Pillar Edicts

Set of inscriptions commissioned by the
Mauryan emperor Ashoka (r. 269–32
B.C.E.), containing official pronouncements on royal policy, and advice and
instructions to his subjects on a variety
of topics, including religious toleration.
Although these edicts were found in
widely separated places, the text in each
edict was fairly consistent throughout
the Mauryan empire. The pillar edicts
were inscribed on pillars of polished
Chunar sandstone and placed on the
major roads running through the
empire, where they would have been
visible to passersby. In this respect they
were different from the rock edicts,
which were carved into large boulders in
places near the borders of the Mauryan
empire, thus symbolically defining its
boundaries. See also Maurya dynasty.