Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents ix
3. Illustrations xi
4. Maps xv
5. Acknowledgements xvii
6. Prelude 1
7. 1. An Apocryphal Early Life 24
8. 2. Pataliputra and the Prince 43
9. 3. Mauryan Taxila 66
10. 4. Affairs of the Heart and State 87
11. 5. The End and the Beginning 104
12. 6. The Emperor’s Voice 118
13. 7. Extending the Arc of Communication to Afghanistan 161
14. 8. An Expansive Imperial Articulation 176
15. 9. The Message in the Landscape 202
16. 10. Building Beliefs into Edifices 226
17. 11. An Ageing Emperor’s Interventions 260
18. 12 Of Wifely Woes and the Emperor’s Death 280
19. Epilogue: The Emperor’s Afterlife 289
20. Appendix: The Inscriptions of Ashoka 308
21. Notes 318
22. Bibliography 354
23. Index 373