RAS question
Ashoka's Rock Edict I prohibits:
Correct answer: (D) Animal sacrifice and festive gatherings.
Ashoka's Major Rock Edict I prohibits animal sacrifice and samajas—festive gatherings where animals were killed.
Explanation
Major Rock Edict I is about restraining the killing of living creatures. It forbids slaughtering living beings for sacrifice and holding samajas—festive gatherings—because Ashoka considered such gatherings objectionable. The royal kitchen example reinforces the point: earlier, many hundred thousands of living creatures were killed daily for curries, but after the edict only 2 peacocks and 1 deer were still being killed, and even these killings were to cease later. Option D is correct because the edict targets animal sacrifice and festive gatherings linked with killing, not caste discrimination, foreign trade, or a general ban on war.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Caste discrimination is not the subject of Major Rock Edict I; the edict deals with slaughter, sacrifice, samajas, and the royal kitchen.
- (B) War and conquest are not prohibited in Major Rock Edict I; the war-related theme belongs to Major Rock Edict XIII, not to this edict.
- (C) Trade with foreigners is outside the scope of Major Rock Edict I, which contains no trade prohibition and instead focuses on killing living creatures and samajas.
Concept
This tests Mauryan-period inscriptions, especially the ability to match numbered Ashokan Major Rock Edicts with their core policy content. RAS asks this type of fact because the edicts are compact primary texts with clearly separable themes and provide direct evidence of administration, moral policy, and royal proclamations.