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Book Cover
E-book
Author Singh, Upinder, author

Title Political violence in ancient India / Upinder Singh
Published Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2017
©2017

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Description 1 online resource (xvii, 598 pages)
Contents Foundation -- Transition -- Maturity -- War -- The wilderness
Summary Political Violence in Ancient India argues that the idea of a nonviolent India is an artificial twentieth-century construct deeply influenced by Gandhi and Nehru. Ancient Indian history is marked by considerable violence of various kinds, as is the history of other parts of the world. However the issue of violence was debated in India with greater intensity than elsewhere. There was a recognition of the possibility of necessary force veering into violence, and of the strong tension between violence and nonviolence in the political sphere. This book looks at the evolution of the theory and practice of kingship and the attitudes towards political violence between c. 600 BCE and 600 CE by examining a vast array of texts, inscriptions, artistic representations, and numismatic and archaeological material. These include the ideas of Buddhism and Jainism; the emperor Ashoka; the Sanskrit epics, the Ramayana and Mahabharata; the political treatise, the Arthashastra; and the poetry of Kalidasa. The book examines how the problem of the relationship between kingship and violence was addressed in general as well with reference to punishment, war and the forest.-- Provided by publisher
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from PDF title page (EBSCO, viewed October 6, 2017)
Subject Political violence -- India -- History
Violence -- Moral and ethical aspects -- India
Nonviolence -- Political aspects -- India -- History
Violence in popular culture -- India -- History
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- General.
SOCIAL SCIENCE -- Violence in Society.
Political violence
Politics and government
Violence in popular culture
Violence -- Moral and ethical aspects
SUBJECT India -- History -- To 324 B.C. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85064906
India -- History -- 324 B.C.-1000 A.D. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85064908
India -- Politics and government -- To 997. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85064937
Subject India
Genre/Form History
Form Electronic book
ISBN 9780674981270
0674981278