Ashokan Rock Edict

As a vibrant and charismatic figure in the ancient India, King Ashoka transcends all of his contemporary kings of ancient India. As a true emperor, this progressive ruler of the Gupta dynasty makes his name, Devanam Priyadarshi meaningful by his acts and deeds. One won’t be able to find such a king of in the entire history of the subcontinent who can share the same credentials with Ashoka.

An ardent follower of Buddha, Ashoka tried to enlighten his subjects by spreading the fundamental principles of Buddhism. One of his methods to popularize his ideology was to inscribe the basic faiths in important place where people assemble more frequently. Most of the rock edicts share similar characteristics and the Kalsi edict seems to be more intact when compared with the other excavated sites.

A pear-shaped quartz rock with a 10 ft height, 10 ft length and 8 ft width at its base is the third among the 14 edicts that are spotted in so many other parts. This edict portrays Brahmi and Prakrit scripts and encompasses the king’s reforms and advises to the people. It also enshrines the outline of an elephant with the word gajatam wrote in between its legs. Rendering of five Greek kings, Antiochus, Magus, Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Alexander helped the excavators to calculate the exact date of the edict, which comes around in 253 BC.