Teachings From A Conqueror & Peace Ambassador, Come Learn A Thing Or Two @ Ashokan Rock Edict & Park

Emperor Ashoka The Great, more than 2000 years ago, ruled the entire subcontinent with great compassion. The story of his transformation from a war mongering conqueror to an ambassador of peace is the stuff of legend.  

Apart from his teachings and ideology, he has left an array of tangible physical heritage that keep reminding us of that era. The very national emblem of India, the Sarnath Lions and the Chakra are also his gifts to the nation.

Steady As A Rock

Among other things, Ashoka has left a lot of stone edicts expressing his thoughts and philosophy. They are scattered all over the subcontinent and Delhi is no different, however, the history of the Ashokan edicts is somewhat amusing. Two major edicts in Delhi are the Ashokan pillars of Feroz Shah Kotla and Hindu Rao Hospital, but they were actually erected in other places and Emperor Feroz Shah Tughlaq had them brought to Delhi and established them where they are today. This leaves us with the rock edicts that were never moved and so, can be originally claimed by Delhi. One of the better maintained Ashokan rock edict in Delhi is in Greater Kailash. 

A Quaint Park

The edict in question is now surrounded by a park. It has been reasonably developed into an interesting park covered with natural Aravalli rocks but probably the entire location was a small rocky hillock earlier. 

Today, the surrounding portions have been landscaped well. So they have open lawns, flowering shrubs and trees encircling a hillock at the top of which resides the edict. The topography is interesting and one can also get a good view of the area by climbing to the top of the rocks.

A Fading Edict

But two thing somewhat diminish the impact. Firstly, somehow a large garbage dump has been placed just at the entrance of the park which is inexplicable and disappointing. Also, the edict is protected with a very crass concrete shed with grills. It just ruins the aesthetics and also there’s just no way to get a closer view of the actual edict.

As for the edict itself, it’s fading and the inscriptions are unintelligible, unless you are the most erudite person in ancient scripts. It basically has ten lines in Brahmi script in Prakrit language. According to experts, it urges the subjects of the empire to live a pious life and lead the path of righteousness so as to attain enlightenment. It also credits the Emperor for his consistent pursuance of enlightenment and credits him for bringing prosperity to the state.

Finding The Edict

It’s located in the Srinivaspuri locality between Greater Kailash and Kalkaji. The easiest way to find it is to locate the ISKCON temple which should be known to everyone. Once you locate it, just keep walking eastwards through the same road crossing the Deshraj Campus, and after a while you should locate the park. The hillock inside the park should be visible from a distance. Do not confuse it with the park of ISKCON Temple, that has similar rocks inside it.

There you go - a piece of history right in the middle of South Delhi! Keep a lookout for this place if you find yourself in the vicinity!

Location | Ashokan Rock Edict & Park - Srinivaspuri, Near Iskon Temple, Raja Dhir Sain Marg