Table of Contents

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 Hinüber
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-François 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.

About the Author

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.

Reviews

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*