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."

This quote is taken from Ashoka’s Major Rock Edict XII, which embodies his core policy of *Dhamma* by advocating for religious tolerance and the "restraint of speech" regarding other faiths. While Harshavardhana is a tempting choice due to his known patronage of multiple religions and hosting of grand assemblies, his inscriptions do not contain this specific moral exhortation found in the Mauryan edicts. The core concept being tested is the Mauryan administrative and ethical framework, specifically Ashoka’s use of epigraphy to promote social harmony and pluralism.