RAS question
Ashoka's rock edict found at Bairat (Rajasthan) is significant because it is the only Ashokan edict where Ashoka:
Correct answer: (B) Addresses the Buddhist sangha (monastic community) directly.
Ashoka's Bhabru or Bairat edict is significant because it directly addresses the Buddhist Sangha and recommends specific Buddhist passages for study and reflection.
Explanation
The Bairat edict, also known as the Bhabru Edict, was found on a boulder near Bairat in Rajasthan and is treated as a minor Ashokan rock edict. Its distinctive feature is not a territorial claim or a general Dhamma order, but Ashoka's direct address to the Buddhist Sangha. In the translated opening, Priyadarsi salutes the Sangha, expresses reverence for the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, and then names passages of scripture that monks, nuns and lay disciples should repeatedly listen to and meditate upon. This is why the edict is important for Buddhist scripture and monastic organisation.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) The Bairat edict expresses Ashoka's reverence for the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, but its unique point is the direct address to the Sangha, not a one-off statement of conversion.
- (C) The edict was found in Rajasthan, but Ashoka does not mention Rajasthan by that name; the significance lies in the Buddhist addressee and the recommended texts.
- (D) The edict is not a trader-specific Dhamma code; it recommends Buddhist scriptural passages for monks, nuns and lay disciples.
Concept
This tests Mauryan epigraphy in Rajasthan, especially how local findspots connect with wider Buddhist institutional history. RAS repeatedly asks such questions because inscriptions are high-value evidence for ancient Rajasthan and early Buddhism.