Inscriptions of Asoka, Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum, Volume 1

E. Hultzsch's edition of the Inscriptions of Asoka, in the Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum series, is a primary epigraphic source, a scholarly edition transcribing, translating and annotating the actual rock and pillar edicts the Mauryan emperor Ashoka had inscribed across his empire in the third century BCE promoting Buddhist ethical governance. Its authority for the edicts' text and translation is foundational and still cited by specialists, since it is drawn directly from the surviving physical inscriptions rather than from later copies or paraphrase. As an early twentieth century edition, some individual readings have been refined by later epigraphists working with improved photographic and on-site methods, so a specialist wanting the most current reading of a disputed passage should check subsequent scholarship alongside Hultzsch's foundational edition.