Vajji was a mahajanapada towards the north of Ganga in the division of Tirhut. It was a confederacy of eight or nine clans. The capital of Vajji mahajanapada was situated at Vaishali.
Seven major pillar edicts have been found at Lauriya-Araraj, Lauriya Nandangarh, Rampurva, Nigali Sagar, Sarnath, Topra, and Meerut. Ashokan pillars probably signify the axis of the world (axis mundi) that separated heaven and earth.
The Mauryan art is believed to be inspired from Achaemenid or Persian influence. We can find a lot of similarities in terms of form and style in the inscriptions of Ashoka and the Persian king Darius.