RAS question
Ashoka's Rock Edict II deals with:
Correct answer: (C) Medical treatment for humans and animals, planting of herbs and trees.
Ashoka's Rock Edict II records arrangements for medical treatment of humans and animals, along with the planting of medicinal herbs, fruits, trees and the digging of wells on roads.
Explanation
Rock Edict II is a welfare-focused edict, not a revenue or conquest order. In the IGNCA scan of Radhakumud Mookerji's Asoka, Ashoka instituted two kinds of medical treatment: for man and for beast. Medicinal herbs useful for humans and animals were to be imported where absent and planted everywhere, with roots and fruits treated similarly. Wells were dug on roads and trees planted for the enjoyment of humans and animals. Option C is correct because the edict's central concern is public and animal welfare through medicine, useful plants, roadside wells and trees.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) Appointment of officers is not the focus of Rock Edict II; the edict concerns medical treatment, useful plants, wells and trees.
- (B) Tax collection is absent from Rock Edict II, which deals with welfare measures rather than revenue administration.
- (D) Military conquests do not fit Rock Edict II because the edict records healing and roadside welfare measures for humans and animals.
Concept
This tests Ashokan edicts as sources for Mauryan policy, especially the difference between administrative, moral and welfare content. It recurs in RAS because edict numbers are often used to test precise factual mapping in ancient Indian history.