Devanampiye and Piyadasi were the two names that were widely referred to, either separately or together, in the ancient inscriptions and Buddhist literature found across South Asia. The eight-line Pali inscription etched in Brahmi script on a mid-size rock lying at a cave in the middle of an Inselberg convincingly declared that Devanampiye was none other than Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. …
Published : Jul 27, 2023 11:00 IST - 9 MINS READ “In the eighth year after his consecration the beloved of the gods, Piyadasi, the king, conquered Kalinga. for this purpose this letter on the dhamma was written, namely that my sons and grandsons will not consider any other new conquests, that they prefer a conquest as a result of …
THE edicts of Asoka, the third Mauryan emperor, continue to hold relevance even today. Little wonder, the historian Romila Thapar asked, “Had the Brahmi script not been deciphered what would have been the history of early India in which Asoka Maurya was absent?” Indeed, what! In Indian Cultures as Heritage: Contemporary Pasts, Romila Thapar writes: “The edicts of Emperor Asoka …
