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I presume that there must have been somebody to read these words out to the mostly unlettered citizens, and I think they would probably have been received with pleasure and considerable relief, for Ashoka had not always been so concerned for their welfare.
当时大多数百姓都不识字，这些内容一定是有人念给他们听的。阿育王的法敕不只令他们感到欢欣,同时也令他们松了一大口气。
He'd started out not as a gentle, generous philosopher but as a ruthless and brutal youth, following in the military footsteps of his grandfather.
阿育王并非一直关心百姓福祉。登基之初，他并非一个温和慷慨的哲学家,而是个莽撞冲动的年轻人,紧随着祖父旃陀罗笈多的军事扩张步伐。
His name was Chandragupta, and he'd risen to the throne following a military campaign that created a huge empire-reaching from Kandahar in modern Afghanistan in the west to Bangladesh in the east, and including the great majority of modern India.
旅陀罗笈多多年征战,建立了伟大的孔雀王朝，西至现代阿富汗的坎大哈, 东抵孟加拉，囊括了现代印度的绝大部分领土，
It was the largest empire in Indian history.
是印度历史上国土面积最大的王朝。
In 268 BC Ashoka took his place on the throne-but not without considerable struggle.
公元前二六八年,经过激烈的争斗,阿育王夺得了王位。
Buddhist writings tell us that he killed "99 of his brothers"-presumably metaphorical as well as actual brothers-in order to obtain the kingship, and the same writings create a legend of Ashoka's pre-Buddhist days, filled with self-indulgent frivolity and cruelty.
据佛教文献记载，阿育王为王位“杀了九十九个兄弟”,这应该只是一种比喻，但的确有许多兄弟遭到杀害。这份文献记载着，在皈依佛教之前,阿育王放纵、轻浮、暴虐。
When he became emperor he set out to complete the occupation of the whole subcontinent, and attacked the independent state of Kalinga-modern-day Orissa on the east coast.
登基后,他继续征战以求占领整个印度次大陆,入侵了当时独立的羯陵伽国—今印度东海岸的奥里萨邦。
It was a savage, brutal assault and one which seems afterwards to have thrown Ashoka into a state of terrible remorse.
这是一场野蛮残暴的战争,让阿育王陷人了深深的懊悔。
He changed his whole way of life, embracing the defining concept of 'Dharma', a virtuous path that guides the follower through a life of selflessness and piety, duty, good conduct and decency.
从那以后，他彻底改变了自己的生活方式，开始遵从“教法（达摩）”，教法要求信徒遵从教规，度过无私、虔诚、尽责、品德高尚与德行端庄的一生。
Dharma is applied in many religions, including Sikhism, Jainism and of course Hinduism-but Ashoka's idea of Dharma was filtered through the Buddhist faith. He described his remorse and announced his conversion to his people through a rock edict:
锡克教、耆那教和印度教都有“教法”，而阿育王遵从的是佛法。在一道法敕中，他公开做了忏悔，描述了自己的转变：
