The monolithic polished sandstone pillars and the inscribed proclamations (edicts) of Ashoka, the main royal source for Mauryan history and the spread of Dhamma, classified by where they are carved and how many.
- The pillars are single shafts of Chunar sandstone with a characteristic Mauryan polish (mirror-like shine), topped by an animal capital on an inverted lotus and abacus.
- Major capitals include the four-lion capital at Sarnath (India's State Emblem), the bull at Rampurva, and the lion at Lauriya Nandangarh.
- Major Rock Edicts: a set of fourteen, found at sites such as Kalsi, Girnar, Dhauli and Shahbazgarhi; the thirteenth records the Kalinga war and Ashoka's remorse.
- Minor Rock Edicts (such as Maski, Gujarra, Brahmagiri) are where Ashoka is named personally as "Devanampiya Piyadasi" or by the name Ashoka.
- Pillar Edicts: a set of seven, mainly in the Brahmi script and Prakrit language; the Aramaic and Greek bilingual edicts appear in the north-west (Kandahar).
- The edicts were deciphered by James Prinsep in 1837, unlocking the Brahmi script.
The Sarnath lion capital (national emblem), the Kalinga reference in Major Rock Edict XIII, the Maski edict naming Ashoka, the Brahmi-Prakrit medium, and Prinsep's decipherment are repeated objective points.
Rock edicts (carved on rock surfaces) versus pillar edicts (carved on free-standing columns); Major Rock Edicts number fourteen while Pillar Edicts number seven; most are in Prakrit-Brahmi, but the north-west uses Kharoshthi, Aramaic and Greek.
Ashoka's polished Chunar pillars and Prakrit-Brahmi edicts; 14 Major Rock Edicts, 7 Pillar Edicts, Sarnath lion capital as the State Emblem.