Indian Buddhism, Indology, Asoka Edicts

A fresh and original translation from Sanskrit of the dashrajnya hymn (hymn 7.18 of Rig Veda) describing this defining battle between Aryan king Sudas and his Aryan as well as non-Aryan foes. The decisive battle led to the uprooting of many tribes from the Sapta Sindhu area.

Many existing beliefs are shown to be merely due to misunderstandings. Further, it is shown that the existing translations fall well short of the true meaning.
For example, no Matsya tribe was involved in this battle.

The Theravada tradition claims that the Buddha taught in Pali. This
conflicts with most current scholarship. Yet insights from linguistics and
close reading of sources suggest that the Theravada account has not been disproved, that it could be correct, and that it even represents a stronger hypothesis than the current consensus. Instead of authorising translation of his teaching into dialects, the Buddha promoted a fixed transmission and the use of standard language. That the Buddha spoke Māgadhī is a late tradition; Tipiṭaka commentaries instead defined Māgadhabhāsā, ‘Magadha language’, as Ariyaka, ‘Aryan’, the canonical term for the Indo-Aryan language. Pali has the expected features of a natural standard language and can be seen as a precursor of Epigraphic Prakrit. This working hypothesis suggests a bolder stance for Pali studies of claiming that Pali is in all probability the formal language of the Buddha.

En este ensayo se discute la naturaleza del concepto Dhamma, tal como fue usado por Aśoka, el tercer rey de la dinastía Maurya. La cercanía de éste personaje con la comunidad budista, y la ambigüedad del concepto han generado una discusión en torno a su posible utilización como una idea específicamente budista y como un instrumento doctrinal en favor de esa comunidad. Sin embargo, deben plantearse varias preguntas: ¿era Aśoka un verdadero adepto a la religión budista?, y si lo era, ¿formuló su concepto de Dhamma a partir de los principios doctrinales del budismo? Habiendo respondido a esto podremos ver si el Dhamma de Aśoka realmente tuvo su origen en la doctrina budista o si, por el contrario, respondía a otros factores y a otras motivaciones.

In his edicts, the emperor Aśoka Maurya extols brāhmaṇas, usually alongside ascetics (śramaṇas), as deserving honor and generosity, though he never alludes to their connection with ritual, the central theme of early Brahmanical literature. On the other hand, in Rock Edicts I and IX, he disparages sacrifices, and ceremonies performed by women, advocating instead the practice of ethical virtues. Close attention to the wording of Rock Edict IX shows that Aśoka and the Brahmanical Gṛhyasūtras talk about domestic rites in very similar terms, even describing them with the same adjective (uccāvaca). Both of them note the special role of women as a source of knowledge of such ceremonies, and differ only in how they evalute the value of such ceremonial: Aśoka disparages women’s rites, while some Gṛhyasūtras explicitly validate women as authorities in such matters. A comparison of these sources highlights the distinctive role of the term dhamma in Aśoka’s usage in contrast to maṅgala (auspicious folk rites), and may provide some guidance for dating the Gṛhyasūtras. The fact that Aśoka does not explicitly connect such rites with the brāhmaṇas suggests that in his experience at least (i.e., in Magadha) Brahmins’ religious authority had nothing to do with domestic ritual. We may conclude that the Vedic canonization of Gṛhya ritual norms was not yet recognized outside of priestly circles, if it had developed yet at all.

The Vedic Puranas and Rajtarangni of Kalhana mention two or more Buddhist monarchs of India with the name of Ashokas, the first one ruled 100 years after Buddha’s death and another ruled around 216 years after Buddha’s death that is credited with building Viharas and stupas. The accidental discoveries of various Buddhist Dharma edicts erected by a king “Devan Priya-Piyadassi “ remained a puzzle to colonial historians for several years, until a discovery was made at Maski in south India that attached the name “Ashoka” to the epithet “Devanpriya-Piyadassi”.  Without well thought out research, the colonial archeologists hit the writing desk and projected that based on Maski edict, all edicts that have been discovered must belong to Ashoka Maurya, a very hasty and convenient conclusion after equating the Mauryan dynasty to Alexander’s invasion of Asia. Purana and other texts that provide genealogical orders were hastily ignored or set aside as it did not fall into earlier assumptions of equating corrupted Greek names of Indian kings that Alexander never encountered. On the other hands, Hindu Puranas never provided sufficient details to satisfy those who were rushed to the conclusion

