IGNOU HISTORY NOTES : India Earliest Times to the 8th Century A.D - Asoka's Policy of Dhamma

IGNOU HISTORY Study Notes for IAS, UPSC Exams

India Earliest Times to the 8th Century A.D

Asoka's Policy of Dhamma

Structure

21.0 Objectives
21.1 Introduction
21.2 Historical Background
21.2.1 Socio-Economic Background
21.2.2 Religious Conditions
21.2.3 Polity
21.3 Distributiop of Inscriptions
21.4 Dhamma - Causes
21.5 Contents of Dhamma
21.6 Asoka's Dhamma as State Policy
21.7 Dhamma - Interpretations
21.8 Let Us Sum Up
21.9 Key Words
21.10Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

21.0 OBJECTIVES

This Unit deals with Asoka's Policy of Dhamma. After reading this Unit you will
be able to understand:

• the historical background of the formulation of the policy of Dhamma,
• the way Dhamma figures prominently in Asokan Edicts,
• the essence of Asoka's policy of Dhamma as explained by him and as manifested in his welfare activities, paternal attitude, etc.,
• the distinction between Asoka as an individual-a believer in Buddhism and Asoka as an emperor initiating a state policy, and
• the various means employed by Asoka to propagate his policy of Dhamma-the role of the Dhamma mahamatras.

21.1 INTRODUCTION

Asoka Maurya, succeeded to the Mauryan throne around 269 B.C. Many historians
consider him as one of the greatest kings of the ancient world. His policy of Dhamma
has been a topic of lively discussion among scholars. The word Dhamma is the Prakrit
form of the Sanskrit word Dharma. Dharnma has been variously translated as piety,
moral life, righteousness and so on, but the best way to understand what Asoka
means by Dhamma is to read his edicts. The edicts were written primarily to explain
to the people throughout the empire the principles of Dhamma. This is why most of
the edicts have something or the other to say about Dhamma, about how keen Asoka
W;S that his subjects should practise Dhamma and how keen he was that the affairs
of the state too were carried out according to the principles of Dhamma. To make
principles of Dhamma accessible and understandable to all, he put up edicts or
inscriptions at the important points throughout the empire and sent messengers of
Dhamma outside the empire.
It must be clearly understood that Dhamma was not any particular religious faith or
practice; so we should not translate Dhamma (or its Sanskrit equivalent Dharma) as
religion. It was also not an arbitrarily formulated royal policy. Dhamma related to
norms of social behaviour and activities in a very general sense and in his Dhamma
Asoka attempted a very careful synthesis of various norms which were current in his
time. To understand why and how Asoka formulated Dhamma and what he meant
hy it, one has therefore to understand the characteristics of the time in which he lived'
and to refer to Buddhist, Brahmanical and various other texts where norms of social
behaviour are explained. 

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