260BCc. 260–232 BC · Delhi

Ashoka's edicts and the Delhi pillars

Ashoka's polished stone pillar standing on the ruined arcaded terrace of Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi — Photo: Rangan Datta. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

After his bloody conquest of Kalinga, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka turned to Buddhism and had his principles of restraint and tolerance carved on rocks and pillars across his empire. They are the earliest datable texts from India. One pillar, moved to Delhi by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq in the 14th century, helped James Prinsep decipher the Brahmi script in the 1830s.

Political History
Religious & Pilgrimage
Archaeology
Delhi & Agra, India

Sites

Site 1: Ashokan pillar, Feroz Shah KotlaPolished sandstone pillar with Brahmi edicts, set on a ruined palace terrace.Map ↗
Site 2: Ashokan rock edict, SrinivaspuriInscribed outcrop under a shelter in a small residential park.Map ↗