International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

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Ashoka the Literatus: Evidence from the Edicts for a Scholar-King of Literature

Author(s) Prof. Dr. VIJAYALAXMI RAJIV SHINDE, Mr. Adv. RAJIV AMBADAS SHINDE
Country India
Abstract This paper argues that the third-century BCE Mauryan emperor Aśoka deserves recognition as a scholar of literature, not merely a patron or propagandist of letters. The argument rests on three classes of evidence drawn directly from his inscriptions and from the philological scholarship devoted to them. First, the edicts constitute a deliberate, monumental literary corpus distributed across three material registers — natural rock faces, polished stone pillars, and excavated cave walls — each requiring distinct craft (Michel & Friedrich, 2024; Talim, 2010). Second, the corpus is an early masterpiece of multilingual composition, surviving in three languages written in four scripts (Francis, 2021; Thapar, 2011). Third, and most decisively, the Bhabru (Calcutta–Bairat) edict contains a bibliographic prescription: the king names seven specific texts of Buddhist scripture and commands that monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen study and memorize them (Jayawickrama, 1980; Sanjānā, 1898). Close reading of this edict shows an individual who has read, selected, and curated a canon — the essential acts of the literary scholar.
Keywords King Ashoka, Mauryan Empire, Ashokan edicts, scholar of literature, multilingual and multiscalar literacy, Brāhmī or Dhammalipi, Kharoṣṭhī, Greek, Aramaic
Field Sociology > Linguistic / Literature
Published In Volume 8, Issue 4, July-August 2026
Published On 2026-08-18
DOI https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i04.86011
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CrossRef DOI prefix of IJFMR is 10.36948/ijfmr

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