Ashoka by Patrick Olivelle -- A Reiveiw

R100 V O L U M E X LV I I I N U M B E R 1 J A N U A RY 2 0 2 4 Sanskrit and Philology: Reading Texts and Constructing History Patrick Olivelle Ashoka as King, Buddhist, Philosopher and Ecumenist Kumkum Roy ‘Rewriting’ History: Questioning A Political Project Amar Farooqui Role of Railways in a Turbulent Decade Mohammad Sajjad BRICS: A Multilateral Powerhouse in the Making Aravind Balaji Yelery An Incisive Study of Changing Rural India Kamal Nayan Choubey Sexing the City: Sexual Labour, Intimacy, and the Internet Geeta Thatra A Many-layered Story Malashri Lal Apocalypse is a Local Event Vasundhara Sirnate Articulating Herself: A Writer and her Milieu Fatima Rizvi Magadh: History’s Hall of Mirrors Mrinal Pande 1 History Ashoka as King, Buddhist, Philosopher and Ecumenist Kumkum Roy ASHOKA: PORTRAIT OF A PHILOSOPHER KING By Patrick Olivelle HarperCollins, Gurugram, Indian Lives series, 2023, pp. xxxix+ 357, ` 799.00 e ver since his ‘re-discovery’ in the 19th century, Ashoka has, deservedly, received far more attention than any other king in Indian history. Olivelle’s interest in the ruler, explicitly evident since the turn of the millennium, has yielded this fascinating account, meant for ‘the informed and curious public’ (p. xvii). At a moment when we are inundated with disinformation and misinformation, and Ashoka has not been spared either of these, this intervention, at once scholarly and empathetic, is timely. Also, as the first volume in a series titled Indian Lives, it raises expectations, which are more than met. Expectedly, there is much that the reader will find familiar. But beyond this, Olivelle both draws on, and, where necessary, distances himself from the existing historiography on Ashoka, substantial as it is. This is done gently, but firmly. For instance, while discussing the relationship of the king to Buddhism, he concludes: ‘Ashoka was not a Buddhist king but a king who happened to be a Buddhist’ (p. 4). Organized in four parts dealing with Ashoka as king, Buddhist, philosopher and ecumenist, the book also includes a fresh translation of the corpus of Ashokan inscriptions that Olivelle relies on to present a portrait of a ruler who was a thinker as well as an author with remarkable literary abilities. But he does more than translate—he shares his strategies of reading the inscriptions, carefully weighing the possible meanings of specific terms, locating them in their context, but also underscoring the importance of trying to understand what was left unsaid and why. These strategies prove to be extremely fruitful. even as he follows in the footsteps of epigraphists who have analysed these inscriptions for nearly two centuries, Olivelle alerts the reader to the complexities and uncertainties that remain. equally important is the emphasis on identifying the various stages in the process of creating these inscriptions, and the complex mediation at almost every stage. The reminder that the approximately 4614 words that survive in the inscriptional record represent only a part of what must have been a larger corpus of written material generated by the emperor and his officials is also useful. The first part of the book, on the king, is devoted to locating the Mauryas within the subcontinent as well as in the wider world beyond. The contours of the empire, and the administrative network that supported it are elucidated. Olivelle also draws attention to the ideals of rulership—based on the metaphor of a debt that could only be discharged if the ruler performed his duties, as also a more familiar paternalistic ideal. This extends to a discussion on Ashoka’s policy towards the realms on the frontiers of his kingdom. The author makes a persuasive case for the significance of what he designates as Ashoka’s ‘medical diplomacy’, providing know-how and perhaps other resources to ensure the well-being of humans and animals both within and beyond his frontiers. It is likely that contemporaries appreciated this as both unique and unusual. The second part focuses on Ashoka’s relationship with Buddhism. Here, Olivelle strikes a delicate balance— reminding us that ‘Ashoka…is a complex character’ (p. 100). Beginning with a close and careful reading of Minor Rock edict I, he guides the reader through its contents, without glossing over uncertainties, locating this and subsequent inscriptions within a chronology of the king’s life and activities. A complex and fascinating narrative emerges—of a king repentant after the carnage in Kalinga, of his attempt to give established administrative practices a new form, of working out new modes of communication with both his subjects and his officials. Did it change Indian history, as Olivelle suggests (p. 113)? Perhaps not. But it certainly marked a new beginning that repays investigation even after more than two millennia. Olivelle’s analysis of Ashoka’s relationship with the Buddhist sangha, based, once again, on a close examination of inscriptions pertaining to the monastic order, is illuminating, suggesting as it does that the ruler felt compelled to intervene in the internal workings of the sangha in order to suppress, if not wipe out, dissension January 2024 11 History and discord. The author goes on to document the ways in which Ashoka’s building projects, in particular his pillars, mapped on to a Buddhist sacred geography, leaving