The script most famously used for the Edicts of Ashoka was Brahmi. During the 3rd century BCE, Ashoka had proclamations carved on rocks, pillars, and cave walls across his empire. Most Indian-language versions used Brahmi, written alongside regional forms of Prakrit.
The edicts expressed Ashoka’s policy of dhamma, including nonviolence, respect for parents and religious teachers, humane treatment, and tolerance. Because the inscriptions were placed in public locations, they provide unusually direct evidence of Mauryan administration and royal communication. They are among the earliest large bodies of readable, datable writing from India.
Brahmi was not the only script used. In the northwestern parts of Ashoka’s realm, some Prakrit edicts were written in Kharosthi, while inscriptions at Kandahar used Greek or Aramaic. Brahmi remains the standard quiz answer because it was the dominant script for the edicts and the one associated with most famous Ashokan pillars and rocks.
The decipherment of Brahmi in the 19th century, especially through the work of James Prinsep, helped identify the ruler behind the title Devanampiya Piyadasi as Ashoka.