Julia Shaw & John Sutcliffe (2003) Water Management, Patronage Networks and Religious Change: New evidence from the Sanchi dam complex and counterparts in Gujarat and Sri Lanka, South Asian Studies, 19:1, 73-104,
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02666030.2003.9628622?src=recsys

OPEN ACCESS download available here -
http://basas.org.uk/our-work/collaborative-projects/landscape-water-religion-india/

ABSTRACT: As described in earlier papers (Shaw & Sutcliffe 2001; 2003) sixteen ancient dams in the Vidisha and Raisen districts of Madhya Pradesh, central India were documented during a multi-phase archaeological survey carried out between 1998 and 2000 (Shaw 2000; In press -a, -b). In addition to recording new field observations in
the Sanchi area, this paper draws on comparative archaeological and hydrological evidence from Gujarat and Sri Lanka, discussed only briefly in our earlier papers (Shaw and Sutcliffe 2001; 2003). In 2002, the opportunity was taken to visit Junagadh in Gujarat,
where the inscription of the Ksatrapa ruler, Rudradaman, refers not only to the earlier construction and subsequent improvement of the dam during the Mauryan period,
but also its successive repair as flood damage occurred (Kielhorn 1905-6). Later repairs are also mentioned in the inscription of Skandagupta (Bhandarkar 1981c; Fleet
1888). Known for over a century from these inscriptions, the physical remains of the dam were only located on the ground relatively recently {Mehta 1968). The main aim of our visit was to verify Mehta's archaeological claims, which appear not to have been fully incorporated into subsequent historical scholarship.

The second aim of this paper is to draw on possible technological and historical links between the dam complexes in Sanchi and Gujarat. Comparisons are also possible with the more or less contemporary developments in the dry zone of Sri Lanka, where information is available on advances in dam construction and control structures from c. 3rd century BC onwards (Parker 1909; Brohier 1934 (reprint
1979)). Although the scale of the larger Sri Lankan reservoirs is considerably greater than the Sanchi examples, and the hydrological backgrounds are different, there are historical and technical similarities between the two developments. These inter-regional
comparisons shed considerable light on the possible history and function of the Sanchi dams, as well as the administrative systems that lay behind their construction and upkeep. They also provide the basis for building an integrated model of religious and social change, our principal hypothesis being that the control of water harvesting and irrigation facilities was not only a means of political legitimisation for local rulers, but also formed a central component of the Buddhist sangha's propagative strategies.

Indian Historians discussed their diverse opinion on Buddhism but most strange commonality in their writings is that they all seem to be biased against Buddhism and there were many instances when a same charge was repeated by different historians without even referring each other. However, being authorities of Indian history their writings remained unchallenged. The purpose of this paper is to throw light on the discrepancies in the writings of mainstream Indian historians and to present a correct and true picture of Buddhism.

This is a revised version of my paper presented in the 87th International Buddhist Research Seminar, Nan Buddhist College organised during 18-20 February 2016. The original paper is available at http://www.ojs.mcu.ac.th/index.php/JIBS/article/view/1/pdf001

A recenziókban részletes és alapos ismertetését valamint értékelését adom a következő két kötetnek:
1.  Az indológus indián − Baktay Ervin emlékezete, szerk. Kelényi Béla, Budapest, Hopp Ferenc Kelet-Ázsiai Művészeti Múzeum, 2014, 448 p.
2. BAKTAY Ervin: Amrita Sher-Gil művészete, ford. HEGYMEGI KISS Áron, szerk. és kísérőtanulmány: KELÉNYI Béla, Budapest, Hopp Ferenc Ázsiai Művészeti Múzeum, 2015, 36 p.

Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft - Beiheft 27

ISBN 9783897545601; 364 S., Festeinband, Fadenh.

https://roell-verlag.de/epages/bffcc1fb-060d-4066-bf9c-ddec607b2cb7.sf/de_DE/?ObjectID=20730741

Der vorliegende Band „Tocharische Texte zur Buddhalegende“ vereint
fünf zentrale Texte der Buddhalegende in westtocharischer Sprache:


Kapitel I: Die Speisung des Bodhisattva vor seiner Erleuchtung (B107)
Kapitel II: Die Bekehrung der Kāśyapa-Brüder (B108)
Kapitel III: Die Geschichte von der Nonne Sundarī (B15–18)
[Überarbeitung der in MSS 68/1 (2014), 31–99 erschienenen
Erstveröffentlichung.]
Kapitel IV: Die Geschichte von Devadatta und Ajātaśatru (B21–22)
[Überarbeitung der in MSS 69/1 (2015), 51–121 erschienenen
Erstveröffentlichung.]
Kapitel V: Die Parinirvāṇa-Geschichte (B27–29)

This article emphasis on evaluating the idea of Emperor Aśoka especially from Pillar Edict Seven. The comparison is made on the basis of the context, ideas and emotions that are depicted on the pillar. An emphasis is also made on comparing the edict line by line in order to understand different dimensions plotted by the Emperor depending on situation, place and society. It is very clear that inscriptions of Aśoka play a vital role in illuminating ancient history. This paper is primary aimed to provide a concise but comprehensive manner of understanding about the ideas of Emperor Aśoka in erecting pillar edict seven. Nevertheless, this paper is supposed to be a descriptive analysis and also my own understanding of pillar edict seven.

The Harappan seals contain several linguistic symbols which have not been properly understood so far.Through my works especially- Indus script decipherment breakthrough, PaNameTa-the troy tower weight  and measure system of Harappa, The Harappan Symbol Of 
Man+ Trident And Its Relation To Kausika Visvamitra  And The Kalinga Malla MeTas( Tower Weights), The Harappan Unicorn And The Kalinga Malla MeTas(Tower Weights) , The Harappan Symbol Of  Intersecting Circles And Its Relation  To Kausika Visvamitra And The Kalinga Malla MeTas( Tower  weights), The Harappan Contest Motif Of Nude Man With Six Locks Of Hair Fighting  Two Tigers And Its Relation To The Kalinga Malla MeTas( Tower Weights), The Harappan symbols of Roots, Nuts And Cocks And Their  Relation    To Kausika Visvamitra And The Kalinga Malla MeTas( Tower  weights), Identification Of KaNva In The Indus Script, Identification Of Troy In The Indus script,Identification Of Barley And Mustard In The Indus Script, Krishna’s Mathura And Dvaraka In The Indus Script, The Pinna In The Indus Script, The Identity Of Vedic Sarasvati And The Location Of Krishna’s Dvaraka, Identification Of Vedic Bharadvaja In The Indus  Script, Krishna’s Dvaraka  In The Indus Script, One Symbol  Of Indus Script Can Tell  A Lot About The Indus Valley Civilisation, The Identity Of Kasyapa In The Indus Valley And Sumeria, Kusa -The Son Of Rama-In Mesopotamia(Sumer),Indus -Sumer Trade, A Few “Copper” Names In The Indus Script, Janaka-King Of Mithila-In The Indus Script,The Vedic Asvins, Yama And Kartikeya In The Indus Script, The Goddess Sarasvati And The Origin Of Brahmi And Kharoshthi, The Origin Of The Roman Aes Grave From The Indus Valley Money, A Solution To The Mystery Of  The Gundestrup  Cauldron, The Eternal Soma Of The Vedas,              Vedic Roots Of Ancient Egyptian Religion, A Veiled Visvamitra Soma Sacrifice  In The New Testament , The Script Of Indus Valley Civilisation-1:The Script Of Indus Valley Civilisation-2,
The Punny Plough,The Bearded Kings Of The Ancient,
Bharata -The Language Of The Indus Valley Civilisation,
The Script Of Indus Valley Civilisation -3,The Script Of Indus Valley Civilisation-4,Harappan Vedic Sacrificial Feasts In Mesopotamian Art And In The Bible,The Script of Indus valley Civilisation-6 :A Vrishni Silver Coin And Its Harappan Source,The Script of Indus valley Civilisation-7: The Conversion Of Makha(Sacrifice) To Tanka(Mint) In The Indus Script,Script Of Indus Valley Civilisation-8:Vedic Root Of Gudea’s Akshayapatra,Three Men In A Boat Seal Evidence Of Indus –Dilmun Trade,The Script Of Indus Valley Civilisation-9: The Goodluck Symbols Of The Indus Script, The script of Indus valley civilisation-10:Identification Of The True Vedic Soma From Harappan Seals  Confirms The Indus Valley Civilisation As Vedic -

