After conquering Kalinga, Emperor Ashoka embraced dharma and nonviolence (ahimsa), yet his own Pillar Edict 4 reveals the death penalty remained. Condemned prisoners received just a three-day reprieve to arrange gifts, fast, or have relatives plead for clemency, but executions could resume afterward. His lion capital later became India's state emblem over 2,000 years later.
Ashoka's pillar edicts preserved death penalty despite Buddhist nonviolence principles
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Key facts
- Ashoka expressed remorse after the bloody conquest of Kalinga and promoted dharma, religious tolerance, and humane government through his inscriptions
- Ashoka is closely associated with ahimsa, the principle of nonviolence toward living beings
- The lion capital from one of his pillars became the state emblem of India more than 2,000 years later
- Major Pillar Edict 4, issued in the 26th year of his reign, addresses officials called Rajukas who had authority to reward and punish people
- The edict grants condemned prisoners a three-day reprieve, during which relatives could try to persuade authorities to spare them
- Prisoners could also give gifts or fast in preparation for the next world during the reprieve
- The most straightforward reading of the edict indicates executions could still take place after the three-day reprieve ended, meaning the death penalty was not abolished
- The evidence that the death penalty continued comes from Ashoka's own edicts, not from hostile sources
Sources
cambridge.org
Linked in video description
The Unknown Revenge of the Kalinga Warindica.today
Even in his “regretful” edicts, Ashoka warns forest tribes of his power to punish, indicating that his approach was not entirely that of a peace ...
Edicts of Ashoka – Rock Edict XIIIpuratattva.in
Thence arises the remorse of His Sacred Majesty for having conquered the Kalingas, because the conquest of a country previously unconquered ...
Which inscription expresses Ashoka's remorse after ...prepp.in
Which inscription expresses Ashoka's remorse after the Kalinga war?
KING ASHOKA: His Edicts and His Timescs.colostate.edu
Asoka tells his subjects that he looked upon them as his children, that their welfare is his main concern; he apologizes for the Kalinga war and reassures the ...
Edicts of Ashoka: Meaning Explained Clearly - Gassho (合掌)gassho.info
Ashoka's remorse after the Kalinga war is most famously associated with Major Rock Edict 13, which describes the suffering caused by conquest
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