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Notes on Aoka's Fifth Pillar Edict

Author(s): K. R. Norman
Source: The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, No. 1/2
(Apr., 1967), pp. 26-32
Published by: Cambridge University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25202955
Accessed: 31-01-2017 02:58 UTC

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NOTES ON ASOKA'S FIFTH PILLAR EDICT
By K. R. Norman

I
1. In his fifth pillar edict, issued in the 26th year of his reign, ASoka forbade the
killing of certain animals. The relevant portion of the edict, as it appears on the Delhi
Topra pillar, is as follows: imani jdtdni avadhiydni kafdniseyathd suke sdlikd alune cakavdke
hatpse namdimukhe geldfejatilkd atpbdkapilikd (Allahabad version -kipilikd) dafi (Allahabad
version dudi\ Araraj, Nandangarh, and Rampurva versions du(i) anafhikamache vedaveyake
gatpgdpuputake satpkujamache kaphafasayake (Araraj, Nandangarh, Rampurva versions
-seyake) patpnasase simale samdake okapimde palasate setakapote gdmakapote save catupade
ye patibhogatp no eti na ca khddiyati.
2. Although the identity of many of these animals is known, there has been considerable
discussion1 about others, and as recently as 1950 J. Bloch was forced to leave some of the
names untranslated.2 Although B. M. Barua pointed out that naipdimukha- appears (in the
form namdimuha-) in the Jain text Panhdvdgarandbp* it does not seem to have been noticed
that there are other parallels between the ASokan list and that text, and still more with the
more extensive Jain list in the Pannavandsutta.* An attempt will be made here to show that
if the list of animals in the A?okan edict is compared in detail with the Jain lists, and
certain alterations made to the Asokan list, then the animals named in it arc no longer a
somewhat haphazard mixture, but fall into certain well-defined categories. The means
employed to effect this end are not unimportant, since they throw light upon the method
of transmitting and inscribing the pillar edicts.
3. First, certain assumptions must be made, two based upon the interpretation of the
edict itself, and two upon the suggested parallelism with the Jain lists: (a) since A?oka
states that it is forbidden to kill all quadrupeds except those which arc useful or edible,
there is no quadruped specifically named in the list, (b) Since ASoka, elsewhere in this same
edict, forbids the killing of fish on certain days in the year, there is no fish specifically
named in the list, (c) When referring to quadrupeds, water animals, etc., ASoka is following
the same divisions of animal life as are found in the Jain lists, i.e. into sky-goers, water
goers (= fish, crocodiles, turtles, etc.) and land-goers (= reptiles of two classes?breast
goers and arm-goers, and quadrupeds), (d) Since the identifiable parallels in the Jain lists
are in the sections dealing with five-sensed animals, the remaining animals are in this
class too.
4. It can be seen at the end whether the results justify the acceptance of these
assumptions.

1 The most important publications on the subject up to 1933 were listed by J. Charpentier in "Kleine
Bemcrkungcn zum fiinftcn Siiulenedikt des Asoka" {Festschrift Moriz Winternitz, 304, n. 1).
2 Les inscriptions d'Asoka, 166.
3 Suttagame ed., I, 1201.
* ibid., 11,281-4,

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NOTES ON ANOKA'S FIFrH PILLAR EDICT 27

II
1. The animal names may now be discussed in order: (a) suka- is "parrot" (Skt. suka-,
Jain suga-). (b) sdlikd- is "maina bird" (Skt. sdrikd-, Jain mayana-sdla(ga)-). These two
birds are frequently combined in Buddhist literature too (see the Pali-English Dictionary,
s.v. sdlikd-). (c) aluna- is presumably connected with Skt. aruna- "ruddy", and may be
nothing more than an adjective going with cakavdka-. E. H. Johnston, however, pointed
out6 the existence of the modern vernacular form arun for the female red-headed pochard
(Nyroca ferina; Birds* 458) and this identification has been accepted by R. L. Turner
(RLT7 616). (d) cakavdka- is "ruddy sheldrake" (Casarca rutila; Birds 428) (Skt. cakravdka-,
Jain cakkavdga-). (e) hatpsa- is "wild goose, grey-lag goose" (Anscr ferus: Birds 416) (Skt.,
Jain id.). (/) natpdimukha- is quoted from the Bhdvaprakdsa by Monier-Williams in the
sense of "a kind of water-bird". The verse from that text

