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90 The Häthigumphā Inscription and the Bhabru Edict It would be wrong to assume that the whole canon was defined and closed then. It was, in fact, in a process of evolution and this process continued at least till the first century of the Christian Era. Additions and alterations must have been continuously made suiting to the exigencis of time and land. This tendency is more clearly exhibited in the development of the various schools.
The evidence afforded within the inscriptions of Asoka suggests that he did not cause any edict to be incised on rocks and pillars earlier than his twelfth regnal year. The earliest of his records are R.E. I-IV, M.R.E. I-II, and the two Barabar Cave Inscriptions, of the Year 12. In M.R.E. I he declares his association with the Samgha for the first time. He refers to his visit to the Samgha and to the installation of the Buddha's relics, as also to his setting out on pilgrimage, in this edict. His visit to the Samgha referred to therein could not have been the occasion for giving instructions to the Samgha. The position of the Schism Edict on the Allahabad Pillar just below P.E. I-VI suggests that the Schism Edicts were issued in the Year 26 simultaneously with P.E. I-VI. Asoka assumes the role of the mentor of the Samgha in the Schism Edicts. He also ordains the laity to be mindful of the conduct of the monks and nuns so that they may not violate his orders. This was also the occasion when he should have thought it fit to prescribe compulsory study of certain passages of the scripture so that all members of the congregation might be reminded of the fundamentals of the Buddha's teachings as well as of the ideal conduct prescribed for the bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇis. The Bhabru Edict thus appears to have been issued at the same time as the Schism Edicts. Possibly there were more recensions of this edict, supplied to all the important monastic establishments, but unfortunately only one recension is now available. It is not addressed to a particularly local Samgha but it is addressed to the Samgha generally. By its very nature it appears to be supplementing the Schism Edicts and seems to confirm the assumption of mentor's role by Aśoka vis-a-vis the Samgha in his later days.
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