Pativedaka
Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 2 "Kings, Farmers and Towns"
Meaning
Pativedakas were officials whose job was to report. Their name means "reporters". Ashoka appointed them to tell him about the affairs of the people. They are named in his Rock Edict VI. They show Ashoka's wish to know what his subjects needed and to deal with it quickly. Historians also study them to see how the Mauryan king tried to keep watch over a very large empire.
Example
In Rock Edict VI, Ashoka (c. 268–232 BCE) orders that pativedakas should report to him "at all times". This applies wherever he is: eating, in the inner rooms of the palace, in the cow pen, in his palanquin (a covered chair carried by men) or in the garden. He promises to deal with public business at once.
Don't confuse with
- Dhamma mahamatta: these officers went among all sects, including the Buddhist Order, brahmanas, Ajivikas and Jains, to spread dhamma (Ashoka's moral code). Pativedakas only carried news of the people to the king.
Related concepts
- Bindusara
- Ashoka
- Kalinga war
- Rock Edict XIII
- Kalinga edicts
- Dhauli
- Ashoka's dhamma
- Dhamma mahamatta
- Devanampiya
- Ashoka's religious tolerance