000			a
999			_c33136 _d33136
008			240304b xxu||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9789356993228
082			_a934.045092 _bOLI
100			_aOlivelle, Patrick
245			_aAshoka : Portrait of a philosopher king
260			_bHarper Collins India, _c2023 _aHaryana :
300			_axxxix, 356 p. ; _bill., _c24 cm.
365			_b799.00 _c₹ _d1.00
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
520			_aAn illuminating biography reconstructing the life and legacy of a unique king in world history and the most famous emperor in South Asian history There are few historical figures more integral to South Asian history than Emperor Ashoka, a third-century BCE king who ruled over a larger area of the Indian subcontinent than anyone else before British colonial rule. Ashoka sought not only to rule his territory but also to give it a unity of purpose and aspiration, to unify the people of his vastly heterogeneous empire not by a cult of personality but by the cult of an idea-"dharma"-which served as the linchpin of a new moral order. He aspired to forge a new moral philosophy that would be internalized not only by the people of his empire but also by rulers and subjects of other countries, and would form the foundation for his theory of international relations, in which practicing dharma would bring international conflicts to an end. His fame spread far and wide both in India and in other parts of Asia, and it prompted diverse reimaginations of the king and his significance. In this deeply researched book, Patrick Olivelle draws on Ashoka's inscriptions and on the art and architecture he pioneered to craft a detailed picture of Ashoka as a ruler, a Buddhist, a moral philosopher, and an ecumenist who governed a vast multiethnic, multilinguistic, and multireligious empire.
650			_aBiography
650			_aInscriptions
650			_aBuddhist
650			_aMoral philosopher
650			_aEcumenist
650			_aRuler
650			_aDhamma
650			_aLumbini
650			_aKalinga
650			_aDiplomacy
942			_2ddc _cBK