Book Title: Ashoka: Portrait of a Philosopher King Author: Patrick Olivelle Publisher: HarperCollins India, 2023 Pages: xxxix + 356 This book belongs to a series that is being brought out by HarperCollins: Indian Lives . Ashoka belonged to a period about which we know relatively little: 3 rd century BCE. The centuries that followed Ashoka chose to ignore the great emperor because of politico-religious reasons. The Brahmins were averse to Ashoka and his teachings. Hence they chose to project the epic kings, Yudhishthira and Rama, as ideals, and relegate Ashoka to the dark backgrounds of history. Both Ramayana and Mahabharata had kings who were always devoted to the welfare and supremacy of Brahmins while Ashoka strove to forge an egalitarian society. Patrick Olivelle, the author, was born and raised in Sri Lanka. He is one of the greatest living scholars of ancient India, according to Ramachandra Guha, editor of the series of which this book is the first. Olivelle relies
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