sthuld kafhord vrttd ca yasydtp cancuh paristhitd \


gufikd jambusadrsiproktd nandimukhiti sd \\
and the etymological meaning of the name, "drum-mouth, drum-beak", make it possible
that this is the comb duck (Sarkidiornis melanonotus; Birds 423). (g) geldfa- is compared by
Turner (RLT 4250) with Lahnda gerfd, etc., "dove". This identification is followed by
Bloch, but since the majority of birds in this list seem to be aquatic birds, it would seem
preferable to adopt Charpentier's view8 that we are to see d(a- "duck" in this word.
Although this suggestion was rejected by Turner because of "the very doubtful equation
-d\a- ~ dti-\ this objection loses weight when it is noted that Pali dfa- is compared with
Skt. dti- (RLT 1127). If this is acceptable, then gela- can be derived < gaira-, and the word
would mean "mountain duck". It might be possible to see some connection with the
vernacular form gairi "the common teal" (Nettium crecca; Birds 443) mentioned by
Johnston.9 Alternatively, since the Brahmi symbol for -e- is an incomplete -o-, it would be
possible to regard geldfa- as a mistake for *goid(a-. Skt. (lex.) has gordfi- and gaurdtikd-,
but in the meanings "Turdus salica" and "kind of crow", which are inappropriate here.
These meanings could perhaps be disregarded, since it is clear that commentators and
lexicographers are not always correct10 in their identifications (namdimuha- is glossed as
sdrikdvisesah in the commentary on Panh.). If *gold{a- is the correct reading it would
presumably mean "reddish duck", which could be the red-crested pochard (Netta rujina;
Birds 456) or the pink-headed duck (Rhodonessa caryophyllacea', Birds 425). The Jain lists
include d<ja- "duck".
2. (a) jatukd atpbdkipilikd (following the Allahabad version) is translated by Hultzsch11
(p. 127) "bats and queen-ants". By I, 3(d), ants should not be included here since they are
three-sensed animals. The Jain lists, however, contain among the birds the pipiliya- (as well
as pipiliya- "ant" among the three-sensed creatures). This bird is said by the commentary

BSOS, VIII, 600.


W. T. Blanford, Fauna of British India: Birds, Vol. IV, London, 1898.
7 Comparative dictionary of the Indo-Aryan languages.
8 op. cit., 305-6.
op. cit., 601.
10 cf. H. R. Kapadia, "The Jain records about birds", ABORl, 43, 106, ? XII.
11 The inscriptions of Asoka, cd. E. Hultzsch, 1925.

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28 NOTES ON ANOKA'S FIFTH PILLAR EDICT

to be one which makes the sound "pi-pV\ Its name is therefore onomatopoeic, and it is
probably identical with the bird variously called pippaka-, pippika-, or pippala- in Skt., and
the water-bird called dal- or jal-pipi in Bengali (RLT 8204). This is the bronze-winged
jacana (Metopidius indicus', Birds 218), whose cry is "peculiar and harsh". ASokan kipilika
would then show the same dissimilation of p- > k- which is seen in the Pali form of the
word for "ant", kipillikd-. (b) If atpbd is then taken with the final -kd- of jatukd, the
resultant kdaipbd- is parallel to kddaipbaka- ("kind of goose with dark grey wings**) in
the Jain lists. The ASokan form of the word can be explained in two ways: (i) it could
reflect the original dialect in which the edict was composed (Old Magadhi?), in which
intervocalic -d~ was lost, or (ii) -a- could have been written by mistake for -da-. The two
Brahmi symbols are no more dissimilar than a and //, which are twice confused in RE XIII
by the scribe at Kalsi. (c) No problem is caused by jatil- since this as well as jatukd- is found
in the sense of "bat**. It is, however, strange to find this animal listed among the water-birds,
unless the Indian fruit bat (Pteropus medius; Mammals12 257), also called the flying fox, is
intended. This frequents water, and is even reported to eat fish, and may therefore be loosely
regarded as an aquatic "bird". The Jain lists contain only the general term cammapakkhi
for bats.
3. (a) dudi (following the Allahabad version) anafhimaclw is translated as "terrapins
and bone-less fish" by Hultzsch. By I, 3(b), no mention of fish is expected, but against this
it could be said that if prawns are to be understood by this term they are not really fish,
but might well be incorrectly named as such, just as a type of skink is called the "sand-fish*'
in some parts of India. A comparison with the Jain lists, however, suggests another solution.
There tortoises and turtles are divided into two classes, affhikacchava- and mamsakacchava-.
As mamsa- is opposed to affhi-, it is presumably a synonym for anaffhi-, and a comparison
of Jain *atta((hikacchava- and ASokan anafhikamacha- suggests that in the latter there has
been metathesis13 of the last two syllables of kachapa- > *kapacha~, which was "corrected"
to kamacha- by a scribe who knew of the alternation -p-/-m- (cf. mana = pana in the third
pillar edict). By dutfi anafhikamache, then, hard- and soft-shelled (? Trionyx; Reptiles14
1.147) turtles are meant, (b) vedaveyaka- is left untranslated by Hultzsch and Bloch,
although Senart suggested16 a derivation < *vaidarveyaka-. Skt. vaidarvya- exists only as
a patronymic < vidarva- "without a hood", i.e. "belonging to the family of the hoodless
(snake)". A byform vedaveyaka- of the form *vedaviyaka- expected from *vaidarvyaka
would present no difficulty in view of ASokan dnaniya- and dnaneya < dnwya-. A transla
tion "hoodless snake" is acceptable when comparison is made with the Jain lists which
have davvakara- "hooded** and mauli- "hoodless'* snakes. Since the animals which precede
and follow in the A$okan list are water animals, it is probable that water-snakes are
intended here. Senart's suggestion "eels" quoted by Woolner (Atoka Glossary s.v.) is not
ruled out, but would be subject to a decision as to whether eels were regarded as fish or not.
In the Jain list of water animals occurs vedhaga-, presumably < vetfaka- in the sense either
of "twisting" (like an eel) or "sloughing" (like a snake, cf. vesf- "to slough"). (c)gamgdpu

