King Asoka is widely acknowledged to be one of the most unusual, not to say one of the greatest, monarchs of all time. And it was Buddhism that made him so. He is also the first Indian king for which we have a great deal of authentic knowledge; his dates, his personality, his religious impulses and his policies. This is because we have a large amount of information about him in his own words, which is what his edicts are, not the usual royal proclamations full of hyperbole and artificial language, empty boasts and fake genealogies.
Epub