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A sovereign whose authority extended over most of the Indian subcontinent, the commissioner of a unique set of engraved edicts addressed to his people, a rare example of a ruler acknowledging his errors and publicly apologizing, the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE) is an exceptional figure in more ways than one. The repeated fascination he has attracted throughout Indian history has elevated him to a symbol, even in contemporary India where his attributes are omnipresent to embody the values of the Indian Republic. It has also led to the creation of a mythical and distorted image of the historical Ashoka, constructed in particular on the basis of Buddhist hagiographic texts composed several centuries after Ashoka's death. In this work, Patrick Olivelle conducts a detailed analysis of only contemporary sources, starting with the engraved edicts, to establish the most faithful portrait possible of the ancient sovereign. Then appears an emperor skilled in governing, a fervent Buddhist and founder of a form of civil religion based on moral principles applying to all, all faiths combined, to ensure the unity and sustainability of an immense plural empire.

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9782251457031

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