Reimagining Asoka
Memory and History
Published on 8. March 2012
Book
Hardback
512 pages
978-0-19-807800-5 (ISBN)
Description
This volume explores on the material, social, and ideological aspects of Asoka's reign in light of advances made in archaeology, epigraphy, and numismatics. Thematically divided into three parts, the first to pillars and rocks, which bear his inscriptions. The second part examines the interconnectedness of the edicts, their monumentality, and the different concept of kingship they conveyed. The third part analyses the making of the cultural memory of Asoka and raises pertinent questions crucial for understanding the relationship between the past and the present. The essays outline the importance of Asoka not only for the Indian nation-state but also for the entire Buddhist world of South and South-east Asia. Moving away from conventional periodization of Indian history, it raises important questions on the beginning of history and archaeology in the modern period. The book examines the extent to which nineteenth century initiatives have affected the study of Asoka and his reign.
This book will be important for scholars and students of ancient Indian history, particularly those concerned with Asoka and the Mauryas. It will also interest archaeologists and scholars of Buddhist studies.
This book will be important for scholars and students of ancient Indian history, particularly those concerned with Asoka and the Mauryas. It will also interest archaeologists and scholars of Buddhist studies.
Reviews / Votes
This is one of the best compilations of papers to be published for a considerable time as it is so comprehensive and it is very handy covering as it does the whole field of scholarship. * Hugh Cragg, The Middle Way *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Delhi
India
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Illustrations
97 black and white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 218 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 32 mm
Weight
699 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-807800-5 (9780198078005)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Patrick Olivelle is Professor, Department of Asian Studies, University of Texas, Austin. Previously, he was Professor, Department of Religious Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Janice Leoshko is Associate Professor, Department of Art and Art History and Associate Director of the Centre for Asian Studies, University of Texas, Austin.
Himanshu Prabha Ray is Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Janice Leoshko is Associate Professor, Department of Art and Art History and Associate Director of the Centre for Asian Studies, University of Texas, Austin.
Himanshu Prabha Ray is Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Content
PREFACE ; INTRODUCTION BY PATRICK OLIVELLE, JANICE LEOSHKO, AND HIMANSHU PRABHA RAY ; PROLEGOMENA ; 1. ASOKA: A RETROSPECTIVE BY ROMILA THAPAR ; 2. THE LANGUAGE OF COMPOSITION AND TRANSMISSION OF THE ASOKAN INSCRIPTIONS BY R.K. NORMAN ; PART I: EMERGENCE OF ASOKAN STUDIES ; 3. ARCHAEOLOGY AND ASOKA: DEFINING THE EMPIRE BY HIMANSHU PRABHA RAY ; 4. FROM KAUTILYA TO KOSAMBI AND BEYOND BY SHAILENDRA BHANDARE ; 5. BHAGWANLAL INDRAJ'S PIONEERING CONTRIBUTION TO ASOKAN STUDIES BY VIRCHAND DHARAMSEY ; PART II: ASOKA AND HIS TIMES ; 6. ASOKA'S INSCRIPTIONS AS TEXT AND IDEOLOGY BY PATRICK OLIVELLE ; 7. THE COMPOSITION OF ASOKA'S PILLAR EDICT SERIES BY HERMAN TIEKEN ; 8. LINGUISTIC EXPERIMENTS: LANGUAGE AND IDENTITY IN ASOKAN INSCRIPTIONS AND EARLY BUDDHIST TEXTS BY OSKAR VON HINUBER ; 9. THE FATE OF ASOKA'S DONATIONS AT LUMBINI BY HARRY FALK ; 10. THE YONA ERA AND THE END OF THE MAURYA DYNASTY: IS THERE A CONNECTION? BY RICHARD SALOMON ; 11. MAURYAN PILLARS OF THE MIDDLE GANGA PLAIN IN THE LIGHT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCOVERIES OF SARNATH-VARANASI AND CHUNAR BY VIDHULA JAYASWAL ; 12. ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN NORTH BENGAL: AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE MAURYAS BY JEAN-FRANCOIS SALLES ; 13. IS THE ARTHASASTRA A MAURYAN DOCUMENT? BY MARK MCCLISH ; 14. ASOKA THE GREEK, CONVERTED AND TRANSLATED BY GRANT PARKER ; PART III: ASOKA REIMAGINED ; 15. ASOKA AND MUSEUMS BY JANICE LEOSHKO ; 16. THE COMMINGLING OF GODS AND HUMAN, THE UNVEILING OF THE WORLD, AND THE DESCENT FROM TRAYASTRIMSA HEAVEN: AN EXEGETICAL EXPLORATION OF THE CONNECTIONS OF MINOR ROCK EDICT I TO BUDDHIST LEGENDARY LITERATURE BY JOHN STRONG ; 17. ASOKA: MODEL RULER WITHOUT NAME? LITERATURE OF SRI LANKA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA BY MAX DEEG ; 18. ON THE ASOKA-TYPE BUDDHA IMAGES FOUND IN CHINA BY CHONGFENG LI ; 19. ASOKA: HISTORICAL DISCOURSE AND THE POST-COLONIAL INDIAN STATE BY BHAGAVAN JOSH ; NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS.