Devanampiya
Also called: Devanampriya · Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"
Meaning
Devanampiya (also Devanampriya) means "beloved of the gods". It was a title Ashoka used in his inscriptions, together with Piyadassi, meaning "pleasant to behold". Most of his edicts name the king only as "Devanampiya Piyadassi" and do not use the name Asoka. This is why early scholars, after James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1838, had trouble working out who this king was. The name Asoka appears in only a few inscriptions. Matching the content, style, language and handwriting of the edicts showed that one ruler issued them all.
Example
The minor rock edicts at Maski (Karnataka) and Gujarra (Madhya Pradesh) use the name Asoka along with the title. They confirmed that "Devanampiya Piyadassi" was Ashoka.
Don't confuse with
- Devanampiya Tissa: a king of Sri Lanka who used the same title and was a friend of Ashoka. The title alone does not always mean Ashoka.
Related concepts
- Bindusara
- Ashoka
- Kalinga war
- Rock Edict XIII
- Kalinga edicts
- Dhauli
- Ashoka's dhamma
- Dhamma mahamatta
- Pativedaka
- Ashoka's religious tolerance