Who among the following rulers advised his subjects through this inscription ?
"Whosoever praises his religious sect or blames other sects out of excessive devotion to his own sect, with the view of glorifying his own sect, he rather injures his own sect very severely."
Show answer
Answer: A. This passage is from Ashoka's Major Rock Edict XII, which urges respect for all religious sects and restraint in speech (vacaguti).
Watch for: Harsha was also known for religious tolerance, which makes option C tempting.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Wrong because Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription praises his conquests.
- C. Wrong because Harsha's records do not contain this edict.
- D. Wrong because Krishnadeva Raya was a 16th-century Vijayanagara king with no such edict.
Source to check: Ashoka's Major Rock Edict XII; NCERT Class 12 Themes in Indian History Part I, Chapter 2 (Kings, Farmers and Towns)
Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.