Evidence By now it is probably evident that there are limits to what epigraphy can reveal. Sometimes, there are technical limitations: letters are very faintly engraved, and thus reconstructions are uncertain. Also, inscriptions may be damaged or letters missing. Besides, it is not always easy to be sure about the exact meaning of the words used in inscriptions, some of which may be specific to a particular place or time.
If you go through an epigraphical journal (some are listed in Timeline ), you will realise that scholars are constantly debating and discussing alternative ways of reading inscriptions. Although several thousand inscriptions have been discovered, not all have been deciphered, published and translated. Besides, many more inscriptions must have existed, which have not survived the ravages of time. So what is available at present is probably only a fraction of what was inscribed.
There is another, perhaps more fundamental, problem: not everything that we may consider The anguish of the king When the king Devanampiya Piyadassi had been ruling for eight years, the (country of the) Kalingas (present- day coastal Orissa) was conquered by (him). One hundred and fifty thousand men were deported, a hundred thousand were killed, and many more died. After that, now that (the country of) the Kalingas has been taken, Devanampiya (is devoted) to an intense study of Dhamma, to the love of Dhamma, and to instructing (the people) in Dhamma. This is the repentance of Devanampiya on account of his conquest of the (country of the) Kalingas.
For this is considered very painful and deplorable by Devanampiya that, while one is conquering an unconquered (country) slaughter, death and deportation of people (take place) there … Ü Discuss... Look at Map and discuss the location of Asokan inscriptions. Do you notice any patterns? Source