King Asoka and Buddhism - Urban Dharma

days remains unclear unless the computation was lunar orwas connected with the worship of the relics. The locations ofthe inscriptions are also not consistent. He states that it is tobe inscribed on rocks and stone pillars all over his kingdom.Existing stone pillars would certainly be associated with a siteand probably a site of religious importance. Were the rocks alsoin the vicinity of sacred sites or of populated centres? Not allthese inscriptions are at important Buddhist monastic centresand some seem to have been located close to megalithic settlements.The later imposition of Buddhist centres at certain megalithicsites (such as Amarāvatī) suggests an association whichmay have been evolving at this time. However, the presuppositionof a sacred site is not necessary to the location of theseinscriptions since the text itself makes it clear that the primepurpose was to reach large numbers of people.What is perhaps more significant about the locations of thisedict is that it occurs in large numbers in the peninsula and inthe north along routes leading into the peninsula. The dominantculture of the peninsula at this time was the megalithicculture. It is generally agreed that the megalithic culture waseither prior to state formation or consisted of incipient states.Chiefdoms therefore would have been the recognized politicalforms and doubtless it was these that were gathered upinto the net of Mauryan conquest. The imperial administrationwould thus use two avenues of control: one would be throughits own officers, the āryaputras, kumāras, mahāmātras and rajukas;the other would be through local chiefs. The reference to officersand local chiefs would point to the ethic being propagatedthrough these channels. Interestingly, the definition of dhammain this edict is rudimentary and carries none of the refinementsevident in the Major Rock Edicts. Possibly the reference23