Introduction
The Mauryan Empire under Emperor Ashoka was one of the largest political formations in ancient India. The Rock Edicts and Pillar Edicts issued by Ashoka serve as reliable epigraphic sources to define the territorial extent of the empire, as they were inscribed across vast regions under Mauryan control.
Body
The distribution of Major Rock Edicts indicates that the empire extended from the north-western region to the eastern Gangetic plains. Edicts found at Shahbazgarhi and Mansehra (in present-day Pakistan) show Mauryan authority over the north-west frontier. In the east, inscriptions at Dhauli and Jaugada confirm control over Kalinga, which was annexed after the Kalinga War.
Southern expansion is evidenced by edicts at Girnar (Gujarat), Sopara (Maharashtra) and Maski, Brahmagiri and Jatinga Rameshwar in Karnataka, showing the empire’s reach up to the Deccan plateau. However, references in edicts to the Cholas, Pandyas and Satiyaputras suggest they were friendly border states outside direct Mauryan control.
Conclusion
Thus, the Rock and Pillar Edicts of Ashoka clearly define the Mauryan Empire as stretching from Afghanistan to Odisha and from the Himalayas to the Deccan, making it a truly pan-Indian empire.