Publications

The present book is completed as a Higher Research Project of Jnana-Pravaha under its Scholarship Programme undertaken by Prof. K. K. Thaplyal. Comprising eleven Chapters, it deals with political and economic background and sources; classification and features of edicts; early life and family; conquests and extent of empire; administration; faith in Buddhism; �dhamma�; religious harmony; society and religions; monuments; and estimate of Ashoka. Of five Appendices, the last one deal with the latest Ashokan inscription, discovered and brought to light by Jnana-Pravaha in the form of a monograph authored by Prof. Thaplyal. Some points may be highlighted. If Taxila Aramaic inscription was engraved during Ashoka�s viceroyalty, then �Priyadarshi�, occurring in it, was not his coronation name. The first five lines of the Panguraria inscription do not refer to Ashoka as viceroy on pleasure tour. Identifications and status of Ashoka�s queens suggested by scholars are rejected, and alternate suggestions offered. The views that Ashoka allowed the slaughter of two peacocks and one deer because he was fond of their meat, or because their meat was offered to family deity, have been countered. It is argued with evidence that Chandragupta, and not Bindusara, married a Greek princess. Ashoka ruthlessly attacked Kalinga, as in the war of succession, its king had sided with his rival. Ashoka has been criticized for granting merely three days for making appeal against death sentence, its review, judgment on the review and conveying the same to the petitioner. The circumstances of the presence of the Separate Rock Edicts at Sannati have been critically examined. Literary and epigraphic evidences show that elephant in Ashokan art symbolizes Buddha, and so the view that the Dhauli elephant represents Ashoka is not correct. Ashoka�s statement that as a lay Buddhist, after association with �samgha�, by exerting much he made people extremely pious, clearly shows that the �dhamma� he propagated was Buddhism, and leaves no scope of debate about it. The work contains copious citations from Ashokan inscriptions and 24 Plates.