Ashoka - protected-animals

Source: TW

As part of our study of the vulgar register of Late Old IA we found the Skt cognates & attempted identification based on that & a lexicographic search. We paste that below:

devAnAmpiye piyadasi lAja hevam ahA saDuvIsati-vasa-abhisitena me imAni jAtAni avadhiyAni kaTAni seyathA -

The beloved of the gods, king priyadarshin spoke thus: [having been] annointed for 26 years the following beings were declared unkillable by me, namely (seyathA= tadyathA):

suke sAlikA alune chakacAke haMse nandImukhe

  • suke: shuka: parrot
  • sAlikA: shArikA: mynah
  • aluna: aruNa: spotted eagle
  • chakacAke: chakravAka: Brahmany goose
  • haMsa: haMsa: common goose
  • nandImukha: nandimukha: comb duck

gelATe jatUkA ambA-kapIlikA daLI anaThika-maChe vedaveyake gaMgA-pupuTake saMkuja-maChe kaphaTa-sayake paMna-sase simale saMDake

  • gelATa: gairATa: hill mynah
  • jatUka: jatUkA: bat
  • amba-kapIlikA: ambA-pippIlikA: queen ant
  • daLI: dauleya/Duli: terrapin
  • anaThika-maCha: anasthika-matsya: sharks
  • vedaveyaka: vaidarveyaka: Himalayan(?) porcupine
  • gaMgA-pupuTake: gaMgA-puppuTaka: Gangetic gharial
  • saMkuja-maCha: saMkuchi-matsya: skate
  • kaphaTa: kamaTha: tortoise
  • sayaka: sAyaka: porcupine
  • paMna-sasa: parNa-shasha: squirrel
  • simala: shrImara: Sambar deer
  • saMDaka: shANDaka: Mithun(?)

okapiMDe palasate seta-kapote gAma-kapote save chatupade ye paTibhogaM no eti na cha khAdiyatI <> eLakA chA sUkalI chA gabhinI va pAyamInA va avadhiya<>ke…

  • okapiMDa: okapiNDa: Stinkbug (?)
  • palasata: parasvat: ass
  • seta-kapota: shveta-kapota: White dove
  • gAma-kapotA: grAma-kapota: Village pigeon
  • save chatupade: sarve chatuShpadaH: all tetrapods
  • ye paTibhogaM no eti na cha khAdiyatI: which are neither used for entertainment nor eaten.
  • eLakA: ajakA: she-goat
  • sUkalI: sUkarI: sow
  • gabhinI va pAyamInA va avadhiya<>ke: those pregnant and nursing are unkillable.