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Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31081, 9 June 1966, Page 13

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Relic Of Early Indian Ruler

(NZP.A.-Reuter—Copyright) NEW DELHI. An edict of the Emperor Asoka, inscribed on a rock 2200 years ago, has been found on the outskirts of New Delhi.

Asoka, one of India’s greatest rulers, was a convert to Buddhism and lived about 300 years after Buddha’s death. Much of the knowledge of Buddha’s . life has come from inscriptions which Asoka had carved on rocks thoughout India. The new edict was discovered by a building contractor, It carries a message from Asoka saying that through his efforts there had been direct communion between man and god. This had raised the status of man and made his life happier. The edict also praises Buddha’s virtues.

The find has provided further evidence of the importance of the Delhi site through the ages. In 1954, relics dating back to about 1000 B.C. were discovered. Some of the pottery, known as Painted Grey Ware, is a type found at other sites associated with the family of the Pandavas, who were leading characters in the ancient Hindu epic, the Mahabharata.

Their city, called Indraprastha, is believed to have stood where Delhi stands today. Lying on the banks of the Jumna river at a place where it could be forded, the Delhi site commands the routes to north-western, eastern and southern India.

Moghul rulers made it their capital, and the British, after more than a century in Calcutta, moved the capital to Delhi in 1911.