| Abstract: |
Rajasthan is endowed with an abundant storehouse of the rock edicts and inscriptions, which are the main epigraphic documents to comprehend the cultural, religious, and socio-political aspects of the ancient Indian civilization. This paper seeks to explain the cultural aspects in the key rock edicts located in Rajasthan and they include the Bairat-Bhabru edict, Ghosundi-Hathibada inscriptions, Badli inscription, BarnalaYupastambha, and Basantgarh inscription. The research design is a qualitative interpretative one with the use of the content analysis of epigraphic texts and secondary archaeological information provided by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), EpigraphiaIndica, and peer-reviewed publications published between 1925 and 2024. The hypothesis is that the rock edicts in Rajasthan show multidimensional culture including religious pluralism, political authority, linguistic diversity and socio-ethical governance. The results indicate six prevailing cultural aspects Buddhist propagation, Vaishnava devotion, Jain religious identity, administrative governance, linguistic-script development and ritual-sacrificial traditions that are unevenly spread among inscription locations and historical period. It is concluded that the rock edicts of Rajasthan represent a precious material cultural archive that records the shift of the region between the Vedic ritualism towards Buddhist-Jain heterodoxy to medieval Hindu revivalism that would provide critical insights to understanding the contemporary heritage material. |
