Dhauli
Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Class 7, Ch 5 "The Rise of Empires"
Meaning
Dhauli is a low hill near Bhubaneswar in Odisha. This area was once called Kalinga. Ashoka carved his edicts (royal messages) on a rock here. Next to them is a life-size elephant cut out of the rock, which stands for the Buddha. Many people believe the Kalinga war was fought on the plain below the hill. Dhauli matters because the edicts here differ from those in other places. The edict where Ashoka speaks of his sorrow over the Kalinga war is missing here, in the land he conquered. Two special Kalinga edicts appear in its place.
Example
At Dhauli, Ashoka (c. 268–232 BCE) tells his officers in Kalinga to be fair. He says "All men are my children" and asks them to avoid jailing or torturing people without reason. He does not repeat his public regret for the war. Historians use this to show why edicts cannot simply be taken at face value.
Don't confuse with
- Dhauli Shanti Stupa: a modern white Peace Pagoda built on the same hill in the 20th century. It is not a Mauryan monument.
- Jaugada: another Ashokan edict site in Odisha that also has the special Kalinga edicts. It does not have the rock elephant.
Related concepts
- Bindusara
- Ashoka
- Kalinga war
- Rock Edict XIII
- Kalinga edicts
- Ashoka's dhamma
- Dhamma mahamatta
- Pativedaka
- Devanampiya
- Ashoka's religious tolerance