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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
equity in the award of punishments. And even so far goes my order, "I have granted a respite of three days to prisoners on whom judgment has been passed and who have been condemned to death." Their relatives will make some of them) meditate deeply (and) in order to save the lives of those (men) or in order to make the condemned) who is to be executed, meditate deeply, they will give gifts with a view to the next world or will perform fasts'. For my wish is that they (the condemned) even during their imprisonment" may thus gain bliss in the next world; and various religious practices, self-restraint and liberality will grow among the people."
REMARKS ON TRE TRANSLATION. a. In note 1 to my German translation of Rock Edict III, I have pointed out that Professor Jacobi has found the Jaina Prakrit representative of lajúka or rájúka (Girnår) in the Kalpasútra, where rajjú means "a writer, a clerk." I have added that lajitka, i.e. lajjala, was an old name of the writer caste, which is later called Divira (Dabir) or Kávastha, and that Aboka calls his great administrative officials simply "the writers," because they were chiefly taken from that caste. Though I do not see any reason to change this view, I now leave the word untranslated, because the rendering "writers" might mislead. Regarding my explanation of ayatá, which I take to be equivalent to pratishthilah, note 2, on Sep. Ed. I, in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Moryenländischen Gesellschaft, vol. XLI.
6. Professor Kern has without doubt correctly explained the general meaning of this sentence. Piyadasi declares that he has made his Lajúkas independent in the discharge of their duties and has abolished the appeals to higher authorities. This follows from the further statement (see below) that he has confided his subjeets to them, just as a man confides his child to an intelligent nurse. I may add that there is a weigbty objection to M. Senart's view, according to which Piyadasi says that he will keep legal proceedings against, and punishments of, the Lajakae in his own hands. For, in all Native States of India a high otficial, who is placed over many hundred thousand souls," is solely answerable to the king for his actions, and it is a matter of course that the same was the case in ancient India, as indeed in all despotic countries. An order enjoining that such men were to be punished by the king alone would have been quite superfluous. As regards the construction, I explain the sentenee in Sanskrit ng fol. lows:-tesham yo' bhiháro vá dando vá (tatral mayá steshá m) svatantratá kritá, and I take atmapatyam (soatantratá] as a substantive, formed according to the analogy of adhipatyam and so forth. The term abhihara occurs in Pali in the sense of “honour, honorarium," see Játakas, vol. V, p. 58, verse 143, and ibid. p. 59, 1. 28f. In the former passage the commentary explains abhiháram by pujam. It is obvious that this meaning fits here excellently.
c. I interpret dhammayutena with Professor Kern by dharmayuklena, i. e. dhar. mayuklyá. M. Separt's attempt to translate it by together with the Faithful,' 1.e.
17 In the interpretation of ava ite (Dh. A.) and dod ite (M. R.) I follow Professor Kern and M. Senart, who explain it by ydvad ital, and I take dvuti with M. Bomart as equivalent to dyuklis. Niita or Hilita has here the same sense as tirita Manu, IX, 238.
>> Niludhasi pi kalasi, literally niruddhe pikale, may be taken in the sense of nirodha kdle pi. Similar phrases occur in Pali, e.g., withydodrarh and andokdrarh chinnadidase for andchdracharanadinase, Jdt. i, p. 300.
