Asoka The Buddhist Emperor

Front Cover
Bonhopai Books, Jun 20, 2025 - History - 154 pages

Vincent Smith's Asoka: The Buddhist Emperor offers a rich historical account of one of ancient India's most remarkable rulers. After a brutal early reign marked by conquest, Asoka experienced a profound moral transformation following the Kalinga War. Embracing Buddhism, he became a patron of nonviolence, tolerance, and ethical governance. Smith traces Asoka's reforms, inscriptions, and missionary efforts, providing insight into both his political acumen and spiritual depth. The book blends archaeological evidence with classical sources to present Asoka as a model of enlightened leadership. Timeless in its appeal, this biography captures the legacy of an emperor whose reign reshaped Indian society and left a lasting spiritual legacy across Asia.

 

Selected pages

Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER IIEXTENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE EMPIRE
CHAPTER IIITHE MONUMENTS 44
CHAPTER IVTHE ROCK INSCRIPTIONS 57
CHAPTER V THE CAVE AND PILLAR INSCRIPTIONS 75
CHAPTER VITHE CEYLONESE LEGEND OF ASOKA 86
CHAPTER VIITHE INDIAN LEGENDS OF ASOKA 96
CEYLON 103
THE DOTAGE OF KING ASOKA 108
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Asoka, the Buddhist Emperor of India
Vincent Arthur Smith
Full view - 1920
Asoka, the Buddhist Emperor of India
Vincent Arthur Smith
Limited preview - 1997
Asoka the Buddhist Emperor of India
Vincent A. Smith
No preview available - 2008

Common terms and phrases

Ajīvikas Al-Anon Alexander Ancient India animals Antigonus Antigonus Gonatas Antiochus Antiochus Theos Arrian Asoka Maurya Bengal Besnagar Bharhut Bihār Bindusāra Brahmans Brahmans and ascetics brother Buddha Buddhist Bühler capital Censors Ceylon Ceylonese Chandragupta conquest coronation Cunningham Dasaratha death desire devoted Dhauli Dīpavamsa dispatched doctrine emperor empire erected exertion feet Gautama Girnār grandson Hindoo Hiuen Tsiang hundred inscriptions Kālāsoka Kalinga Kālsī Kashmīr King Asoka king’s kingdom Kunāla Law of Piety legend Magadha Mahavamsa Mahendra Majesty King Piyadasi Majesty King Priyadarsin Manserā Maurya Maurya empire Megasthenes ministers Minor Rock Edict missionaries Moggali monastery monks monuments named Nanda Niglīva obedience officials palace Pālī passage Pātaliputra person Pillar Edict VII pious edict practice prince province Purānas queen recensions recorded reign reverence royal Rummindeī saint saith His Majesty Sānchi sects Seleucus Senart Shahbazgarhi Siddāpura slaughter sovereign stone story Strabo stupa Tarāi Taxila Third Council thirteenth throne Tishya translation Ujjain

About the author (2025)

Vincent A. Smith, born on June 3, 1848, in Dublin, Ireland, and dying in 1920, was a British Indologist and civil servant in colonial India. As an historian and scholar, he specialized in ancient Indian history, particularly the Maurya Empire. His biography Asoka: The Buddhist Emperor of India helped shape Western understanding of the great ruler who championed non-violence and dharma after a transformative conversion to Buddhism. Smith's methodical research and use of inscriptions, coins, and classical sources made him a foundational figure in the early historiography of South Asia.

Bibliographic information

TitleAsoka The Buddhist Emperor
AuthorVincent Smith
PublisherBonhopai Books, 2025
ISBN1779791135, 9781779791139
Length154 pages
Subjects ›  ›  › 

History / Asia / South / General
Religion / Hinduism / History
  
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