Kindle
$16.99
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$22.66
Audio CD
$45.95
Kindle Price: $16.99

Save $18.01 (51%)

Promotions apply when you purchase

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

Read with our free app
You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

Buy for others

Give as a gift or purchase for a team or group.
Learn more

Buying and sending eBooks to others

  1. Select quantity
  2. Buy and send eBooks
  3. Recipients can read on any device

These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Redemption links and eBooks cannot be resold.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Patrick Olivelle
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King Kindle Edition

by Patrick Olivelle (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
See all formats and editions
An 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.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    484 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  5. Publication date
    January 9, 2024
  6. File size
    12488 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
Next page
Due to its large file size, this book may take longer to download

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  1. The Unfinished Quest: India's Search for Major Power Status from Nehru to Modi
  2. To the Ends of the Earth: How Ancient Explorers, Scientists, and Traders Connected the World
  3. The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World
  4. Smoke and Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories
  5. The Age of Revolutions: And the Generations Who Made It
  6. From Genghis Khan to Tamerlane: The Reawakening of Mongol Asia
Next page

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Olivelle has made a wonderful gift to the world: a brilliant, reliable, readable synthesis of what we know about one of history’s truly great emperors. This book should be in every learned person’s library.”—Richard W. Lariviere, president emeritus of the Field Museum, Chicago

“Ashoka is certainly one of the towering figures of world history. In this highly readable account, Patrick Olivelle has skillfully woven together more than a century of scholarship about this great king.”—Deven M. Patel, University of Pennsylvania

“Olivelle’s novel approach—to write a biography of Aśoka in Aśoka’s own words—that is, the words of his inscriptions—provides us with an entirely fresh and surprising portrait of the great Mauryan emperor, stripped of millennia of hagiography and religious piety and resituated in a conceptual landscape of Aśoka’s ‘civil religion.’”—Stephanie Jamison, University of California, Los Angeles

“In this wonderful book, subject and author are perfectly matched. Patrick Olivelle, arguably the greatest living scholar of ancient India, has given us a sensitive and authoritative biography of Ashoka, one of the most remarkable figures in world history and an emperor whose revolutionary moral philosophy has had an enduring legacy. With the rigour of its research, the subtlety of its judgments, and the elegance of its prose, Patrick Olivelle’s Ashoka sets new standards in biographical writing.”—Ramachandra Guha, author of Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World

 --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

About the Author

Patrick Olivelle is professor emeritus in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Texas. His recent publications include Yājñavalkya: A Treatise on Dharma and Hindu Law: A New History of Dharmaśāstra. He lives in Austin, TX. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CMH7TCZ1
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press (January 9, 2024)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 9, 2024
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 12488 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 484 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 12 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Patrick Olivelle

Patrick Olivelle

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
12 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Sridhara Dasu
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2024
Verified Purchase
It is a great idea to write about Ashoka using his own words etched in stone. I found it a bit repetitive though. It could be condensed significantly. Reading about Ashoka calmed me down considerably, when looking at the current leadership in Europe and America.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Buysbrats
2.0 out of 5 stars Pedantic, poorly edited
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2024
By the authors count this is the 1601st book on Ashoka. The author had to choose a niche, and turns out it was a totally pedantic perspective on the text and content of the rock edicts, with little by way of thematic content or a storyline.

There's around 50 pages on the concept of Pasandas (an educated class of spiritual teachers).

The book is badly edited, some facts repeated multiple times across the book. This is better suited for a very academic audience and not for the general populace.
Helpful
 Report
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Report
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Report
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?
Report