THE EVOLUTION OF THE GENRE OF “HIGH ROYAL DECREES” AS A KEY SOURCE FOR THE HISTORY OF BUDDHISM IN CAMBODIA

Phunthasane Phra Paron(JayānandoBhikkhu)

This study examines “High Royal Decrees” of South Asia as a multilayered source for Buddhist history. The analysis spans Ashoka’s rock edicts (3rd century BCE) to copper grant charters (8th–12th centuries CE), unified under the concept of “High Royal Decree.” It demonstrates the dual function of these inscriptions: a public proclamation of sovereign will and a legal codification of the Buddhist Saṅgha’s property rights. Employing a comparative‐source‐critical methodology, the monograph proposes a continuous periodization of four principal document types and traces shifts in media (stone → metal), languages (Prakrit → Sanskrit), and formulary conventions. It reveals that formulary evolution mirrored a transformation in the “state–Saṅgha” relationship: from Ashoka’s moral‐political manifesto to the Pāla dynasty’s notarized land‐grant charters. The study’s novelty lies in its quantitative analysis of formulary elements and the construction of a lexical‐spatial model for the domains of distinct Buddhist schools. It enhances understanding of political power’s interaction with Buddhist institutions in South Asia.

Keywords:Ashoka’s Edicts, Copper Grant Charters, South Asian Epigraphy, Buddhist Saṅgha, Royal Patronage, Source‐Critical Analysis, Textology, Source Studies, Religious Studies, Buddhology.