I have shown that several seals contain vedic metrological terms,names of vedic ornaments,names of people, places and gods etc. My perception is that only a comprehensive study of ancient vedic  metrology can decipher the script symbols satisfactorily. A significant find herein is the existence of the Kalinga malla mana system during Harappan times challenging  the common perception of its origin from the later  Kalinga kingdom(Orissa).The unicorn is identified as the pala/nishka/soma.Intersecting circles, fish , crab,bud,tower signs also indicate pala.The six locks of hair indicate  the paNameTa weight of six barley grains.Roots  and nuts indicate viira bhadra/ Drupada/ varaha/pala.We have located Lord Krishna’s Mathura and Dvaraka in the Indus valley scripts.
We have confirmed Mohenjodaro as the first Dvaraka
on the basis of the inscription on the copperplate B7C2 from there and textual evidences from the Rgveda, Mahabharata etc.We have located PadmakuuTa,one of the
palaces of Krishna there.Also we have identified the Sindhu(Indus) as the Vedic Sarasvati river.We have gone through the symbols  identifying the Bharadvajas,the clan of composers of the earliest vedic texts.In Krishna’s Dvaraka we gathered more details from the script on Lord Krishna’s Dvaraka and Sindhu/Sarasvati. We have looked into the
indications of the Harappan jar symbol with three forks on each edge.We have located  the Kasyapas in Hastinapura
trading with Sumeria.We have decoded the Mari Standard,went deeper into the meanings of several Sumerian images and confirmed Meluhha as Vedic Harappa/Indus valley. We have located Janaka,the king of Mithila,father-in-law of Rama, in the Indus script.We have identified the names of copper in the Indus script and located  the Asvins,Yama and Skanda  in the Indus script.In A Model For Indus Script Decipherment
we have identified the deity in the seal M-1181 and built a model for complete decipherment of the Indus script.
We have seen how  Brahmi and Kharoshthi evolved from the Indus Script and how the Indus script was in use along with Brahmi/Kharoshthi even into the  first centuries CE.We have seen how the coins of the ancient world,including the Roman coins evolved from the Indus valley money.
We have looked for  and located a Rosetta Stone for the Indus script, in the varaha/gadyanaka coin form.
We have gone into the relation of the Druids to the Indus valley civilisation and the role of their  Gundestrup cauldron
in the evolution of Christianity.
We have explored the relation of the Anau seal to the Indus Valley Civilisation.
We have gone into the relationship of the Egyptian and Harappan deities.
We have looked into a beautiful story from the New Testament
invoving  the vedic soma sacrifice in A Veiled Visvamitra Soma Sacrifice In The New Testament.
We have studied  the indications of some of the Indus script symbols with particular reference to their use on ancient coins of India .
We have looked into symbolism of the overflowing vase on the Sumerian statue of Gudea and through it we identified the indications of several Indus symbols including the Harischandra vaajapeya sacrifice.
We have seen how the Harappan glyphs served as goodluck symbols .
The identification of the right vedic soma has two important
aspects:First, it ends the long quest for the mysterious soma. Second,it confirms the Indus valley civilisation as vedic ,beyond any doubt.
In this article we are looking into the vedic Daksha Yaaga  and its influence in the life of the Harappans,as well as  other
people.

