PM refers to a verse on an Ashokan pillar in G20 speech. What does it mean?

State head Narendra Modi on Saturday referenced a statement recorded on one of the mainstays of Ashoka during his debut address to G20 pioneers on the primary day of the highest point at New Delhi's Pragati Maidan.

"The welfare and happiness of humanity should always be ensured," the Prime Minister said in his inaugural address, quoting the verse on the ancient pillar. He added that India sent this message to the world 2,000 years ago.

"Hevam lokasa hita-sukhe ti, ath iyam naatisu hevam" was the original quote.

The pillar is engraved with the sixth edict, which includes the quote. The Ashokan Edicts, which speak of kindness, forbearance, and concern for the well-being of others, were written on pillars to spread the right doctrine and the code of life.

The language used to write the inscription is Prakrit, which is a combination of Pali and Sanskrit.

At Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi, the Topra Ashokan Pillar is built above the palace. It is 13 meters (43 feet) high (with one meter underneath the stage) and made of sandstone.

Prime Minister Modi greeted world leaders on the first day of the G20 Summit in front of a replica of the Konark Wheel, a 13th-century artifact that represents time, progress, and continuous change.

"India's G20 Administration has turned into an image of 'Sabka Sath' inside and beyond the country. Over 200 meetings were held across the country, and this has become the people's G20 in India," PM Modi stated in his address.

At the G20 Summit, Modi was greeted by the US President Joe Biden, the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni.