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."

1. A

   Ashoka

   Ashoka. Rock Edict XII: do not praise one’s sect by blaming others; that injures one’s own.

2. B

   Samudragupta

   Samudragupta. Prayaga prasasti is conquest, not this tolerance line.

3. C

   Harshavardhana

   Harsha. Different corpus.

4. D

   Krishnadeva Raya

   Krishnadeva Raya. Amuktamalyada, not this edict.

Summary. Official key is (a) Ashoka. The quoted warning against sectarian self-praise is Major Rock Edict XII — dhamma as restraint in speech about other sects.