Review by Robert Harding
The ancient Mauryan Empire and its third emperor Ashoka (c.304-232 BC) represent a striking departure for Colleen Taylor Sen. The author’s reputation rests on her series of food books, most notably Curry: a global history. Nevertheless, this new book is a good read and caters well for Sen’s intended audience, the general reader, and her bibliography is wide-ranging and up-to-date. Students would probably still use more established titles on the market, such as Romila Thapar’s Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. It is no surprise the two titles are similar: Ashoka dominates his dynasty. He provides an indigenous model for the modern Indian state, both because he ruled most of South Asia and because of his reputation as the quintessential just ruler. But he was also probably instrumental in making Buddhism a world religion.
There is an excellently paced summary of pre-Mauryan history and the treatment of early Mauryans is also good; but the book has to be judged on the basis of Ashoka. Here, Sen sensibly gives the legends from later Buddhist narratives a separate chapter, allowing her to create a coherent story using contemporary records.
As for the primary source material, a strong feature is the space devoted to Edict texts, a set of inscriptions attributed to Ashoka. This focus gives readers new to the subject a direct experience of the major historical source. Buddhism – which Ashoka favoured and patronised extensively – is a significant presence in the book, but Sen avoids the mistake of making her account just a history of that religion.
