Jainism Early Faith of Ashoka

Author(s): Edward Thomas
Publisher: Trubner and Company London

Page 75

THE EARLY FAITH OF ASOKA.
Plate I. exhibits a facsimile of Tablets 1, 2, of the Girnár rock. Of the former I have merely transliterated the first sentence. But as I have had occasion to extract the full translation of Tablet 2, I have now added the type-text, in the old character, together with an interlineation in Roman letters, which will admit alike of preliminary readings, and suggest further crucial comparisons by more advanced students.
1
41
THE CONTRASTED TENOR OF THE THREE PERIODS OF ASOKA'S EDICTS. PERIOD I., 10TH AND 12TH YEARS AFTER HIS abhishek OR ANOINTMENT.
17.2 Chan
The first sentence of the Rock-cut Edicts, of the twelfth year of Aṣoka's reign, commences textually:"
LE
66
·↓·
· 8
Iyam dammalipi Devanam piyena piyadasiná ráñá lepitá.
· LTTI PRITS C
This is the edict of the beloved of the gods, Raja Priyadasi-the putting to death of animals is to be entirely discontinued."
The second tablet, after referring to the subject races of India and to ". Antiochus by name, the Yona (or Yavana) Raja," goes on to say: "(two designs have been cherished
Dictionaries," by the Rev. F. Kittel, Mercara, Indian Antiquary, 1872, p. 235. F. Muller, "Academy," 1872, p. 319.
1 This type was originally cut under James Prinsep's own supervision. I am indebted to the Asiatic Society of Bengal for the font now employed, which is in the possession of Messrs. Austin. Some slight modifications of the original will be noticed, especially in regard to the attachment of the vowels; but otherwise the type reproduces the normal letters in close facsimile. The most marked departure from the old model is to be seen in the vowel o, which in the original scheme was formed out of the a and "e, thus 1; whereas, in the type, for simplicity of junction, the e and the a have been ranged on one level, in this form IIt will be seen that the Sanskrit Ts has not yet put in an appearance, the local
having to do duty for its coming associate. A full table of the alphabet itself will be found in Vol. V. N.s. of our Journal, p. 422.
2 I quote as my leading authority Professor Wilson's revised translation of the combined texts embodied in the Journ. R.A.S. Vol. XII. p. 164, et seq., as his materials were necessarily more ample and exact than Prinsep's original transcripts, which were unaided by the highly important counterpart and mostefficient corrective in Semitic letters from Kapurdigiri, the decipherment of which was only achieved by Mr. Norris in 1845.