CLASS110 Lecture Notes - Transact, Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, Arthashastra
7 Dec 2013
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Analyze in detail asoka"s conception of dhamma and its connection to his rule. Firstly there is the religious element, derived from asoka"s. Buddhist faith, which led him to act piously himself, to encourage buddhists, and to exhort his subjects, whatever their religion, to follow the basic essence which he claimed was common to all religions. The natural counterpart to this was a desire to provide for the physical comfort of and security of his people. Thus he decreed a range of measures comparable to those of a modern secular government - protections of the rights of those accused of crimes, provision of wells, and so on. Needless to say, there is no clear division between these three elements, and many sections of the edicts fulfil more than one aspect. The principle of non-violence, for example, is simultaneously a fundamental buddhist doctrine, a means of peaceful coexistance, and a means for the king.
