THE HISTORY OF KATHIAWAD of this very remarkable man we have many records, chiefly engraved in stone* It was not until after he had reigned three years that Asoka was crowned at Patliputra, and for the first twelve years of his rule he was engaged in the peaceful administration of his dominions. Before his coronation he followed the tenets of Brahmanism, but afterwards he began to favour Buddhism, and became one of the great figures which adorned that religion. After the conquest of Kalinga, which took place in 201 B.C., Asoka determined never again to engage in pursuits which brought harm to others, but he chose instead the per- formance of service to mankind. His great piety mani- fested itself in the many sets of edicts on rock which he caused to be cut in various parts of India, and which have lasted throughout the ages. The endurance of the stone and characters is only exceeded by the excellence of the injunctions they contain. From them we get a great insight into the character of him who is perhaps the greatest figure in India's history. One of these incised rocks lies at Junagadh in Saurashtra, about one mile East of the city, on the road to the Damodarji Tank. The stone is divided into fourteen irregular parallelograms, each containing an edict. The whole is in a very good state of preservation, though the letters are in places indecipherable through having been rubbed by children engaged from countless ages in sliding down the smooth surface the rock presents. The language used is pure Magadhi, which has been translated into Prakrit, Sanskrit, and English. The several English texts vary slightly, but are essentially the same. The actual date of the inscriptions cannot be determined with accuracy. In the year 249 B.C. Asoka made a tour of the Buddhistic sacred places. He did not come to Saurashtra, however, and after visiting various places in the regions near the Hima- layan Mountains, he went into what is now Nepal and thence South. In 232-231 B.C. the great Emperor died, 12