A power-hungry warrior and a peace -loving-wife-could they ever tread together on the path of non-violence? Ashoka waged war after ruthless war, yet by the time his children grew up, he proudly saw them off as Buddhist missionaries. Read about the charmed life of this famous king of Magadha, who not only built a properous kingdom but spread the message of universal love
Fantastic book that introduces you to the complex religious history of India. I look forward to reading more books in this series. I have really enjoyed learning about Indian history through ACK books; I think it is wonderful that so many Indian children are introduced to important events through these books. Always look forward to finding a stack at the library book sale!
As a change of genre and for a leisure mode of reading, i have decided to read Amar Chitra Katha comics. The series I selected is "History Collections" which consists of 10 comics about 10 great rulers, each consisting of 32 pages and a price of INR90. I bought all the 10comics together for a price of INR601. Still I feel INR90 for a 32page comics is expensive. Historic collection #1/10 The first book i selected is about the warrior who spoke of peace and the name of the celebrity is "Ashoka" who is called in common as "Ashoka the Great" or "Dharmashoka". It is about a story between a power hungry warrior and a peace loving wife. They split due to their difference in opinion and about how the emperor realises about nonviolence and enhances peace in the later phase. He ended up preaching Buddhism - Buddham charanam, Dharmam charanam, Sangam charanam. The bitter truth is that he realised the nonviolence but was unable to get back with his wife. The aftermath on what happened to his Son and daughter and how he ruled after realisation were also described in a short way. One new information for me about emperor Ashoka is that he has 100 siblings and he killed all of them to get the throne. This book is volume 536, script by Meena Talim, illustrations by Ram Waeerkar and editor by Anant Pai. The illustrations were good with the usual Amar Chitra Katha style and the smell of the book is the regular style of Amar Chitra Katha. The book is best suited for kids between the age of 5~10 and will be a good platform for them to enhance the habit of reading books.
Ashoka is a short comic that covers the broad strokes of the life of Ashoka the Great, the Mauryan Emperor that became renown for the spread of Buddhism across the Subcontinent. Though much of the account of Ashoka's life is shrouded under the veil of mythology and lost history, the general understanding was the he began his rule of his vast empire from his seat in Pataliputra in the bloodiest of ways, killing many of the other potential claimants like his half-brother Susima. Ashoka continued the trend of colonizing neighboring kingdoms and absorbing them under the Magadha throne, until the Kalinga War, after which point he seemed to trend towards pacifism and nonviolence. Historic scholars ascribe this shift in attitude as part of the growing Buddhist cohort in his court, though the more mythologized reading is that the bloody Kalinga War is what made him finally understand suffering. The truth is likely more political in nature, with Ashoka's shift towards being a more benevolent ruler being later religious propaganda to bolster a budding new spiritual practice in the region.
Naturally, for a comic geared towards children, the more moral version of the tale is told. It's done effectively with simple prose and great artwork, but since it is such a brief account, there are understandably gaps in the information being taught along with a feeling of tonal whiplash. This comic is pretty good for what it is - an introduction to one of history's pivotal figures - told in an entertaining and easy to digest fashion.
Learnt many a new word. It seemed clearly that Anant Pai and his mates researched thoroughly before bringing an item to the kids; not teaching them to be nag at all!
Admirable in many ways. Shame that life forced him to renounce. Amazing that he stayed positive and happy despite all that happened. No wonder he is still widely recognised and appreciated in India