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 Maurya period is remarkable in the early history of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta Maurya was the first ruler who tried to consolidate small fragmented kingdoms and combined them to form the first empire of the Indian subcontinent.
EXAMIANS