This research paper is part of my PhD thesis on stone sculptures of yak termination of Kuṣāṇa period. In this images that come from Bharhut currently in India and abroad an exhaustive list (in the table with this paper) and no other female image is yet known to the present author beyond those mentioned here from Bharhut. The formalistic study undertaken follows the methodology suggested by Professor Kannal (1996) in his study of the sculptures of Ellora. It is my attempt to trace individual hands of sculptors at Bharhut and ascribe some of these female images to them. While this methodology has its own loopholes, it opens the possibility Indian sculpture making in its ground reality and has the benefit of understanding sculptures through the art itself. Aesthetics play the primary role in the formation of any visual idiom and it is only through the visual itself that this can be comprehended.

From Alexandria of Arachosia, present-day Kandahar, we have two edicts in Greek issued by the sovereign Maurya Aśoka (c. 270-230 BC). Arachosia, the ancient Eastern satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire − corresponding to present-day southeastern Afghanistan − had long seen the meeting of the Iranian world to the west and the Indian world to the east. As from the end of the fourth century BC, after conquest by Alexander the Great and occupation of the eastern dominions of the Empire by Seleucus Nicator, it was to see a conspicuous Greek presence strikingly attested by the epigraphs of Aśoka. The first edict – discovered in 1957 − is in two languages, Greek and Aramaic, while the second – discovered in 1963 − is in Greek alone. On the basis of texts from the court of Maurya of Pāṭaliputra, both of them constitute summaries of and propaganda for the conversion and moral principles inspiring Aśoka subsequent to his bloody conquest of Kaliṅga. Our aim here is to take stock of certain issues, proposing a new completion for the opening lacuna in the Greek section of the bilingual epigraph, and casting doubt anew on the originality of the Greek texts, considering the attribution of the region to Indian rather than Seleucid rule after the pact (c. 305 BC) between Seleucus Nicator and Candragupta Maurya, Aśoka’s grandfather.

Ever since Joseph Nye described ‘Soft Power’, as a cultural contribution of one country that strongly influences other countries and people, Indians have been demanding that India uses its for this, without actually specifying how. This is when we need to remember that the most powerful cultural export from India in the history of mankind was the Buddhist ideology of peace and non-violence. And in this unique feat, the date that stands out prominently is Vesak, the name by which Buddha Purnima is celebrated by millions in many nations in East and South-East Asia. Several Indian religious celebrations, both Hindu and Buddhist, have been adopted overseas but most people in these countries can barely remember their ancient Indian roots, as these are now their own local or national celebrations.

The Upagupta-avadāna is the shortest and only poetical version of the Upagupta story, of the versions available so far, in the Sanskrit Language (also in its Tibetan translation). Historically Upagupta is regarded as a Sarvāstivādin, which fact also accounts for his being absent in the Pāli literature preserved mainly in Theravāda (Sthaviravāda) lands. In the Buddhist Sanskrit legends (also available in Chinese and Tibetan translations), the historical accuracy of which is often questioned, Upagupta appears as the high priest of Emperor Aśoka. In this poetical version however Kṣemendra, an 11th century poet from Kashmir, deals with only the earlier part of Upagupta’s life. It begins with a verse that captures the theme of detachment from sensual pleasure and narrates the story of Upagupta as a young man looking after his father’s perfume shop (verses 2-5), an account of the famous courtesan (gaṇikā) Vāsavadatta (verses 6-22) who failed in an attempt to allure Upagupta for sexual union and was later punished (verses 23-29) for killing a paramour, revealing the enlightening truth of the fault in sensual pleasures to Vāsavadattā (verses 30-39), ordination under bhikkhu Śāṇavāsin (40-49), taming the Māra in a classic dramatic display of psychic powers (50-71), and concluding it in another didactic verse (verse72). It is remarkable that this version of the story has influenced a literary tradition in Bengali language initiated by a wonderful poem by Rabindranath Tagore and later followed by many others. Following is the first complete English translation of the Upagupta-avadāna based on an edition of the text by P.L. Vaidya and alternative readings for certain words and phrases suggested by J.W. de Jong (see references).