GS Paper I — Q1
Analyze the importance of Ashokan inscriptions for reconstructing Mauryan history. (Answer in 150 words)
हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें
मौर्य इतिहास के पुनर्निर्माण के लिए अशोक के अभिलेखों के महत्त्व का विश्लेषण कीजिए। (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में दीजिए)
Model answer
Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.
Ashokan inscriptions—Major and Minor Rock Edicts (e.g., Dhauli, Jaugada), Separate Kalinga Edicts, Pillar Edicts (e.g., Delhi-Topra) and Barabar cave inscriptions—are the primary source for Mauryan history. Written mostly in Prakrit in the Brahmi script (Kharoshthi in the north-west; Greek and Aramaic at Kandahar), they became readable after James Prinsep deciphered Brahmi in 1837; the Maski edict, naming "Asoka", confirmed that Devanampiya Piyadasi was Ashoka.
Territorial Reach and Administration: Find-spots from Kandahar and Shahbazgarhi to Yerragudi delineate the empire's extent. The edicts reveal officials like rajukas and dhamma mahamatras, and welfare measures such as wells, roadside shade trees and medical care for humans and animals (Major Rock Edict II).
Dhamma and Chronology: Major Rock Edict XIII is the only near-contemporary record of the Kalinga War, Ashoka's remorse and his turn to Dhamma; other edicts prohibit animal sacrifice. By naming five Hellenistic kings, including Antiochus II and Ptolemy II, it anchors Mauryan chronology to datable Greek reigns.
Limitations: As royal proclamations, the inscriptions lack a continuous chronology and are silent on later Mauryas, so they must be corroborated with the Arthashastra, Megasthenes' Indica and the Puranas.
How this answer will be evaluated
Framework: GS1 History: Analytical reconstruction of a period using primary sources
What earns full marks: Analytically links specific edict content to the reconstruction of Mauryan political, social, and administrative structures.
Evaluation rubric
Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.
- The answer Analyse how Ashokan inscriptions serve as the primary evidence base for Mauryan history, and where they fall short. 10 marks · 150 words
analyse— intro → causes → effects → stakeholders/linkages → way forward
Must cover
- Identify inscriptions as the primary source for Mauryan history
- Explain the political and administrative details revealed by the edicts
- Discuss the social and religious (Dhamma) aspects of the Mauryan state
- Mention the geographical spread of the empire as indicated by the edicts
Loses marks
- Narrating the life of Ashoka chronologically
- Focusing only on the content of Dhamma without historical context
- Ignoring the administrative or political value of the inscriptions
Earns more
- Reference to specific edicts (e.g., Major Rock Edicts)
- Mention of the script (Brahmi) and its decipherment
- Comparison with other sources like Megasthenes' Indica
- Limitations: royal self-presentation, no continuous chronology, silence on later Mauryas; need to corroborate with Arthashastra, Indica, Puranas
Extra mark
- Reference to the specific location of a major edict (e.g., Sarnath, Kandahar)
- Major Rock Edict XIII naming Hellenistic kings (e.g., Antiochus II) as a chronological anchor, or the Maski edict naming 'Asoka'
What "Analyse" is asking you to do
Break the subject into its working parts and show how they act on each other. The marks are in the interconnections — which factor drives which, and what the resulting structure explains — not in the inventory of factors.
Structure that answers it
Define the whole → separate it into its parts → show which part drives which → what that interaction produces → what the structure implies
Where marks are lost
A flat list of causes with no account of which drives which. An answer of neatly separated headings, each self-contained, scores as description.
Practice this exact question
Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.
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