Samapa
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Samapa (समापा) was an important ancient historical place in Orissa during the rule of Ashoka Maurya. Samapa, modern-day Jaugada, was another administrative centre in Ashoka Maurya's reign where as Tosali was capital of Kalinga. It was located in Ganjam district in Odisha, India.
Contents
Origin
Variants
Jat clans
- Samopa (समोपा)
History
The Kalinga Edicts: Edict I The Borderers' Edict
Reference: Asoka - the Buddhist Emperor of India by Vincent Arthur Smith, Ch.4, Section 4,pp.191-194
(Separate or Detached Edicts of earlier authors.)
(Separate or Detached Edict No. 2 of Prinsep, Bühler, &c.; J. text, facs. and transcript in A. .S. S. I. (Amarâvatî vol., 1887), p. 127, P]. lxix.)
Thus saith His Sacred Majesty:—
At Samapa the High Officers are to be addressed in the King's words, as follows :—
'Whatsoever my views are I desire them to be acted on in practice and carried into effect by certain means. And in my opinion the chief means for attaining this purpose are my instructions to you.'
"All men are my children;" and, just as I desire for my children that they may enjoy every kind of prosperity and happiness both in this world and in the next, so also I desire the same for all men.
[If you ask] "With regard to the unsubdued borderers what is the king's command to us?"
[The answer is that—] "The King desires that 'they should not be afraid of me, that they should trust me, and should receive from me happiness, not sorrow.' Moreover, they should grasp the truth that 'the King will bear patiently with us,' and that 'for my sake they should follow the Law of Piety and so gain both this world and the next.'"
[p.192]: And for this purpose I give you instructions. Thereby being freed from my debt, giving instructions to you and making known my will, my inflexible resolve and promise.
Now you, acting accordingly, must do your work, and must make these people trust me and grasp the truth that "the King is to us even as a father; he loves us even as he loves himself; we are to the King even as his children."
By instructing you and intimating my will, my inflexible resolve and promise, I shall be provided with [trained] local officials for this business, because you are in a position to make these people trust me and to ensure their prosperity both in this world and in the next, and by so doing you may win heaven and also effect my release from debt [or "discharge your debt to me"].
And for this purpose has this scripture of the law of piety been Written here, in order that the High Officers may strive without ceasing both to secure the confidence of these borderers and to set them moving on the path of piety.
And this scripture must be recited at the beginning of each season of four months on the Tishya day. In the intervals also it may be recited. On occasion it may be recited even to one person.
By acting this you should endeavour to fufil my instructions.'
Comment: This edict is now fully understood, and my former version stands almost unchanged. It and the companion document possess special interest as recording avowedly the very words of Asoka, who thus speaks to us from the rocks in his own person across the centuries. The translation of the two Kalinga Edicts is difficult by reason of the frequent changes from the third to the first person involved in the quotations from the [p.193]:sovereign's words. The two documents concern only the conquered province of Kalinga and the wild tribes dwelling on its borders, as they still dwell. These two edicts take the place of R. E. XI, XII, XIII, not published in Kalinga. The composition which I call the Borderers' Edict comes first upon the rock, following R.E. XIV. The text at Jaugada in the Ganjâm District, Madras, is substantially in perfect condition. That at Dhauli, in the Puri District, Orissa, is much mutilated. The texts agree in almost every detail, except that the Dhauli proclamation is addressed to the Prince and High Officers at Tosali, the capital of the newly-annexed province, whereas that at Jaugaḍa is addressed to the High Officers of Samâpâ. Dhauli, according to M. M. Haraparshad Śâstrî, is a phonetic equivalent of Tosali. The ancient ruins surrounding the inscription rock at Jaugada evidently are to be identified with Samâpâ. The Prince (Kumâra) at Tosalî, presumably was one of Asoka’s sons, the offspring of one of the lawful Queens; see P. E. VII, sec. 7.
Both of the Kalinga Edicts were intended solely for the guidance of the officials of high rank entrusted with the administration of a country lately hostile and continually troubled by the presence on its borders of wild, half-savage tribes, who needed firm, though kindly, paternal government. The principles inculcated are admirable, and it is curious to find the leading propositions repeated in a proclamation issued in 1848 by an English oflicer who is not likely to have been acquainted with the Kalinga Edicts. Mr. Cust's proclamation at Hoshyârpur in the Panjab includes the following passages: 'What is your injury,I consider mine; what is gain to you, I consider my gain . . . Tell those who have joined in the rebellion to return to me, as children who have committed a fault return to their fathers, and their faults will be forgiven them ' (Aitchison, John Lawrence, p. 46, Rulers of India series).
A few points of detail require brief notice.
'Views'—literally, 'whatever I see' (dakhâmi).
'All men are my children;' an echo of the saying 'All beings are my children,' ascribed to Buddha, and found both in the Lotus de la bonne Loi, Burnouf, p. 89, and in the Dharma-saṅgraha, II, as quoted by Kern, Manual of Indian Buddhism (Strassburg, 1896), p. 61.
[p.194]: 'Bear patiently;' compare R. E. XIII. The phrase 'discharge of debt' occurs also in R. E. VI
'I shall have (trained) local officials,' desâ âyutike hosâmî, literally, ‘I shall be local-oflicialed,’ an odd phrase. The âyuktas were the subordinate civil service.
The Tishya day is the day on which the moon is supposed to be in conjunction with the constellation so named. The three seasons are still recognized in parts of India. In the Arthaśâsta the division into six seasons is adopted. Bühler points out that Asoka's practice accords with that prescribed in the ancient Biahmanical sûtras. The few innovations introduced by Asoka into the established system of government were all directed to the propagation of dharma, as viewed by him from a Buddhist stand-point.
Reference - Asoka - the Buddhist Emperor of India by Vincent Arthur Smith, Ch.4, Section-4,pp.191-194
समापा
समापा (AS, p.936): एक ऐतिहासिक स्थान, जिसका मौर्य सम्राट अशोक के धौली और जौगड़ा शिलालेख में तोसली के साथ ही उल्लेख हुआ है। जान पड़ता है कि तोसली तो कलिंग की राजधानी थी और समापा कलिंग का एक मुख्य स्थान था। समापा में नियुक्त महामात्रों को कड़ी चेतावनी देकर अशोक ने उन लोगों के मुक्त करने का आदेश दिया था, जिन्हें इन प्रशासकों ने अकारण ही कारागार में डाल रखा था। इस स्थान की स्थिति सम्भवत: ज़िला पुरी, उड़ीसा में थी। [1]