________________
ADMINISTRATION OF KALINGA
213
noted for their learning, eloquence and piety. The release of prisoners and the doing of favour to miserable, helpless and diseased persons. The prohibiting of slaughter of animals for half a lunar month during the period of chāturmāsya, for four nights during the full moons, and for a night on the day of the birth-star of the conqueror King and on that of the national star, the prohibiting as well of the slaughter of females and young ones and the castration of males.”
We have seen above that Asoka took maximum care to apply these principles to the newly acquired country of Kalinga. Rather, it would be difficult to name a monarch who devoted more care and attention to the welfare of his subjects than Aśoka.
It cannot be denied that indirectly the province of Kalinga had gained considerably. The missionary activities of Asoka was a source of two boons. In his time, the entire country had been completely Aryanised, so that there was fusion of diverse races into one nationality, rather one political union. Owing to the stupendous efforts put forth by Aśoka for the diffusion of his faith, the communication between one province and another became more frequent and brisk, and so the country and the people of Kalinga came into close contact with the rest of India.
It may be expected that the people of Kalinga had their own dialect. But, in order to keep themselves in contact with people of other provinces, they accepted Pali or monumental Prakrit—the language which enjoyed the status of being the lingua franca of India in Aśoka's time. D.R. Bhan. darkar? opines that originally Pali must have been some local dia lect. But when it was raised to the rank of a universal
1. Agoka, pp. 251-2.
Jain Education International
For Personal & Private Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
