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Ashoka in Ancient India /
Lahiri, Nayanjot,
Ashoka in Ancient India / Nayanjot Lahiri. - xix, 385 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 354-371) and index.
Summary:
In the third century BCE Ashoka ruled in South Asia and Afghanistan, and came to be seen as the ideal Buddhist king. Disentangling the threads of Ashoka's life from the knot of legend that surrounds it, Nayanjot Lahiri presents a vivid biography of an emperor whose legacy extends far beyond the bounds of his lifetime and dominion.
cient rulers regarded him as the iconic Buddhist king. Jawaharlal Nehru considered him the greatest emperor of all time. H.G. Wells portrayed him as the sole shining star of antiquity. But who was the flesh-and-blood Ashoka? The third emperor of the Maurya dynasty, Ashoka ruled an empire encompassing most of India as well as its western borderlands. He was normal as a ruler of uncommon ambition, but utterly unusual as the pioneer of a model of humane governance. In fact the candour and emotion of his messages on stone show him less as a political figure than as a self-reflective individual. Recovering Ashoka’s life and times from legend, Nayanjot Lahiri crafts a wonderful biography of this most extraordinary emperor. She provides him with contextual flesh, teasing out his psychology and personality from his edicts and archaeological data about life in India over the last few centuries BCE. This is the most historically rich and readable book on Ashoka and his context.
9780674057777 (cloth : alk. paper)
2015010106
Aśoka, King of Magadha, active 259 B.C.
India--Kings and rulers--Biography.
India--History--Maurya dynasty, ca. 322 B.C.-ca. 185 B.C.
DS451.5 / .L35 2015
934.04509 LAH B
Ashoka in Ancient India / Nayanjot Lahiri. - xix, 385 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 354-371) and index.
Summary:
In the third century BCE Ashoka ruled in South Asia and Afghanistan, and came to be seen as the ideal Buddhist king. Disentangling the threads of Ashoka's life from the knot of legend that surrounds it, Nayanjot Lahiri presents a vivid biography of an emperor whose legacy extends far beyond the bounds of his lifetime and dominion.
cient rulers regarded him as the iconic Buddhist king. Jawaharlal Nehru considered him the greatest emperor of all time. H.G. Wells portrayed him as the sole shining star of antiquity. But who was the flesh-and-blood Ashoka? The third emperor of the Maurya dynasty, Ashoka ruled an empire encompassing most of India as well as its western borderlands. He was normal as a ruler of uncommon ambition, but utterly unusual as the pioneer of a model of humane governance. In fact the candour and emotion of his messages on stone show him less as a political figure than as a self-reflective individual. Recovering Ashoka’s life and times from legend, Nayanjot Lahiri crafts a wonderful biography of this most extraordinary emperor. She provides him with contextual flesh, teasing out his psychology and personality from his edicts and archaeological data about life in India over the last few centuries BCE. This is the most historically rich and readable book on Ashoka and his context.
9780674057777 (cloth : alk. paper)
2015010106
Aśoka, King of Magadha, active 259 B.C.
India--Kings and rulers--Biography.
India--History--Maurya dynasty, ca. 322 B.C.-ca. 185 B.C.
DS451.5 / .L35 2015
934.04509 LAH B