Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts refer to 14 separate major Edicts of Ashoka which are significantly detailed and represent the earliest dated rock inscriptions of any Indian monarch. For a full English translation of the Edicts:

Ashoka was the third monarch of the Maurya Empire in India, reigning from around 269 BCE. Ashoka famously converted to Buddhism and renounced violence soon after being victorious in a gruesome Kalinga War, yet filled with deep remorse for the bloodshed of the war. Although he was a major historical figure, little definitive information was known as there were few records of his reign until the 19th century when a large number of his edicts, inscribed on rocks and pillars, were found in India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In India, Places where rock edicts were found are – Kalsi, Uttarakhand; Sopara, Maharashtra; Mount Girnar, Gujarat; Yerragudi, Andhra Pradesh; Dhauli, Odisha; Jaugada, Odisha. These many edicts, of which Ashoka's Major Rock Edicts were the first and most impressive, were concerned with practical instructions in running a kingdom such as the design of irrigation systems and descriptions of Ashoka's beliefs in peaceful moral behavior. They contain little personal detail about his life

Three languages were used, Prakrit, Greek and Aramaic. Four scripts were used. The edicts are composed in non-standardized and archaic forms of Prakrit. Prakrit inscriptions were written in Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts, which even a commoner could read and understand. The inscriptions found in the area of Pakistan are in kharoshthi script. The rest are written in Greek or Aramaic. The Kandahar Rock Inscription is bilingual Greek-Aramaic. Ashoka's edicts were the first written inscriptions in India after the ancient city of Harrapa fell to ruin. Ashoka's first edict is the only impressive edict remaining in its original state, since most of his other edicts were either dismantled and transported to places of national importance after their discovery or formalised into a national monument. Another rock edict of Ashoka in its original state is situated at Kalsi, near Vikas Nagar in Dehradun District of Uttranchal, India