the desk. ‘That’s what I’ve been working on, while you were sleeping.’ He sorted the papers. ‘There are several locations where the edicts were found; some on rocks, some on pillars. I’ve been researching the net and have downloaded some information on the edicts and analysed it.’
He put the papers on the table. ‘I’ve summarised information about each site where the edicts were found. I wasn’t sure how exactly we were to associate the locations with the lines in the verse, so I’ve tried to cover everything—location, script, variations. Not all locations had all the edicts. Some had only the major edicts and others only the minor ones. There were 14 major rock edicts and three minor ones. I’ve listed them all. There were also seven major pillar edicts and two minor ones. But there were also variations between different locations. For example, the one in Dhauli omits any reference to the Kalinga war. Scholars believe this was probably because Dhauli was in Kalinga and Asoka didn’t want to offend his conquered subjects.’
Colin’s forehead furrowed. ‘So we have to go through this list and try and match the clues in the verse to the locations?
‘It’s not that tough. I even managed to get us off to a start by deciphering the ninth line of the verse. The ninth speaks in two tongues .’ Vijay quoted from the verse. ‘I thought it must be the one at Kandahar, where there was a bilingual edict in Aramaic and Greek. Two tongues.’
The others nodded, seeing the logic in his deduction.
‘Maybe it won’t be that difficult to find the others,’ Radha said slowly, ‘We may not have to study all locations in detail in order to find the ones that match the verse. I think the first line of the verse— the Nine have gone forth to the edges of the Empire —provides us with a direction. If the verse had referred to the Nine themselves we could have interpreted this, quite literally, as the members of the brotherhood travelling to the borders of the Empire. But since we now think the verse refers to locations, we should be looking for nine sites on the borders of Asoka’s empire.’
‘Great thought.’ Vijay walked back to the desk and started typing on the laptop. ‘Let me find a good map that depicts the full extent of Asoka’s empire.’
Colin was studying the list of locations while Vijay searched for the map. Suddenly he looked up.
‘I think I’ve found another one. The third location is Maski. The verse says, The third speaks the name of the Emperor . Maski is the only edict to mention Asoka by name.’
Shukla nodded approvingly. ‘Good work.’
Colin beamed and went back to the list of locations.
The printer hummed. Vijay plucked the sheet and carried it back to the group.
‘Here’s a good map. It shows the location of his edicts. Asoka’s empire covered most of present-day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kandahar is in Afghanistan, the western extremity of Asoka’s empire. Maski, while not on the edge of the empire, is close to the southern border. It could be a likely candidate.’
Colin scowled at him with mock indignation. ‘I find something and you try and dig a hole under it. Can’t you just accept and get used to my intellectual superiority?’
‘Okay, Mr. Wow,’ Vijay retorted. ‘Let’s see your superior intellect come up with a few more locations.’
Despite their light-hearted banter, there was excitement in the air. The group pored over the papers, occasionally glancing at the map, trying to find the links between the sites marked on the map and the clues in the verse.
Radha found the next one. ‘The first one is Girnar. The edict that looks different from the others, as the inscriptions are all separately engraved and separated by horizontal lines. The first, in appearance, is different from the rest .’
‘I’ve got two,’ Shukla announced after a while. ‘The seventh one is Sarnath. And the fifth is Shahbazgarhi.’
‘I don’t get the
He put the papers on the table. ‘I’ve summarised information about each site where the edicts were found. I wasn’t sure how exactly we were to associate the locations with the lines in the verse, so I’ve tried to cover everything—location, script, variations. Not all locations had all the edicts. Some had only the major edicts and others only the minor ones. There were 14 major rock edicts and three minor ones. I’ve listed them all. There were also seven major pillar edicts and two minor ones. But there were also variations between different locations. For example, the one in Dhauli omits any reference to the Kalinga war. Scholars believe this was probably because Dhauli was in Kalinga and Asoka didn’t want to offend his conquered subjects.’
Colin’s forehead furrowed. ‘So we have to go through this list and try and match the clues in the verse to the locations?
‘It’s not that tough. I even managed to get us off to a start by deciphering the ninth line of the verse. The ninth speaks in two tongues .’ Vijay quoted from the verse. ‘I thought it must be the one at Kandahar, where there was a bilingual edict in Aramaic and Greek. Two tongues.’
The others nodded, seeing the logic in his deduction.
‘Maybe it won’t be that difficult to find the others,’ Radha said slowly, ‘We may not have to study all locations in detail in order to find the ones that match the verse. I think the first line of the verse— the Nine have gone forth to the edges of the Empire —provides us with a direction. If the verse had referred to the Nine themselves we could have interpreted this, quite literally, as the members of the brotherhood travelling to the borders of the Empire. But since we now think the verse refers to locations, we should be looking for nine sites on the borders of Asoka’s empire.’
‘Great thought.’ Vijay walked back to the desk and started typing on the laptop. ‘Let me find a good map that depicts the full extent of Asoka’s empire.’
Colin was studying the list of locations while Vijay searched for the map. Suddenly he looked up.
‘I think I’ve found another one. The third location is Maski. The verse says, The third speaks the name of the Emperor . Maski is the only edict to mention Asoka by name.’
Shukla nodded approvingly. ‘Good work.’
Colin beamed and went back to the list of locations.
The printer hummed. Vijay plucked the sheet and carried it back to the group.
‘Here’s a good map. It shows the location of his edicts. Asoka’s empire covered most of present-day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kandahar is in Afghanistan, the western extremity of Asoka’s empire. Maski, while not on the edge of the empire, is close to the southern border. It could be a likely candidate.’
Colin scowled at him with mock indignation. ‘I find something and you try and dig a hole under it. Can’t you just accept and get used to my intellectual superiority?’
‘Okay, Mr. Wow,’ Vijay retorted. ‘Let’s see your superior intellect come up with a few more locations.’
Despite their light-hearted banter, there was excitement in the air. The group pored over the papers, occasionally glancing at the map, trying to find the links between the sites marked on the map and the clues in the verse.
Radha found the next one. ‘The first one is Girnar. The edict that looks different from the others, as the inscriptions are all separately engraved and separated by horizontal lines. The first, in appearance, is different from the rest .’
‘I’ve got two,’ Shukla announced after a while. ‘The seventh one is Sarnath. And the fifth is Shahbazgarhi.’
‘I don’t get the
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