11 W. T. Blanford, Fauna of British India: Mammalia, London, 1888.


18 cf. RE IX(M) where Kalsi has pavasati and the other versions prasavati.
14 M. A. Smith, Fauna of British India: Reptiles, 3 vols., London, 1931-43.
16 Les Inscriptions de Piyadasi, Vol. II, p. 49.

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notes on a^oka's fifth pillar edict 29

pufaka- is left untranslated by Hultzsch and Bloch. The existence of the word pulaya- in
the Jain list ofgdha- (crocodile-type aquatic animals) and Skt. (lex.) pofa- "large alligator"
would justify the translation "small crocodile" (i.e. Crocodilus palustris', Reptiles 1.47) for
pupufaka-. The reduplication of pu- could be mere dittography (cf. hotu ti ti in the Delhi
Topra version of the second pillar edict), but a bolder emendation, also involving the
assumption of a scribal error, would be to sec in gatpgdpupu- the beginning of the word
garpgdsusumdle "the Gangetic dolphin" (Platanista gangetica; Mammals 590). The Brahmi
symbols for pa and sa are not dissimilar, and although no certain example of confusion
between the two can be pointed out in the Asokan inscriptions, epigraphists have sometimes
differed in their identification of the two.16 If the scribe had before him a version in which
pa and sa were confused, he could well have omitted -male pu- from gatpgdpupumdle
pufake as his eye slipped from the second pu to the third. A comparable omission can be
seen in the Shahbazgarhi version of RE XIV, where the scribe omitted -yadra- from
priyadrasina because his eye slipped from ya to ia% the Kharosthi symbols for which are
very similar, (d) satpkujamacha- is translated by Hultzsch as "skate-fish" and by Bloch as
"poisson pelotonn?", connecting the word with Skt. sanku-, sankuci- "skate-fish" and
samkuc- "to contract". The form satpkuja- is seen either as an example of the voicing of
-c- > -j-, or as a development < *4ahku-ja-. By I, 3(6), however, "skate-lish" seems to be
ruled out. It would be possible to see a development < sanikuj- "to make a noise", and
translate "grunting-fish". This could only be the sea-cow (Halicore dugong; Mammals 594),
and its inclusion in the list under this name could be justified on the assumption that it was
known that it was not in fact a fish. The sea-cow is found in the Jain lists under the name
sotpdamagara- "makara with a trunk" (cf. Skt. (lex.) karimakara- and hastimakara-).
4. (a) kapha faseyaka- (following the Allahabad version) is translated "tortoises and
porcupines" by Hultzsch, relying on the derivation of kaphafa- < Skt. kamafha- proposed
by Senart,17 and assuming that A6oka wished to include both du<)i- and kamafha- in the
same list. It would seem preferable to see in kapha\a- a form derived with metathesis of
aspirate18 < *khapa(a- "scale (of a fish, etc.)". To this word are related Pkt. khavalla
*'scaly" (a class of fish), and Marathi khava/a- "spot, scale" and khavafya- "scaly" in
khavafya-mdrjdra- "scaly-cat = pangolin". With this can be compared Hindi k hap fa
"scale" (presumably a tatsama borrowing) in bajra-khapfd "hard-scaled ~ pangolin". It is
therefore suggested that kaphafaseyaka- means "scaly porcupine = pangolin" (Manis
pentadactyla; Mammals 597). Such a name would be very appropriate in view of the
animal's habit of rolling up into a ball and raising its scales for defence purposes, just as
the porcupine raises its quills. The Jain lists include sellaga- (Panh.) and salld- (Pann.),
where the porcupine is clearly not intended, since the lists also include scha- (< hdvidh-)
"porcupine" mdjdhaga- (< jdhaka-) "hedgehog". The commentaries explain that sellaga
is "an animal whose skin is used for making armour" and "a reptile walking on its arms,
which protects its body by secreting oil from its skin". Since Lahnda salld exists (RLT
12353) in the sense of "armadillo" (presumably a misnomer for "pangolin") it is possible
that sellaga- and salld- mean "pangolin" too, for the hardness of the scales should render