a lasting mark on the landscape. At the same time, Ashoka’s major inscriptions may seem paradoxical in not explicitly propagating what are considered to be the core precepts of Buddhism—the four noble truths, the eightfold path, and the panchasila or the five precepts. Olivelle does not attempt to either explain or explain away what might appear to be a striking inconsistency but guides readers to find their way through an uncertain past, which nonetheless yields insights, not necessarily expected. The centrality of dharma/dhamma to Ashoka’s scheme of rulership is carefully contextualized and documented in the third part. This includes an elucidation of the components of dharma. In the discussion on ahimsa in this context Olivelle steers the reader away from a simple binary position to an understanding of the many situations, public and private, in which the king may have engaged in violence, including killing humans and animals. The discussion on the contents of dhamma as well as the purported audience of the inscriptions alerts the reader to different social strata within the imperial world, and the ways in which written communication, its oral transmission as well as the example of the emperor may have worked to facilitate familiarity with ideas that may not have been entirely novel, but perhaps acquired a new significance in the context in which they were expected to circulate. The fact that the message would be reiterated on what were probably already important days in the ritual calendar is also underscored. The last section introduces us to Ashoka’s relationship with diverse, often conflicting religious and philosophical traditions, designated as pasandas. As in earlier instances, Olivelle carefully charts the changing meaning of the term from one of relative neutrality to its later pejorative connotations. The pasandas, with all their differences, were, however, only one part of a complex religious world, where popular traditions survived, despite the emperor’s disapproval. What distinguishes this section is the way in which Olivelle draws on and redefines the term ecumenism to arrive at an understanding of Ashoka’s inclusive policies vis-à-vis the pasandas, who were expected to both introspect, and to develop an active understanding of their rivals. This ambitious demand may or may not have been complied with. Also interesting is the provision for enabling the pasandas to live anywhere in the realm. Whether the permission granted by the king ensured that ordinary people would have welcomed the pasandas is, of course, another matter. Olivelle suggests that Ashoka attempted to put in place a civil religion, a dharma that would act as a glue within his realm, and perhaps extend beyond it as well. Given the diversity within the realm, not simply in terms 12 January 2024 of the existence of several pasandas, but also in terms of regional and socio-economic differences, one would probably have to view this possibility with caution, if not suspicion. Many of the provisions of dhamma are somewhat innocuous, even bland if not banal—after all, respecting one’s parents, being polite and kind to others, and offering support to diverse religious groups would probably not be perceived as major demands by subjects, who may or may not have taken these seriously. In fact, Olivelle wisely, if somewhat reluctantly concedes and concludes, ‘We see the world through the lens provided by Ashoka’s writings, which is bound to be distorting. No independent account is available’ (p. 265). In other words, even though there are strong arguments that at least some narrative and didactic texts within the Brahmanical tradition are best understood as responses to the challenge of Ashokan dhamma, we do not know how his dhamma was received by ordinary people. Throughout, the book abounds in examples of the careful scholarship that we have come to expect from Olivelle. Consider, for instance, the discussion in the prologue on the names of the king, where both Ashoka and Piyadasi are taken up for consideration, explained, and evaluated. Olivelle’s preference for the latter alternative is obvious, even as he chooses, with some reluctance, to use the former. I could not help wondering whether dhamma rather than dharma could have been used for Ashoka’s ideas. Perhaps we will find out about that choice as well in due course. Apart from major insights, the volume contains other treasures as well. The charts, for instance, are placed exactly where one can refer to them easily. The classification of the inscriptions in Chart 3.2 (pp. 8284) is invaluable, as is Chart 10.1 (pp. 197-98), which provides a comprehensive list of all the compound words formed using dharma, giving a sense of a new vocabulary that was being forged and promulgated through the inscriptions. Olivelle also draws our attention to specific terms, as well as to stylistic features, to deepen our understanding of the corpus. The map (p. xxxvi) and the timeline (pp. xxxvii-xxxix) are simple, no-frills, accurate and invaluable for the reader, as is the glossary. Olivelle’s conclusions are at once measured and cautiously optimistic. In fact, his ability to quietly weave in major insights without the kind of fanfare or dramatic flourish that often characterizes high voltage scholarship is remarkable. Some Ashokan legacies, such as the script in its various avatars, his