Queen's edict
Also called: Allahabad-Kosam pillar · Topic: The Mauryan Empire · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Queen's edict is a short inscription of Ashoka on the pillar now at Allahabad (Prayagraj). The pillar probably first stood at Kosam (Kaushambi). The edict tells officers to record the gifts made by Ashoka's second queen, Karuvaki, in her own name. Her gifts were mango groves, gardens and almshouses (places that gave food or help to the poor). It matters because it is the only Ashokan inscription that names a queen. It also names a prince: Tivara, her son.
Example
On the Allahabad-Kosam pillar, Ashoka (c. 268–232 BCE) orders that any gift from "the second queen, mother of Tivara" be counted as hers. This shows that royal women made charitable gifts in their own right.
Don't confuse with
- Allahabad Prashasti: a much later poem of praise for the Gupta ruler Samudragupta, carved on the same pillar. It is not an Ashokan text.
Related concepts
- Bindusara
- Ashoka
- Kalinga war
- Rock Edict XIII
- Kalinga edicts
- Dhauli
- Ashoka's dhamma
- Dhamma mahamatta
- Pativedaka
- Devanampiya