MESSAGE TO FOREIGN NATIONS.
1.
FAR, far extend Kalinga’s plains, And Bengal’s fertile coast; Asoka, of the gods beloved, There sent his conquering host. They slaved a hundred thousand men, A hundred thousand died,— “And is this what a conquest means?” The pious monarch cried!
2.
“Brâhmans pure and Srâmans good, And men who toil in life; Parents to their children dear, Fond husband, weeping wife,— These I’ve killed, enslaved and sold, And bade the helpless die!” A throb was on the monarch’s brow, A tear was in his eye!
3.
Repentance wrung his royal breast, And he was meek and lowly; And virtuous wishes filled his soul, And aspirations holy. He thought of Sâkya, noble Teacher, Buddha, high of birth, Who left his throne and toiled for men, And spread good will on earth!
4.
“Ho! other conquests I will spread, And other trophies win,”— The pious monarch thus he cried,— “I’ll conquer crime and sin! Unto the frontiers of my realm, And far beyond, proclaim, Asoka fights in faith alone, And wins the righteous fame!
5.
“To Antiochus, Syria’s lord, To Egypt’s Ptolemy, To Antigonus, mighty king Of Macedon the free, To Magas of Cyrene fair, To Alexander, king Of mountain-covered Epiros,1— The joyful tidings bring!
6.
“To far Kâverî’s fertile banks, Where mighty Cholas live, To Kumârikâ’s distant point, Where Pândya clans still thrive, To Tâmraparni’s verdant isle, For pearls well known to fame, To Henarâja Vismâvasi2 The joyful news proclaim!
7.
“To our friends the Bactrian Greeks, And to the bold Kambojas, To Nâbhakas and Nâbhapantis, And to the sturdy Bhojas, To Petenikas in the south, To Andhras in Deccan, To far Pulindas tell the news,3— Tell it to every man!”
8.
Far and wide the news they told, And Buddha’s faith proclaimed; Strange nations Buddha’s precepts learnt,4 His holy name they named. Asoka felt a joy intense, His life’s great work was done, For he had won the righteous fame, And fought in faith alone!
From Rock Edict, XIII.
These kings of Syria, Egypt, Macedon, Cyrene, and Epiros were contemporaries of Asoka; and Asoka sent missionaries to proclaim Buddhism in their countries. The Essenes of Syria and the Therapeuts of Egypt were the results of these missions. ↩︎
The Cholas, Cheras, and Pandyas were the greatest powers in India south of the Krishna river in the olden times. Kumârikâ is Cape Comorin, and Tâmraparni is Ceylon. Henarâja Vismâvasi was in Southern India. ↩︎
This and the previous paragraph throw light on the geography of India in the third century B.C. The Bactrian Greeks and the Kambojas lived in Central India, and the Bhojas in Malwa. The Petenikas had their capital, Pratishthâna, on the Godâvari river. The Andhras were the mightiest race in the Deccan, and the Pulindas also lived in Southern India. ↩︎
Over two centuries before the birth of Christ, Buddhist missionaries preached in Syria those noble moral precepts which we find in the Christian gospels. The Essenes, a sect of western Buddhists, were still thriving and preaching these precepts when Jesus was born. ↩︎