
The numerous inscriptions on rocks and stone pillars which purport to have been issued by command of a sovereign named Priyadarśin or Piyadasi, and a few which omit the sovereign's name while using the title specially affected by King Piyadasi, obviously form a distinct class among Indian epigraphical records and belong approximately to one period. The exceptional value and the extreme interest of these inscriptions have always, since their first discovery, been recognized by all students of Indian history and antiquities, and for nearly seventy years the Piyadasi class of inscriptions has been studied and discussed by eminent scholars. Before these invaluable records can be fully and confidently utilized for the elucidation of the dark places of Indian history, two preliminary problems must be definitely solved. These problems are, firstly, Were all the Piyadasi inscriptions issued by one sovereign, or by two or more sovereigns? and secondly, Who was Piyadasi, and what is his place in history?
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References
page 483 note 1 The older writers erroneously divided this edict into two, Nos. VII and VIII.
page 490 note 1 The Viceroys at Taxila and Ujjain are expressly mentioned in the so-called First Detached Edict at Dhauli and Jaugaḍa. The Second Detached Edict mentions a prince stationed at Tosalī. The Siddāpura Edicts were issued by command of another prince stationed at Suvarṇagiri. Unfortunately the sites of Tosalī and Suvarṇagiri are not known. The towns were in the southern provinces. The so-called Second Detached Edict is prior to the so-called First.
page 492 note 1 The exact date of the so-called First Detached (Kalinga) Edict cannot be fixed, but it is later than the so-called Second.
page 492 note 2 The Clergy Edict of Bhabra probably belongs to the same period of the reign.
page 494 note 1 Bühler, , from Shāhbāzgaṛhi versions in Epigraphia Indica, vol. ii, p. 472Google Scholar. M. Senart gives the following translation from the Girnār recension:— “Cet édit a été gravé par le roi Piyadasi, cher aux Devas, sous une forme soit abrégée, soit d'étendue moyenne, soit développée, et tout n'est pas réuni partout; carmon empire est grand, et j'ai gravé beaucoup, et je ferai encore graver. Certains Préceptes sont répétés avec insistance, à cause de l'importance particulière que j'attache à voir le peuple les mettre en pratique.” (“Inscriptions de Piyadasi,” vol. i, p. 322.)
page 496 note 1 Indian Antiquary, vol. vii, p. 144. A partial parallel is supplied by the ‘Sacred Edicts’ issued by the second emperor of the present dynasty in China.
page 496 note 2 The Shāhbāzgaṛhi recension favours Sanskritized forms.
page 496 note 3 I prefer to render dhamma by the phrase ‘Law of Piety,’ rather than by ‘Sacred Law,’ as Bühler, or by ‘religion,’ as M. Senart does.
page 497 note 1 Buhler's translation of the Shāhbāzgaṛhi recension. M. Senart translates the Kālsī recension as follows:— “Dans la neuvième année de son sacre, le roṙ Piyadasi cher aux Devas a fait la conquête du territoire immense de Kalinga. Des centaines de milliers de créatures y ont été enlevées, cent mille y ont été frappées, bien des fois le même nombre y sont mortes. Alors le roi cher aux Devas s'est aussitôt depuis 1'acquisition de Kalinga tourné vers la religion, il a conçu le zèle de la religion, il s'est appliqué à la diffusion de la religion—si grand est le regret qu'a ressenti le roi cher aux Devas de ce qui est passé dans la conquête du Kalinga. En effet, en conquérant le territoire qui ne m'était pas soumis, les meurtres, les morts, les enlèvements d'hommes qui s'y sont produits, tout cela a été vivement et douloureusement ressenti par moi, le roi cher aux Devas.” (“Les Inscriptions de Piyadasi,” vol. i, p. 308; vol. ii, p. 69.)
page 499 note 1 Indian Antiquary, vol. vii, p. 143. note.