EDICT VII
IMPERFECT FULFILMENT OF THE LAW
(Sh. text; no important variations.)
'His Sacred and Gracious Majesty the King desires that in all places men of every denomination (or "sect") may abide, for they all desire mastery over their senses and purity of mind. Man, however, is various in his wishes and various in his passions. They (scil. the denominations) will perform either the whole or only a part of the commandments. Even for a person to whom lavish liberality is impossible, mastery over the senses, purity of mind, gratitude, and steady devotion are altogether indispensable.'
Comment
'The first clause apparently means that no restriction should be placed upon the residence of the adherents of any particular sect or denomination, Asoka's reason being that all the sects alike mean well. Restrictions of the kind hinted at are indicated in Arthaśâstra, Bk. i, chap. 36, by the rule that
'Managers of charitable institutions shall send information (to Gopa or Sthânika) as to any heretics (pâshaṇḍa) and travellers arriving to reside therein. They shall allow ascetics and men learned in the Vedas to reside in such places only when those persons are known to be of reliable character.'
'Passions' is a better rendering of râiga than 'likings,' as in my last edition, or 'attachements,' as Senart.
The chief difficulty lies in the words niche (ichâ, G.) bâḍhaṁ, rendered by Burnouf as 'toujours bien,' by Senart as 'toujours excellent,' and by Jayaswal as 'always desirable.' Those renderings rest on the hypothesis that niche (nichâ) represents the Sanskrit adverb nityam, 'always.' Thomas agrees that the word meant is nityam, but takes it to be an adjective with the sense of 'permanent' or 'indispensable.' He translates therefore 'altogether indispensable.' Michelson raises phonetic