? cf. Hultzsch, 38, n. 18.


11 op. cit., 50.
18 cf. Pischel, Grammatik der Prfikrlt-Sprachen, ? 212.

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30 NOTES ON A$OKA*S FIFTH PILLAR EDICT

the skin very suitable for armour. The pangolin can eject liquid from its anal glands for
defence purposes, but the commentary description is perhaps more applicable to the
secretion from the prc-anal glands of the monitor lizard (Varanus monitor', Reptiles 11.402).
This is probably the animal to be seen in Nepali (Nep. Dictionary, 602) sdlak (? < *salyakka-)
"a particular kind of very large lizard". Its skin is widely used as leather and could pre
sumably be used for armour. The same animal is probably to be seen in Skt. seraka-, which
occurs in Arthasdstra 11.17 in a list of animals whose skins are useful. In Skt. salyaka
occurs also in the sense of "a scaly fish*' and the extension of meaning from "porcupine*'
seems to arise from a change in meaning for salya- from "arrow, dart, pointed thing" to
"scale" (cf. Skt. salka-). (b) patpnasasa- is translated as "squirrel" by Hultzsch (< *parria
sasa- "leaf-hare") and as "licvre aile" by Bloch. In the Jain lists, however, the hare is
included among the quadrupeds, and if the squirrel was regarded as a variety of hare it
would presumably be excluded from the ASokan list by I, 3(a). Any flying animal would
be expected among the birds at the beginning of the list. The form of the word is reminiscent
of pannaga- "snake", and if in the light of the confusion between pa and sa suggested
above (II, 3(c)) it is assumed that sa is written for pa here, then *patpnasapa- < pannasarpa
would be a synonym of Jain uraparisappa- "snake". (<) simala- is compared with Skt.
srmara- ("a kind of deer1') by Hultzsch, but I, 3(a), makes this unlikely. Since -/- and -d
are frequently confused19 in the ASokan inscriptions, it would be possible to see here the
word *sdmala- < Skt. sydmala- "black". This adjective could then be taken with the
preceding word in a restricting sense "the snake, the black one". This would be the cobra
(Naja naja naja; Reptiles III.431). The Jain list of hooded snakes includes kanhasappa-.
(d) satpdaka- is translated "bull set at liberty" by Hultzsch, on the assumption that it is
connected with Skt. satitfa-, but I, 3(a), makes this unlikely. Woolncr quotes Mulvany's
suggestion (made in Indian Antiquary, 37, 211) that satpdaka- is connected with Hindi sdndd.
Platts (Hindustani Dictionary s.v.) translates this as "a species of sand-lizard" and gives a
derivation < sarandaka-, presumably regarding it as an example of the loss of intervocalic
-r-.?0 Such a loss is unlikely in the ASokan form, but it would be possible to assume that
the version before the scribe had satpdaka- incorrectly written for *saram<Jaka-. Omission
of a single ak?ara21 is not uncommon in the Asokan inscriptions, and the "straight line"
type of ra could easily be omitted if it came at the end of a line, or were mistaken for a
mark of punctuation. The Jain lists have sarada- "lizard, chameleon" (< Skt. sarafa-)
among the reptiles, and this name is presumably related to Skt. (lex.) sarancfa- "lizard,
chameleon**. It is perhaps too much of a coincidence that both the ASokan and the Hindi
forms of the word have lost -r-, but for different reasons, and it might be better to connect
the two words with tdya'aka- which occurs as a variant reading for gatitfaka- in Caraka
satphita (Sutrasthdna 27.38) among a list of animals which live in a hole. The latter is
glossed as godhabhedah and translated as "gecko".2*
5. (a) okaphpda- is translated as "iguana" by Hultzsch, and as "rongeur des maisons"

' Further examples of this mistake are given in "Notes on the A?okan Rock Edicts", to appear in IIJ.
20 cf. Grierson, On the modern Indo-Aryan vernaculars, ? 303-4.
81 Further examples of this mistake arc given in "Notes on the A&okan Rock Edicts".
" Shrcc Gulabkunverba Ayurvedic Society's ed., Jamnagar, 1949, II, 484. The same section incjudes
syamalj kakullmrgah (-= sarpaviiesah) and iallaka-, glossed mahdiakall and translated "pangolin".

