Question

Which inscription of Ashoka tells about the success of his policy with the hunters and fishermen, who gave up killing animals and took to settled agricultural life?
A) Kandahar inscription
B) Bairat inscription
C) Udegolam inscription
D) Nittur inscription

Answer 1

Hint: From c. 268 to 232 BCE, Ashoka, commonly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian ruler of the Maurya Dynasty who governed practically the entire Indian subcontinent. Ashoka encouraged the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia as the grandson of the dynasty's founder Chandragupta Maurya.

Complete answer:
Around 260 BCE, the Indian Maurya Empire ruler Ashoka declared and etched in stone the Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, a famous bilingual proclamation in Greek and Aramaic.

Let us look at the given options:
A) Kandahar inscription: This is the correct answer. The Ashoka Kandahar inscription is a renowned bilingual decree in Greek and Aramaic, declared and carved in stone by Ashoka, the king of the Indian Mauryan Empire. In 1958, it was discovered. It is an Ashoka inscription that describes the success of his programme with hunters and fishermen who stopped slaughtering animals and moved to a settled agricultural existence.

B) Bairat inscription: This option is incorrect because the Bairat inscription is related to King Ashoka’s belief in Buddhism. It does not tell about the success of his policy with the hunters and fishermen

C) Udegolam inscription: This option is incorrect because this does not describe the success of his programme with hunters and fishermen who stopped slaughtering animals and moved to a settled agricultural existence. Seven months after the discovery of Nittur inscriptions, the inscriptions of Use Golem belonging to Asoka were discovered. Two inscriptions, Edict-I and Edict-II, were also discovered here. The language is Sanskrit, and the edicts are written in Brahmi script. Edict-I is six lines long, with a broken inscription and much of it illegible. Edict-II is a seven-line document in fair condition.

D) Nittur inscription: This option is incorrect because the Nittur inscriptions-I and II are located 112 kilometres south of village Nittur in Bellary district's ShirguppaTaluq. E.Visvanatha, a junior engineer with the Office of the Senior Geologist in Bellary, noticed these two inscriptions. Later, the D.C.Sircar looked into these inscriptions. They do not describe the success of his programme with hunters and fishermen who stopped slaughtering animals and moved to a settled agricultural existence.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (A) i.e, Kandahar inscription.

Note: The Ashoka Edicts are a collection of over thirty inscriptions on pillars, stones, and cave walls credited to Emperor Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire, who reigned from 268 BCE to 232 BCE. These inscriptions may be found in modern-day Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and they constitute the earliest tangible proof of Buddhism.