A'soka and the Decline of the Mauryas: With a new afterword, bibliography and index (Oxford India Paperbacks) [Paperback]

Romila Thapar (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 019564445X | ISBN-13: 978-0195644456 | Publication Date: May 7, 1998 | Edition: Revised

First published in 1961, this classic work is based largely on the edicts of Asoka, whose policies are analyzed against the background of Mauryan civilization during the third and fourth centuries B.C. The present edition has been thoroughly revised with a new afterword and archaeological site map.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Romila Thapar is at Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Product Details

• Paperback: 374 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Revised edition (May 7, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019564445X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195644456
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #431,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars 3.5 stars. Some flaws, but still enlightening, January 5, 2006

By 

Askew - See all my reviews

This review is from: A'soka and the Decline of the Mauryas: With a new afterword, bibliography and index (Oxford India Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas was first published in 1961 and written by the famous Indian historian Romila Thapar. The revised edition was published thirty-six years later and has a new afterword, bibliography and index. The second edition is due to new data (archeological and scriptural) on Asoka and the Mauryas. It is also a result of new interpretation by Thapar herself. Instead of completely revising the earlier text, which does have a few minor changes, Thapar includes most of the new information in the afterword.

The book was considered groundbreaking when it was first published. There is no debate whether it will have lasting value for years to come. Thapar brought a new perspective in analyzing ancient Indian history, which also revolutionized the study of South Asian society. In this book, she takes a sociological approach in trying to understand Asoka's rise to power and his conversion to Buddhism. Thapar believes that Asoka's rise to power was actually due to movements within the Mauryan society during that period instead of Asoka's individual persona.

According to Thapar, most historians relied too heavily on biased Buddhist sources designed to win over converts by exaggerating Asoka's wickedness before conversion and exaggerating his piety after conversion. It is probably more true to say that Asoka was shrewder than he was devout. He used Buddhism as a way to gain more popularity and loyalty from the masses that were turning away from Hinduism. Although Asoka did try to create a more peaceful and tolerant society, he kept it as less radical as possible so as not to offend the powerful Brahman and Kshatriya communities.

Thapar divides the book into four parts. The first part deals with background information, specifically a summary of Asoka's life and a mention of Maurya kings before and after him. Most of the second section recounts basic facts of Asoka's personal life, such as family, accession to the throne, and his conversion to Buddhism. The third part explains politics, economics, demographics and religion in Mauryan society under Asoka. The last section deals with the Mauryan society that came after Asoka. Here Thapar explains how Mauryan society declined after Asoka's death.

This would be an excellent book for people who already have extensive knowledge of South Asian history and have some knowledge of Asoka's reign. Thapar's arguments are very convincing and it is obvious that she has not only considerable knowledge of Indian history, but also has done extensive research on Asoka and the Mauryan Empire. The only exception to this is when Thapar deals with Asoka's death. Surprisingly, she does not give much commentary on Asoka's later life and death. Thapar only states what other sources give on his death and the state of the kingdom at the time.

Another great flaw in the book is that there is no glossary. Thapar mentions many Indian concepts, words, and ancient kingdoms and assumes that the reader understands what they are without explanation. What makes it worse is that Thapar sometimes uses overly complicated language when simple words would have been better suited. It would also have helped if Thapar used better maps and had given a clear chronology of the Mauryan period.

Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas is definitely worth reading even if it was originally written for specialists. A good idea is to read a couple of biographies on Asoka before taking on this work. Thapar, however, does try to give as much information as possible about her subject. In the back, there are appendices that display all the sources she uses and helps the reader gain a better understanding of Asoka and the Mauryan Empire.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best general history of the Maurya empire, April 4, 2001

By 

Roxanna Brown (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Asoka and the Decline of the Mauryas (Paperback)

This basic general history of the first great empire of India was first published in 1961. The 1997 edition is updated primarily with a lengthly 'Afterword' that reviews all the significant new findings of the past three decades. I was introduced to the book in a graduate seminar on Mauryan art history at UCLA. The author is an acknowledged expert on Asoka and the Maurya dynasty, and this is an excellent, solid resource that includes (as an appendix) the full texts of the Asokan edicts. I have not given it 5 stars only because I believe it should have a glossary, and the footnotes often include abbreviations that are never explained. One needs at least some background in Indian history. This is not an introductory text.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Certain aspects of Ashoka missed, some are glorified without facts, May 7, 2010

By 

Shankar Ratneshwaran "VedicStar" (Middletown, NJ United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A'soka and the Decline of the Mauryas: With a new afterword, bibliography and index (Oxford India Paperbacks) (Paperback)

This book is a pretty detailed attempt to glorify Asoka without facts, missing certain facts that other authors have caught about Ashoka namely
1) Asoka used most of his life for war and destruction and less for any humanitarian effort ( looks quite the opposite from this book )
2) Pilfering was a landmark of Ashoka as during his times government funds were used for purposes religious (often forcefully) regardless of set rules against it, trying to prove that there are no rules for the king.
The existing picture of Indian society was very biased in this book. Have to read some of the books on Chanakya for the real picture. Event the Greeks exclaimed that Bharat is a land where there is a "satta" or authority which is beyond the king's authority and that was the authority of the people who taught in the gurukuls and did expect money in return. Reading this book does not present that picture of India, infact it looks at India as just an emblem of greed like other western countries of that time.