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"And this purpose will grow, yea it will grow immensely at least one-and-a half-fold will it increase ingrowth".
"And this purpose must be written on the rocks, both and here afar of; and wherever there is a stone-pillar, it must be written on stone-pillar". And according to this text, so far as your jurisdiction extends, you must send it out everywhere".
"By (me) was the precept composed, when 256 years had passed since the Nirvana of Buddha".
In the Minor rock Edict No. 2, which is found at Brahmagiri Sidhapur, and Jatinga-Rames 'vara, we find the same thing repeated with a slight difference. Emperor Asoka writes there (252):
"Suvannagiri te aya Aputasa mahamatanam ca vacanena isilasi Mahamata arogiyam vataviya. Hevam ca vataviya". Devanam piye anapayati !
"Adhikani adhati yani vaya sumi.. siti Iyam ca savane savapate vyudhena 256.
diyadhiya vadhi
The translation is "By command of the Prince and high officials at Suvaranagiri, the high official at Isila are to be addressed with greetings, and further addressed as follows:
His sacred majesty gives commands: 'For more than two and half ..... grow one and a half fold. And this discipline was preached by? (me) in 256th (year) after Buddha's Nirvana'.
There are mainly two things in the above edicts to be noted: The first in concerning Asoka's joining order, which is experessed by the words "Samghe upete"; the second one the date inscribed in the end of the edicts viz. 256 years after Buddha's Nirvana, expressed by the words "Vyuthena savane kate 256 Satavivasata".
The words "Samghe upete" used in the above Edicts have become a matter of controversy amongst the scholars and different scholars have tried to interpret them in differ
