The Maurya Empire under King Asoka established a state of unprecedented scope and political unity. Distributed throughout Asoka’s empire was a series of imperial edicts engraved on pillars, rock surfaces, caves, and tablets, strategically placed around borders and major trade routes. Ostensibly commissioned by the King to spread the dharma – the laws of the Buddhist religion – they also served important social and political functions. In fact, these edicts were likely in large part constructed and dispersed as a means of propagating and consolidating Asoka’s power. They display one of the earliest forms of propaganda – of spreading ideology through the written word.
In the Kalinga Rock Edict II, Asoka offers freedom to all those living on the frontiers of his empire, assuming they observe the dharma (Sen 72). This could be seen as another politically savvy move, relieving tensions and possible threats from outside his borders. Furthering this purpose was Asoka’s policy of sending Buddhist missionaries to countries beyond his borders (Basham 136-137). A state committed to Buddhist principles of nonviolence would not appear threatening to other powers, and, if he was able to spread the dharma, these states would in turn be less likely to threaten him militarily. Another practical purpose is achieved by the creation of the various “officers of dharma” – who were essentially government officials – a designation that would make their authority less threatening. In several rock edicts, Asoka implies that people had a religious duty to help and obey the officers (Sen 96, 150).
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In the Rock Edict XIII, Asoka claims to have conquered many of the Western kings via the dharma. He makes it clear that he looks upon himself as the moral emperor of the world (Thapar 15) and that, literally, “all men are my children” (Sen 116); it is not difficult to imagine the replacement of “children” with “subjects” (Basham 137). It does not appear that Asoka’s goal was simply to subjugate, however, and most accounts hold that he truly wanted to do good by his people. If he was a dictator, he was a benevolent one. Even ignoring the texts (and many of Asoka’s subjects, being illiterate, would have done so), the monolithic nature of the rock edicts and pillars sends a message of its own. The monuments were exclusively the products of royal patronage and stood as imposing, impressive symbols of Asoka’s authority.
The later yaksha and yakshi, as representations of male and female fertility spirits, frequently appear Buddhist art. Some scholars, in fact, argue that the image of the Buddha himself was prototyped on the earlier yaksha figure. The yaksha, which has been traced back to at least the 2nd century BCE, has familiar features: they are heavy, monolithic men with enormous, rotund bellies and round faces. While some have argued for the Greco-Roman influence on the development of Buddha representations, others, such as Coomaraswamy feel that “the Buddha figure in the Indian tradition had been modeled on Yaksha figures existing in Indian artistic tradition from a much earlier age” (Ganguli 12).
The yakshi are sensuously curved female bodies with exaggerated childbearing qualities and an overtly sexualized nature, generally understood to be representative of a fertility goddess. They are similar to figures found in early cultures throughout Europe and Asia Minor (Czuma and Morris 93). While sometimes carved in the round on their own, yakshi were more often presented in architectural reliefs, as attendants in a group of figures. Rarely did they function as sole objects of worship; instead, they enhanced religious sites. Representing fertility, good fortune, and abundance, their symbolic values complemented their surroundings in temples and other sacred buildings, and functioned as of welcoming assurance to followers who entered (Koharcheck 13). At the entrance to the Karle caves, for example, both yakshi and yaksha stand on either side of the main entrance to the central vestibule, greeting visitors.
While the Buddhist sculpture created under Ashoka had both an artistic and political motive, the yaksha and yakshi were more purely religious and decorative in nature. Where Ashoka’s edicts delineated the extent of his empire and symbolized power, the yaksha and yakshi decorated the entrance to temples, beckoning in the faithful and representing simple spiritual values. If we compare the entrance to the Karle Caves with the Kalinga Rock Edict II, for example, it is clear that they serve different functions.