preoccupation with ahimsa and vegetarianism, survived without being acknowledged as such. Ashoka may have spawned Brahmanical representations of kings within the Sanskrit epic traditions, as an unnamed antagonist, and, hagiographies, where he is a named and venerated protagonist, within a range of Buddhist traditions across Asia. And yet, the fact that his ideas and the symbols that he deployed have History been revived in what is now a not so new nation state may be significant. One can only hope that this proves to be more than symbolic as we are confronted with sharply polarized positions within the socio-political space of the subcontinent, in a context of rapidly increasing economic differentiation. Given Olivelle’s sensitivity to the links between past and present, and the complexities of the past, there are some themes on which one would have hoped to learn more. I was wondering, for instance, about the term philosopher king. Would it be more or less equivalent to the notion of the Rajarshi, the king as sage, who figures in the early Upanishadic tradition? Stories about Asvapati in the northwest, which was part of the Mauryan empire, Janaka and Ajatasatru much closer to the Mauryan heartland of Magadha, although meant to be within the exclusive preserve of Brahmanas, may have circulated beyond their scholarly circles as well. While questions about the ultimate reality may have seemed arcane and even irrelevant to Ashoka, would he have been attracted to the model of the king as both the patron of the learned, and one of them, occasionally superior to the ‘experts’, an image that emerges from these Upanishadic stories? And, just as he may have reworked the epigraphic strategies of the Achaemenids, may he not have reworked those attributed to these legendary rulers? Second, there does seem to have been a significant engagement with the traditions of the Mauryas during the rule of the Guptas, evident in the reuse of the Allahabad Pillar as well as of the Girnar Rock, both of which bear major Gupta inscriptions, and in the composition of the Mudrarakshasa by Vishakhadatta, projecting Chanakya/Kautilya as a heroic figure, even if a somewhat manipulative one. What, if any, was the significance of reinscribing the surfaces that had been used by Ashoka? Third, while Ashoka was an innovator, and projected himself as one, it is worth considering that some of the major towns that were part of his empire both predated and outlasted him. These include Taxila, Pataliputra and Ujjain, located in very different parts of the empire. Would an understanding of these urban centres help us to appreciate how and why some Ashokan innovations survived whereas others did not? In fact, Olivelle’s dedication of this volume ‘To Chapada, and to his fellow scribes, engravers and stonemasons, whose toil and sweat made it possible for Ashoka’s messages to be read by us twenty-two centuries later’ (p. v), can be read as an acknowledgement of these connections, these many links, at once tenuous, fragile, and yet surprisingly resilient, that connect past, present and future. One hopes that the forthcoming volumes in this series will explore and foreground these connections fruitfully. Kumkum Roy is former Professor, Centre for Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Art, Iconography and Beyond Sushobhita Talukdar GANGA-BRAHMAPUTRA AND BEYOND: EXPLORING ART AND ICONOGRAPHY OF EASTERN AND NORTH-EASTERN INDIA By Gautam Sengupta Primus Books, Delhi, 2023, pp. 492, ` 1750.00 T he history of the eastern and north-eastern geographical regions of the Indian subcontinent is heterogenous as well as multifaceted. The region bears witness to centuries of historical processes which were discernible in multitudinous ways; the art traditions being one of the tangible outcomes. In the anthology of essays authored by Gautam Sengupta over a span of four decades, meticulous efforts have been made to not only draw the attention of the readers to the diverse creative processes which were employed by the śilpins, but also trace the historical contexts and idioms in which these traditions evolved as well as flourished. In the Introduction, Sengupta spells out the premise of the essays of the anthology which have been divided into three sections, each with a specific theme. The thematic thread which binds the essays together is the geographical focus which pertained to the eastern and northeastern regions of the subcontinent. In the current scenario, the region would broadly range across the Indian States of Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam, as well as the country of Bangladesh. The essays are a result of his laborious fieldwork and study of artefacts housed in different museums and archives. Akin to the theme of the essays and the artefacts discussed, the chronological timeframe covered is also wide, ranging from the second and first century BCe till the eighteenth-nineteenth and in certain cases twentieth centuries as well. The first section of the anthology, ‘Eastern India: A Journey across Time’, explores the diverse visual archive of the region pertaining to Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bangladesh. In the region expanding over a wide geographical space whose history, stylistic and cultural traditions existed and operated in multiple levels, the art traditions and idioms which evolved were January 2024 13