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NOTliS ON ASOKA'S FIFTH PILLAR EDICT 31

by Bloch. The word is compared with Pali ukkapindaka-, which are reported in the
Mahdvagga (Vinaya i, 211, 239) to have eaten the monks' food. Buddhaghosa interprets
this as bifdramusikdgodhamangusd (Vinaya-affhakathd, 1093), taking the word as denoting
a category of animals rather than a particular species. Since oka-/ukka-23 means "house",
the name presumably means "finding food in a house". The word is in the singular in the
ASokan list, so it must either refer to one particular animal which is found in or near houses,
or be an adjective referring to the preceding or following word. In the Jain list of reptiles
occurs the gharoila-2i "house lizard" (one of the house geckoes, probably Hemidactylus
brooki; Reptiles 11.89), and it is possible that this and okapbpda- are synonymous. Alterna
tively, \{ okapbpda- is taken as an adjective with satpdaka- it would have the same restricting
sense as simala- in II, 4(c). The translation would be "the gecko, the house one", which
would be the same as gharoila-. For the combination with palasate see II, 5(h). Charpcntier's
attempt25 to see Skt. yuka- "louse" in oka-, which is quoted by Turner (RLT 10512), is
ruled out because the louse is a three-sensed creature in the Jain lists, (b) palasata- is
translated as "rhinoceros" by Hultzsch, but this is unlikely by I, 3(a). It would seem
preferable to return to Senart's suggestion26 that this is an example of the confusion of pa
and sa, cf. II, 3(c) and 4(b) above. He took the word to be the equivalent of PAli pdrdpata-,
Skt. pdrdvata- "turtle dove". This suggestion may be accepted all the more readily because
in the Jain list pdrevaya- occurs immediately next to kavotaka-, as in the ASokan list.
Since turtle-doves are frequently semi-domesticated, it may well be that okapitpda- is to be
taken as an adjective with palasata-. (c) setakapota- is "white pigeon" (cf. Skt. pdndukapota-).
(d) gdmakapota- is "village pigeon" (cf. Skt. grdmavdsin- kapota-). The Jain lists contain
only kavotaka-.

Ill
1. If these various emendations and identifications are accepted, then the apparently
random list of animals falls into the following order: (a) two talking birds whose names are
frequently linked together; (b) a series of aquatic birds, including a water-haunting bat;
(c) a series of aquatic animals; (d) a series of reptiles, legged and legless; (e) three birds of
the pigeon/dove family.
2. None of the emendations required to produce this list is untypical of the Asokan
inscriptions, and many of the mistakes which are assumed to have occurred actually
occur elsewhere. The importance of this section of the edict lies in the fact that the mistakes
are found in all the versions, and must therefore have been in the version which each scribe
copied, just as the scribes at Mansehra and Shahbazgarhi both copied a version of
RE IX(N) with dhrama(m)galena written for dhramamaipgalena, and those at Jaugada and
Dhauli a version of Separate Edict II(M/N) with samani written for samayaip.
3. As shown in I, 1 above, there are variations between the versions of this pillar

" For the alternation cf. Skt. (lex.) anokasayith/Pkt. anukkasahh "not sleeping in a house" (of beggars).
u < *ghara-kokila-, so-called because of its cry. The name gecko is onomatopoeic.
" op. cit., 309.
"op. cit., 51.

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32 NOTES ON ANOKA'S FIFTH PILLAR EDICT

edict, but some of these, e.g. the writing of dali, kapilika and -sayake, are merely due to the
omission by the scribe of -u-, -/'-, and -e- respectively, while other variants represent scribal
preferences for writing long or short vowels, e.g. da/i/dufi, kapilika/kipilikd. It can be seen
from the two versions of RE VI(E) and (F) by the scribe at Shahbazgarhi that it was quite
possible for such minor variants to arise in the copying of one and the same original.
4. It may therefore be concluded that all the versions of the fifth pillar edict (and
probably the other pillar edicts too) were made from the same copy, and that in making that
copy a member of the secretariate inadvertently introduced a number of errors, misled no
doubt by his unfamiliarity with some of the animals named in the original.

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