The earliest attestations of the ancient writing systems of India, Brahmi and Kharosthi, are found in the edicts of Emperor Ashoka from the 3rd century BCE.
Ashoka’s edicts are a collection of 33 inscriptions engraved on pillars, rocks, and in caves. These texts were dictated by Emperor Ashoka and spread throughout the Indian subcontinent during his reign over the Maurya Empire from 269 to 232 BCE. These inscriptions are the oldest decipherable historical records in India and the first to mention Buddhism.
The writings found in the eastern part of India are written in Magadhi using the Brahmi script.
The western inscriptions are written in a language close to Sanskrit using the Kharosthi alphabet.
Finally, a unique edict found in Kandahar, Afghanistan, is written in Greek and Aramaic.
Ashoka ruled over an empire extending from present-day Afghanistan to Bangladesh after waging war against the Kalinga state on India’s eastern coast. However, following the atrocities committed during this war, he converted to Buddhism and embraced non-violence. Calling himself “the friend of the gods,” he propagated his moral principles, based on kindness toward all living beings, across the empire through stone-engraved edicts.
Excerpt from an inscription of Ashoka:
“Eight years after his coronation, the king, friend of the gods, with a benevolent gaze, conquered Kalinga. One hundred and fifty thousand people were deported; one hundred thousand were killed; several times this number perished. Then, now that Kalinga is subdued, ardent are the practice of the Law, the love of the Law, the teaching of the Law for the friend of the gods. Regret holds the friend of the gods since he conquered Kalinga. Indeed, the conquest of an independent country means murder, death, or captivity for its people: a thought strongly felt by the friend of the gods, which weighs heavily upon him.”
The name “Ashoka” (अशोक) means “Absence of worry or suffering”.
Ashoka
אשוקה
Gematria = 412
= Gematria of “Beit” (“House”)
בית
The world will know no more suffering when everyone comes home.
During the Final Redemption, myths will no longer be used for political purposes or conquest. There will be no more borders. Everyone will live where their heart belongs. This is the lesson we can learn from Ashoka’s writings.
From Ashoka onward, Buddhism influenced regions as far as the Middle East, evident, for example, in the monasticism of the Essenes. Similarly, a Semitic script, Aramaic, influenced Asian writing systems via Brahmi, which spread widely, unlike Kharosthi. Brahmi is the ancestor of most scripts in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Southeast Asia, and China.
The Buddhist texts of Gandhara, written in Kharosthi, were found near the city of Hadda in Afghanistan. Dating to the first century, they are the oldest known Buddhist manuscripts.
An analysis of the Kharosthi alphabet shows a clear relationship with the Aramaic alphabet, supplemented with additional symbols to represent Indian phonemes. Initially, it was written from right to left, as seems to be the case for the ancient Indus script, which remains undeciphered.
The word “Kharosthi” appears to derive from the Hebrew word “’Charoshet” (“Engraving”), from the root “’Charash” (“To engrave”). In Ancient Greek: Charasso (χαρασσω).
חרושת
חרש
The Brahmi alphabet, also influenced by Aramaic but to a lesser extent than Kharosthi, emerged around the same time in northern India, under the control of the Achaemenid Persian Empire.
“Brahmi” means “Originating from Brahman (the Universal Soul, the Absolute)”.
ברהמי
Gematria = 257
The first word in the Bible with a gematria value of 257 is “VaYomer” (“He said”)
ויאמר
“God said: Let there be light! And there was light.” (Genesis 1:3)
וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי אוֹר
“To the sons of the concubines Abraham had, he gave gifts while he was still living, and he sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of Kedem.” (Genesis 25:6)
#Abraham #Sarah #Brahma #Sarasvati #AbracadAbraham